Seymour, Indiana

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Seymour is a city in Jackson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,101 at the 2000 census. Seymour is called the "Crossroads of America" because the North/South and East/West railroads cross in downtown. The North/South line, the Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, was built in the 1840s connecting Indianapolis to the Ohio River at Jeffersonville. It ran through the Shields farm at the area that is now Seymour. In 1852 when the East/West railroad, the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, was going to be built, Capt. Meedy Shields who was the cousin of General John Tipton talked the surveyor, John Seymour, into putting it through his land. In return he named the town Seymour. All trains had to stop at a crossroad, making Seymour a bustling community. Seymour is the birthplace of Texas lawyer Paul Eggers, singer John Mellencamp, Miss America 2009, Katie Stam, and Robert Shields (diarist) whose personal diary earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. Robert William Shields was a distant cousin of Seymour founder Meedy Shields. Also Seymour is the home of rock band The Elms (band).