It’s safe to conclude the Hoosher and Hoosier nickname adopted by Indiana residents and for them by their nearby neighbors was derived from the dialect term (probably traceable from England) not uncommon among southern immigrants to Indiana and the Ohio Valley several years before [John] Finley arrived and penned his famous poem [The Hoosier’s Nest]. […]
In one of our most moving You Are There exhibits to date, talk to Italian prisoners of war in the chapel they built at Camp Atterbury – their home away from home. In 1943, approximately 3,000 Italian POWs were held at Atterbury during World War II. That it held prisoners of war is surprising to […]
Before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was completed in 1909, a national balloon race was held there in June to generate revenue and interest in auto races. Thirty-five hundred paying customers were inside the track, while outside, 40,000 spectators watched the balloon race for free, causing a huge traffic jam. In August, the track held inaugural […]
We love showing off our original materials, and several original maps are on display in Mapping Indiana: Five Centuries of Treasures from the Indiana Historical Society until April 2. But it is, of course, important to carefully care for these original works. Our conservation staff uses methods to provide the conditions necessary for fragile paper […]
Freeman Briley Ransom was born in 1884 and moved to Indianapolis from Grenada, Miss., around 1910. He worked as a lawyer and the business manager for Madam C.J. Walker and her hair care company. Ransom’s son, Willard, known as Mike, was born in 1916. Freeman also served as legal counsel for several organizations and was […]
In 1974, a college graduate embarked on his career goal of teaching history to high school students in a Paterson, New Jersey, classroom. Not content to take a break from his students in the summers, John Herbst began applying for grants ranging from $75 to $500 to support student-created exhibits, brochures and walking tours. After […]
Stan Hurt is a longtime and active member of IHS. He and his wife, Sandy, donated a set of photographs of his grandfather’s Fort Wayne photo studio and then helped us create You Are There 1904: Picture This. Stan not only supported the fabrication of the exhibit, but during its two-year run, he wrote encouraging […]
One of the largest archival collections of Gene Stratton-Porter materials is available to researchers, online and in person, at the William H. Smith Memorial Library. The newly processed collection includes documents, letters and photographs that offer more details about the life of the Indiana author and naturalist. “As we celebrate our Bicentennial, we are thrilled […]
Byford Lee Reed was born in 1929 in Lamar, Ind. He attended Dale High School and received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University. Reed was drafted into the U.S. Army at 23. He was stationed in Korea with the 15th Field Artillery Battalion during the Korean War from 1952 to 1953. “When I first […]
New photographic technology is allowing the Indiana Historical Society to find undiscovered details hidden in historical documents. The process is called reflective transforming imaging – a simple concept with a complicated method. RTI combines multiple photographs and lighting methods of a single piece to create one blended image conservators can simultaneously view from all lighting […]
