Ashley, IN

Ashley is a DeKalb and Steuben County town in northeastern Indiana, with Indiana State Road 4 marking the county line and I-69 at Exit 340 just east of town. The 2020 census counted 1,026 residents. DeKalb Central schools serve the town, while the Ashley Community Center, four parks, volunteer fire department, and town water and sewer system handle much of daily life. Sunset Park has baseball diamonds, courts, pavilions, a pond, and a walking trail; the smiley-face water tower at Ashley Memorial Park is the landmark people use to place the center of town.

ATTRKen Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Wabash Railroad platted and incorporated Ashley on July 18, 1892, naming it for railroad president Ossian W. Ashley. Railroad yards and the line along the DeKalb County boundary brought workers, shops, and industry. That connection is still visible at the town's northern edge, where the Indiana Northeastern Railroad runs beside the Steuben County section. The Ashley-Hudson Festival fills the local calendar each August, and the community center doubles as a gathering place and gym. Ashley is a two-county town in a farm-and-manufacturing region, with I-69 carrying larger regional trips toward Fort Wayne, Michigan, and Ohio.