November 5, 2012

The Election Riot of 1876

Although the violence of the Election Riot of 1876 was not repeated, black voters continued to endure intimidation at the polls.

October 29, 2012

Indiana’s Three Day Governor

US Senator and staunch Lincoln supporter Henry S. Lane may be best remembered for his three-day term as Indiana’s thirteenth governor.

October 22, 2012

“Romance Out of Indiana”: George Barr McCutcheon

George McCutcheon's obituary in The New York Times placed him in the “Indiana school of romantic literature,” noting the “innocent happiness” he had imparted.

October 15, 2012

An English Abolitionist Tours Antebellum Indiana

Candler was favorably impressed with the “young and vigorous city” of Indianapolis, but soundly disapproved of the legislature's attitude toward slavery.

October 8, 2012

From Draft Horses to Corn Dogs: The First State Fair

On the fair's first day in 1853, 15,000 people went through the fair; on the second day, 25,000; attendees spilled over into attractions beyond the fairgrounds.

October 1, 2012

Worshipping In A Warzone

For a young Catholic boy in a small Indiana town in the early 1920s, attending mass felt like "walking through a battlefield”.

September 24, 2012

To Market To Market

Long before the term "locavore" was coined, buying fresh foods directly from farmers was standard operating procedure in the Hoosier State.

September 17, 2012

Butler’s First President

In Samuel Hoshour's first teaching position at Wayne County Seminary, his pupils included governor-to-be Oliver P. Morton, and the future author of Ben Hur.