The Reconstructed McCarty-Pendleton Regulated Drain –
What do horses, an old glass factory, and AMVETS all have in common? They all have close ties to the recently reconstructed McCarty-Pendleton Regulated Drain in the Town of Pendleton.
The McCarty-Pendleton Regulated Drain was a clay tile put in over a hundred years ago. The drain winds its way past the AMVETS building and through a horse pasture. Like most old clay pipes, the drain was in dire need of reconstruction, as much of it was clogged and not moving water, resulting in very poor drainage and standing water in many areas, including areas all the way out to State Road 67. Throw in the fact there were also no records of the drain’s actual location, and we had ourselves a few good reasons why the drain needed replacing.
The Town of Pendleton was awarded a grant from the Indiana Finance Authority to replace the drain and reconstruct the Pendleton Avenue and Reformatory Road intersection where the drain ultimately outlets. Banning Engineering assisted the town in designing a new alignment for the drain and a new culvert under the road intersection. Since there was no way of knowing where the old drain actually was, the plan was to install the new pipe and simply crush the existing clay pipe if it was encountered. With a majority of the work taking place in a fairly open horse pasture, the drain went in easy, but keeping the horses away from the dig site was the difficult part!
Back in the early 1900s, Pendleton was home to a few glass factories, one of which was settled right next to where the drain ran through. Throughout the drain installation digging, many excavator buckets came up with not only portions of the old clay drain, but also many fragments of glass from the factory. It felt almost like sifting for gold during the gold rush, but with glass!
Ultimately, the new drain will have one more phase crossing under State Road 67 and the railroad running parallel to it. For now, the improved McCarty-Pendleton Regulated Drain is helping the area stay drained for many years to come!
~ Pete Rusche
