Oakalla

Oakalla was a stop on what is now the Big Four Railroad a few miles west of Greencastle in Madison Township. Marked as Oakalla Station and PO in the 1879 Atlas, the little community was located near the confluence of Big Walnut and

Little Walnut creeks. Noted for the fine limestone deposits nearby, Oakalla was one of the earlier places settled in Putnam County. We see Isaac Wolverton, Arthur McGaughey, Peter Stone and Matthew Cole taking out land patents in 1821 and 1822 near Oakalla. William Torr settled nearby about 1823 and the Torr’s become one of the more prominent families of the area. As evidenced by the newspaper articles in the 1800’s, Oakalla was a busy depot, as was Fern Station, which was located just to the west. The nearby Fern Cliffs became prominent when the sandstone quarried there by the Root Glass company was shipped to Terre Haute and was used to make the glass bottles for Coca-Cola, giving them their distinctive green hue. An excellent article to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the production of these glass bottles was published November 18, 2015 in the Greencastle Banner Graphic. You should check it out.