The Pennsylvania railroad depot at Upland was built in the late 1800's. The train traveled through Upland to connect Chicago, IL and Columbus, OH.

Besides bringing many Taylor University students to Upland, other famous people stopped through the town, including J. C. Penney. There was even a famous "Pistol Duel" on the steps of the depot platform between W.P. Gray and A.L. Belville in 1909.

The depot sold in June 1965 to Jake Shroyer, which he desired to use in his train museum in Muncie, IN.

The country was just recovering from the Vietnam War, so individual towns were not concerned with preserving town histories.

In May, 1993, a group of concerned citizens began meeting in individual homes to discuss the possibility of returning the depot to Upland.

In August, 1993, the Our Town Upland, Inc was legally formed and registered with the State of Indiana for the promotion of tourism, commerce, educational and charitable activities within the Town of Upland, Indiana. During Upland's 45th annual Labor Day Festival, sponsored by the Upland Lions Club, Taylor University announced to the town that they would give $7,000.00 to bring the depot back to town.

On Sept 17, 1993, a signed contract was entered into with Jake Shroyer to purchase and return the depot back to Upland.

In November, 1993, Our Town Upland, Inc was able. to purchase the ground from the Pennsylvania Railroad where the depot is currently located. The original site of the depot was across the street from this location. However, that ground had previously been sold to an Upland businessman. The original site still has the stairs which lead down to the railroad tracks.

In May, 1994, volunteers from the Upland community traveled to Muncie to prepare the depot for the move back to Upland. They removed the roof and braced the remaining structure for travel.

After securing the needed state permits, the depot was escorted home by state police to stop traffic and utility workers to remove and restore power lines along the way. As the day turned to dusk, the depot had to stay all night in Matthews, Indiana, and start out the next morning, making it back to Upland the next afternoon of August 16, 1994.

From Muncie to Upland, over a thousand people came out of their homes and lined the streets to watch the depot return to Upland. Crowds cheered and balloons were given out and released downtown Upland.

Once the depot was returned, a grant of $25,000 was obtained from the Build Indiana Fund. Donations came in from business and individuals for engraved bricks to be placed at the depot to fund the restoration.

An anonymous donation of one million dollars was given to the town for development of parks and recreation. This contribution helped to finish the project.

The Upland Garden Club supplied shrubs and flowers for landscaping.
The Upland Chamber of Commerce held fundraisers and completely paid for the old fashioned clock that is a permanent fixture at the depot park today.

The Upland Historical Society has made a museum out of the depot as it stands today. Artifacts that are unique to Upland's history are on display, free for public viewing. Since 1993, the Our Town Upland group has sponsored an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The afternoon starts off with a tour of homes sponsored by the Upland Historical Society. Old fashioned carriage rides are provided by the Upland Chamber of Commerce. Then a large pine tree is lighted by a person, voted on by the Our Town Upland group, as someone who has made a definite contribution to the town over a period of time.

Next,Santa comes to town riding a fire truck and individual pictures of children are taken with Santa. This continues to be a depot tradition the first Sunday of December every year.

The Our Town Upland group continues to be active today. They are currently looking into more areas of community endeavors to promote a town that had a "little red engine that could."