We’ve kicked off our new Indianapolis bicentennial exhibit, You Are There 1920: Celebrate Indianapolis with a four-part program series on the history of redlining. Redlining is the discriminatory practice in which banks, mortgage lenders, and insurance companies refused or limited loans, mortgages, and insurance within specific geographic areas, particularly in older and city center neighborhoods, to Black […]
What do hot air balloons, elephants and lawyers have to do with the fight for female suffrage in Indiana? They were all creative ways used by various suffragists to advertise their platform and spread their message demanding equal voting rights. On November 6, 1894, Helen M. Gougar attempted to vote in Lafayette, Indiana rebelling against the Indiana State Constitution that forbid […]
Ever wanted to party like a suffragist? Well, now’s your chance. In the years leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, suffragists found all types of ways to spread their message and fight for the right to vote. In June of 1912, they found a social way to give their cause a boost […]
Sashes were a key way for women to show support for the fight to gain equal voting rights. While they came in a variety of patterns and with different phrases, they were frequently worn at rallies, parades and speeches. While all suffrage organizations in the United States adopted gold as one of the colors for the movement, the National Women’s Party […]
While we typically associate Independence Day with the Fourth of July and America declaring independence from Great Britain, all over Indiana there are various Independence Day celebrations throughout the year that celebrate the independence of many different countries. Here at the Indiana Historical Society, our collections have documentation for a variety of different cultures celebrating […]
Each year the Indiana Historical Society accepts nominations for several awards to be given to individuals and organizations throughout the state that are working in the fields of history. The emphasis is on excellent scholarship presented in engaging, public-facing ways. As managing editor of the IHS Press, I have enjoyed the honor of reviewing the […]
Due to the Covid-19 precautions, our previously scheduled Ethnic Eats: Myanmar on April 16 was postponed. Inspired by our multicultural collecting initiatives, our Ethnic Eats series began in 2017 exploring the food of the many cultures who call Indiana home. While learning together is certainly preferable to virtual gatherings, we can still learn about the […]
On Friday, Oct. 18, the History Center was rocked by another historic murder, during this year’s Whodunit? event. No fear, our detectives were on the case to put the clues together and solve the 100-year-old Hoosier crime. New Philadelphia, Indiana, a small hamlet four miles west of Greenfield was rocked by tragedy in the summer […]
St. Patrick’s Day 1934 was one to remember in Terre Haute. Four months earlier, Prohibition was repealed and the city was ready to herald the reopening of the Terre Haute Brewing Company and the reintroduction of its signature product, Champagne Velvet. Almost 30,000 people paraded through the streets singing the Champagne Velvet March: “Here’s to […]
History Matters is a blog series where we’ll be talking about the things you’re not supposed to discuss at the dinner table – things that may make some people uncomfortable. These pieces of our history are there if you look but might not be top of mind or in a textbook. We often think of history on a larger scale, […]
