Markle, IN

Markle is a town split between Huntington and Wells counties in northeast Indiana. The 2020 census counted 1,071 residents. Interstate 69, U.S. 224, State Road 116, and State Road 3 meet the town’s road network, while the Wabash River runs along its southern edge. Markle residents use the Huntington City-Township Public Library, and the nearby county seats and industrial sites add a larger service map around the town’s streets.

ATTRNyttend / Public domain

Markle was laid out in 1836 under the name Tracy, but it stayed mostly on paper until the railroad arrived. The post office opened as Tracy in 1849 and took the name Markle in 1852. The Chicago and Erie Railroad brought a boom, new merchants, mills, and additions to the original town, and Markle incorporated in 1889. The Wabash, the old mill sites, the rail corridor, and the newer interstate all tell the same local story: Markle grew whenever a new route made it easier to move people, grain, lumber, or goods through the river town.