Author Archives: Adam Harness

Using Primary Sources Creatively

Being a historian is often like being a detective. Rarely do you find that perfect source that tells you everything you need to know. Although, finding that magical diary entry or newspaper article does happen on occasion, causing moments of celebration only acceptable in the deepest recesses of nerd-dom. More typical, one has to get […]

Early African-American Settlements Heritage Initiative

Despite a rich history, very little is known about the African-American experience from the state’s founding to the Civil War era. With the exception of a handful of monographs, graduate papers and journal articles, few publications have been written that focus on this history. Over the past 30 years, various research projects related to early […]

2014 NHDI North District Contest Wrapup

As snow came through Central Indiana once again last Friday afternoon, a core team of History Day staffers departed the warm hearth of the History Center to head to the Great White North of Notre Dame, Ind., for the first district contest of the season. The contest was held at St. Mary’s College on Saturday, […]

Indiana’s Bicentennial: What Will You Do?

Not every place in Indiana has an easily defined connection to Indiana’s Bicentennial. Yes, we are all defined by the state boundaries, but many towns and counties didn’t exist 200 hundred years ago.So where to begin? In Hamilton County, the Convention and Visitors Bureau decided to bring its local history organizations together to take stock […]

A Flurry of Ideas and Installations

During the calendar year 2013, the exhibitions crew at the Indiana Historical Society designed, produced, and opened a record number of exhibition projects. As many of our members, visitors and colleagues will be enjoying the holiday season and reflecting on the year, exhibit staff will raise a glass to toast an incredibly successful and productive […]

Indiana Historical Society to auction Audubon sets

Sale of two non-Indiana treasures to fund acquisition and storage of Hoosier archives for decades to come Indianapolis—Today, with unanimous consent of its Collections Committee, Executive Committee and Board of Trustees, the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) has decided it will put its complete sets of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America and Viviparous Quadrupeds […]

Learning From My Mistakes: Facilitating Meetings

I guess that was my first adult meeting. You know, we filled up all the big sheets of paper.? That was the disheartening statement that I overheard after I helped to facilitate a meeting with teens about developing a youth leadership academy. My fellow adult volunteers and I realized that we shouldn?t create something for […]

IHS Press Releases Crown Hill: History, Spirit and Sanctuary

Indianapolis? The Indiana Historical Society Press is pleased to announce the release of Crown Hill: History, Spirit, and Sanctuary. Published in cooperation with the Crown Hill Heritage Foundation, the book examines the cemetery’s complete history and places its story in the larger historical context of the development and growth of American landscape architecture. Listed on the […]

A New Age for Small Museums

Our world has changed drastically in recent years. Today?s younger generation (aka digital natives) have never lived in a world without high-speed internet, smartphones, tablets or social media. Even most adults who do remember the time before technology changed the world cannot now imagine life without it. And these changes have, for better or worse, […]