| Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad | |
| Other Name: | Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad |
| Locale: | Southwest Indiana |
| Successor Line: | Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad |
The Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad Company was Evansville, Indiana's first railroad company. It was first chartered in 1853 by William D. Griswold, a lawyer in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was renamed Evansville and Terre Haute Railroad in 1877. It went on to be consolidated without railroads of the region into the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad.[1] Chauncey Rose was a key player in financing its construction.
The Vincennes railroad was originally chartered as the Evansville & Illinois to connect with the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad at Olney, later at Vincennes January 21, 1849. It was extended to Terre Haute, Rockville, and Crawfordsville.[2] The section from Vincennes to Terre Haute, 58 miles built under WD Griswold and Chauncey Rose, was opened to through traffic on November 23, 1853[3] and completed in 1854.[4] Rose donated his stock in the Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad to the Evansville and Crawfordsville to finance its construction.[5]