Collections and Images

Visit Destination Indiana for your portal to the past. Explore thousands of images organized into hundreds of topical journeys. Every Indiana county is represented in this ever-expanding site.

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Currently, nearly 100,000 digital images are available for research on the IHS website, with more added every week. The Preservation Imaging Lab scans materials covering a variety of subjects and formats. These digital images constitute only a small percentage of the more than 1.7 million photographs in the IHS collection.

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1. Lighting a Menorah The lighting of a Menorah, one candle per night for eight nights, celebrates victory and the rededication of the temple. Miraculously, a small amount of oil lasted 8 days. A very simple explanation for a meaningful celebration. View Collection
2. Chanukah Information The gentle flame of the candles and the prayers recited reflect remembrance, faith and devotion for Hoosiers of the Jewish faith. View Collection
3. Music of the Christmas Season Traditional music helps set the mood even if we may not be happy about the way this season will go. It reminds us of why we celebrate and brings up happy memories. Have you heard them all? Here are a few that may have slipped from popularity. View Collection
4. Christmas Cookies Some of our fondest memories revolve around food traditions. Maybe your family has a cookie that is a “must have” this time of year. Often, it isn’t the cookies so much as it is the tradition and togetherness involved in preparing and decorating them. A virtual bake-off could be fun this year and would provide a new memory for the future! View Collection
5. Christmas during the Civil War Many of us will be separated from loved ones this year as we try to limit the spread of COVID-19. We can take advantage of telephones, social media, and various online meeting platforms to get to see and talk to each other. Letters and newspapers kept people connected during the Civil War as much as was possible. View Collection
6. Christmas Trees Prior to 1930 Decorating a Christmas tree is an old tradition that many love and continually adapt. Here are a few examples of decorated trees in the early 20th century. View Collection
7. Christmas Trees Since 1930 What was popular in tree decorating changed a lot in a short time! Some of these will look more familiar. We see larger trees, artificial trees, and the use of lights to create tree shapes using buildings and monuments. View Collection
8. Santa Claus, Indiana When they tried to establish a post office as the town of Santa Fe, they found that there was already such a town in Miami County. What better choice could they have made than to choose Santa Claus? Popular year round for its Christmas theme, it also has an amusement park. View Collection
9. White Christmas We can dream about it, but the snow doesn’t always cooperate. View Collection
10. Kwanzaa A week-long celebration honoring African heritage, Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January 1. Families have their own ways of observing Kwanzaa, but they often include music, dancing, storytelling, poetry, and at least one important meal. View Collection

1. Happy New Year to You Let this be our greeting to all and may we each find the sweetness available to us every day. View Collection
2. First Baby Born in the New Year Normally a personal and private celebration, this birth was feted across the city as the first of the new year. Nothing says hope for the future like parents with their new baby full of promise. View Collection
3. New Year’s Eve Party We often celebrate even in the face of troubles. In January of 1941 there was trouble in Europe and debate at home. Being happy and grateful for the good in life can sustain us through the hard times. One year later the U.S. was at war. View Collection
4. Snow Snow season is upon us. Lovely to look at, fun to throw, but driving through it can be a problem–even for streetcars. View Collection
5. Ice Skating From farm ponds to indoor rinks there is winter fun to be had on the ice. Sledding, skating, sliding, and playing hockey are all great when the ice is solid and smooth. View Collection
6. Dogs and Sled Not often seen in Indiana—a team of huskies and a sled! View Collection
7. Strike and Martial Law Muncie residents started 1908 with the experience of a streetcar strike, rioting, and martial law. From the 1890s into the 1920s this type of strike was fairly common as workers sought improved pay and working conditions. View Collection
8. Evansville Courier Editorial Staff Posed together 100 years ago at about this time of year, these journalists wrote the news for Evansville and the surrounding area. We can almost hear the clack clack clack of the manual typewriter. View Collection
9. Army Navy E Award for General Motors in Indianapolis Manufacturers switched a lot of their focus to producing war-related products in the early 1940s. The E Award was created to recognize outstanding performance. Though we have a few photographs of the flags being presented, only 5% of the 85,000 companies in war production received the recognition. View Collection
10. Ground Breaking Mayor William Hudnut flings a shovel of dirt while helping to break ground for new housing in Indianapolis in 1986. Ceremonies like this don’t actually get the work done, but they signify determination and belief in a worthy goal. May we all break ground on a year of hope, good work, and good health. View Collection

1. Coffee Pot Filling Station and Restaurant Who doesn’t want to give it a try? Fill the gas tank at one of the pumps on the right and then have a bowl of hot soup. View Collection
2. The Barge Fish and chips served from a dry-land barge had to be a treat! View Collection
3. Peppermint Try to imagine driving alongside peppermint fields near South Bend. That sweet scent filled the air! View Collection
4. Tulip Trestle Not to be visited by those with a fear of heights, the viaduct is 158 feet high. View Collection
5. Round Barns Though not unique to Indiana, round barns are not common. Developed by the Shakers, the design dates back to the early 19th century. View Collection
6. Madison Cut The Mammoth Internal Improvements Act sought to create infrastructure for the young state of Indiana. For five years laborers worked to cut a path for railroad tracks leading up from Madison. The incline was still too steep for any train engine. Here is a look at the cut a century after it was envisioned. View Collection
7. Reuben Wells At over 7,000 feet, the incline was so steep that horses had to assist the earliest train engines on the journey north out of Madison. A cog engine was designed and built and used for about twenty years. Then, the mighty Reuben Wells was built and took over. It plied the route from 1868 to 1905. It can be seen at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. View Collection
8. West Baden Springs Hotel The remarkable dome is in itself reason enough to visit this Indiana landmark. An architectural marvel, many naysayers did not believe it would remain standing after the construction scaffolding was removed. View Collection
9. Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center Though a visit to Crane isn’t what we’re suggesting, you can read through the employee newsletters. Through a cooperative arrangement, we are able to scan these and make them available. Though there isn’t any top secret information being shared, it is a great look at the lives of the employees. The text is fully searchable. This project is ongoing, so look for additions as the weeks go by. View Collection
10. Take a Walk Whether you visit a park in town, a state park, or a nature preserve remember that Indiana is beautiful in the winter, too. Tie on your boots and don warm clothes and breathe the fresh air–bug free in winter! View Collection