Author Archives: Adam Harness

Exceptional Grant Proposals

The first round of our Heritage Support Grants is underway, and we’ve been thinking about what elements go into a successful proposal. Here are some tips from the coaches and grant management team. Make sure your outcomes match the funding priorities, and watch out for mission creep. Don’t try to create programs that aren’t part […]

And the Winner Is …

Last summer, reference head Amy Vedra and my predecessor, Alyssa Boge, asked collections staff to share some of their favorite things currently held in the collections of the Indiana Historical Society. Eleven items were then selected to go on display in the library, along with explanations of the objects? distinctiveness. Library patrons and staff were […]

A Conversation with Douglas A. Wissing

From scrambling over avalanche-choked passes in Tibet to track down a source to meticulously tracking down mismanaged U.S. government development aid in Afghanistan, journalist and author Douglas A. Wissing has done whatever it has taken to write his stories. The Bloomington, Indiana, author has, however, also discovered much to write about in his home state […]

What Is IHS Doing for the Bicentennial?

IHS has been preparing for the State Bicentennial for years, and we can’t wait to show off our new offerings books, events, programs and special exhibits commemorating our great state. They are designed to reach every Hoosier, whether a fourth grader touring You Are There 1816: Indiana Joins the Nation or a book lover reading […]

IHS Named Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution

Indianapolis-The Indiana Historical Society is proud to announce it joins a leading group of national museums and cultural organizations as an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The director of Smithsonian Affiliations presented IHS with the mark of distinction at tonight’s annual Founders Day Dinner, at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at […]

One-on-One with the Editors of Indiana’s 200

Part of the Indiana Historical Society?s commemoration of the nineteenth state?s bicentennial, Indiana’s 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State recognizes the people who made enduring contributions to the state of Indiana in its 200-year history. Written by historians, scholars, biographers and independent researchers, the biographical essays in this book will enhance the public’s […]

The Men Behind the 1816 Constitution

A lawyer. A surveyor. A tavern keeper. A poet. Is this some sort of weird, old-timey Village People tribute band? Not even close. These are just a few of the occupations that could be attributed to the men who descended upon tinyCorydon in June 1816 to write the state constitution for the Indiana Territory. I […]

Squirrel!

You hear odd things in the hallways of the History Center. Recently, I heard “The Great Squirrel Invasion of 1822.” That got my attention, so I did some digging. Though it sounds hilarious, and the picture it paints is even more so, this was a devastating incident for Indianapolis residents and farmers. We know all […]

Storytelling Back-to-the-Future Style

As many of you likely heard, we recently experienced Back to the Future Day, the day on which Marty McFly and Doc Brown arrived in the future (Oct. 21, 2015) in the 1989 film. Like many others who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, I was oddly excited by the fact that the entire […]