Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

single frame: This way to Mexico

Jim Grey
19 comments on single frame: This way to Mexico
1 minute
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Sign to Mexico, Indiana

This way to Mexico
Kodak EasyShare Z730
2007

I didn’t make a trip to Texas to make this photograph. Rather, I drove to northern Indiana.

I don’t know how the town of Mexico, Indiana, got its name. All I know is that it was right on US 31 for a lot of years, until Indiana decided to move it and widen it to four divided lanes in the late 60s or early 70s. The new highway bypassed tiny Mexico, and I’m sure through traffic dried up instantly.

You’ll find this sign along current US 31 at a crossroads with Mexico’s Main Street. If you follow this sign, you’ll find that there’s not much to Mexico.

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Comments

19 responses to “single frame: This way to Mexico”

  1. J P Avatar
    J P

    I have passed that one many times and have always gotten a chuckle out of it.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      It’s a mighty large sign for a mighty small town.

      Reply
  2. brandib1977 Avatar
    brandib1977

    Little towns they are named after big places always make me think the founders were optimists.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      I suppose you have to be optimistic to found a town!

      Reply
      1. brandib1977 Avatar
        brandib1977

        Hahaha! I suppose so!!

        Reply
  3. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    Multiple sources list a possible commemoration of the War of Mexican independence, that took place right before the town was platted, but no one knows why someone thought that would be a good idea…

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      We also have Brazil and Peru in Indiana, names those founders thought sounded good at the time, as well.

      Reply
      1. Andy Umbo Avatar
        Andy Umbo

        On further research, both Peru and Brazil seemed to be picked out of the air because they were expedient to the moment, and were “short” and easy to remember! A different viewpoint, I guess, compared to Oconomowoc and Ixonia Wisconsin (Ixonia being named by people pulling letters out of a hat!).

        Here’s funny look at another states town naming madness:

        https://bobber.discoverwisconsin.com/25-super-strange-wisconsin-town-names/

        Reply
  4. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Should have taken that left at Albuquerque!

    I bet job seekers near there experience the same extreme annoyance with LinkedIn’s algorithms that I do – that somehow jobs in the countries of Brazil or Poland (or Peru as you mentioned) are somehow relevant to my search in Indiana (and are even listed as being in Brazil, IN). Even though I’ve flagged a lot of jobs it seems to make no difference. Morons! Curiously, I haven’t been shown results from Paris, France.

    Reply
    1. Andy Umbo Avatar
      Andy Umbo

      One reason that my planned move to the Pacific Northwest from Milwaukee Wisconsin, has eliminated Milwaukie Oregon from the search! I’ve got enough problems getting mail now! Paris France? What about Paris Texas or Paris Wisconsin?

      Reply
    2. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      That’s hilarious! Annoying for you, I’m sure, however.

      Reply
  5. tbm3fan Avatar
    tbm3fan

    Are there any beaches there where I can sit in my beach chair and enjoy a margarita?

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Sadly, no. But if you bring your own chair and your own margarita, you might be able to find a sandy spot by the river.

      Reply
      1. tbm3fan Avatar
        tbm3fan

        No beaches? I knew there was a good reason why I don’t live in Indiana. No salt aroma and 6 foot waves to surf at a minimum.

        Reply
        1. Andy Umbo Avatar
          Andy Umbo

          Northern Indiana: great beaches along Lake Michigan! The Indiana Dunes! I’m living in Wisconsin and there’s actually people surfing off of Sheboygan and Manitowoc, but the weather has to be “rough” to get a wave! I always tell “coasters” that living on Lake Michigan is like living on the ocean, you can’t see the other side, so…. People on the coasts think when you say “Lake”, it’s like the 20 acre lake at their resort hotel! Lake Michigan is 14.3 million acres, 307 miles long and 118 miles wide!

          Reply
        2. tbm3fan Avatar
          tbm3fan

          Beach = salt water and big loud waves on a clear sunny day.

          Reply
        3. Jim Grey Avatar
          Jim Grey

          I did forget about Lake Michigan. Some wonderful sand dunes along the coast. But zOMG is that water ever cold except in about August and September.

          Reply
  6. Roger Meade Avatar
    Roger Meade

    My dad, when he was a boy, spent some time on a farm owned by his grandmother outside Mexico, New York, a small town near the east end of Lake Ontario. I have never been there, but at that end of the lake there should be some good sand beaches. He liked to tell me about the telephone poles half buried by snow in the winter. Prevailing winds coming down the lake bring sand and snow!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Having grown up near Lake Michigan, I know all about lake effect snow!

      Reply

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