Monuments and Memories (v.2)
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Description
A tour of Hoosier history through the sites that mark our past
1. New Harmony: Indiana's First Utopia
The Labyrinth of New Harmony was made by the Rappites in the nineteenth century for meditation. It is located on the main street south of town. The hedges in the shape of a maze was supposed to represent the issues in life, and completing the maze was symbolic to overcoming them. In 2008 a reconstruction was completed to restored the labyrinth to its original form based on archival information.
2. Gibson County's Civil War Memorial
In 1912, the patriotic and proud citizens of Gibson County founded a tall and well built memorial in the courthouse square of Princeton, Indiana. Princeton is located in very Southwest Indiana, close to Evansville and the memorial is a unique part of the of the town that attracts a lot of people to the courthouse square.
3. Hornady Park
Hornady Park is a popular place in Petersburg, Indiana to have family fun. It is a very open space with trees, a fishing pond, a pavilion and a playground. Two roads lead into the park so there is plenty of parking space for cars. It is a great place to enjoy good weather with your kids or significant other.
4. George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
In February of 1779, George Rogers Clark and a group of American soldiers captured Fort Sackville in Vincennes, Indiana from the British. The impressive Revolutionary war victory was a source of pride for the citizens of Vincennes, who urged the city and the federal government to memorialize the occasion. In 1928, President Coolidge established a commission to construct the memorial, with its completion in 1933. Still standing today, The George Rogers Clark National Historical Park is a constant reminder of the pivotal history present in Indiana.
5. Shoals Courthouse
This courthouse in Martin County is the Seat for the county is an important historical marker for the entire county. I focused on the courthouse because it is a symbol of something that has remained as the years fly by and the times keep changing. There are some good stories about this courthouse too.
6. Bedford Courthouse Square Historic District
Bedford Courthouse Square Historic District is a town square in downtown Bedford, Lawrence County, Indiana. Developed over the course of a century from 1850 to around 1950 this historic district includes many architectural styles. The buildings surrounding the square include restaurants, retail stores, government buildings, and other local businesses. This historic district is also known for its monuments and historical facts that surround the square.
7. Seminary Square Historical Marker
In 2011, the Indiana Historical Bureau approved a historical marker for the site of the original IU (then known as Indiana Semnary) campus, which was established in 1820 at what is now South College Avenue, just south of Second Street. The marker suggests a long-delayed recognition of the importance of this historical moment in the life of IU and of the state more generally.
8. Camp Hughes in Gosport, Indiana: 1861-1862
In the winter of 1861-1862, the 59th Indiana Volunteer Infantry trained to fight for the Union in the Civil War at Camp Hughes in Gosport, Indiana. A measles outbreak during the first two months of 1862 ended the lives of 12 men there, 8 of which were buried at the camp site.
9. Indiana State Flag Historical Marker
This Indiana State Flag historical marker stands in downtown Mooresville. It tell the story of how the Indiana State flag was chosen. It explains that a century after Indiana’s statehood, we didn’t have a flag yet. They held a competition for the new flag, and an artist from Mooresville won the competition. The public didn’t accept recognize this as their official flag until the sesquicentennial in 1966.
10. Crawfordsville Carnegie Library
The library opened in 1902 and was funded by Andrew Carnegie, who was a Scottish-American who built over 3,500 libraries across the world. The one built in Crawfordsville was the first one built in Indiana. It celebrated its centennial birthday in 2002 and served as the public library until 2005 when it was converted into a museum.
11. Historic Fowler Theater
Built in 1940, The Fowler Theatre in Benton County is considered a historic Indiana landmark by many. As with many older structures, the theatre was going to close down for good due to its poor, run-down condition. The Prairie Preservation Guild felt the theatre should be kept intact and restored for use again. With the help of the community and the organization, Indiana Landmarks, the theatre was restored and is in use again.
12. Soldiers and Sailors Monument Carroll County, IN
This monument was installed sometime between 1882 and 1888 by Carroll County, Indiana in the southwestern corner of Carroll County Courthouse. The monument itself is a bronze sculpture on a granite base comprised of a tall shaft topped with a Civil War color bearer. The color bearer holds a furled flag at his proper left side in both hands.
13. Cass County Soldiers and Sailors Monument
The statue was built in 1901 and was erected to commemorate the fallen solders of the union in the civil war. The main focal point on the monument is a soldier in uniform holding the barrel of his rifle in one hand and a saber in the other. In 2018 it was covered with years of soot from the factories nearby. It had a restoration team restore it to the bright white limestone.
14. Steuben County Soldiers Monument
The Steuben County Soldiers Monument honors the 240 local men who never returned from fighting in the American Civil War. The monument was dedicated in 1917 and remains one of the central features of Angola. The monument has a 17-foot bronze figure of Columbia, who symbolizes peace, atop a 50-foot granite base, with four bronze soldiers representing the navy, artillery, infantry, and cavalry, at the base of the monument.
15. Peace Monument (Decatur,IN)
This monument was created by Chicago sculptor Charles Mulligan to honor all the veterans and fallen soldiers involved in the Civil War and World War 1. He had Margaret McMasters van Slyke pose for the center piece of the sculpture. This was the first statue of its kind that was dedicated to peace in the US as well. It was completed on October 30, 1913.
16. The Birthplace of Wilbur Wright - History Marker
This county is very special because it holds the town of the birthplace of Wilbur Wright. He is the co-inventor of the airplane. His brother, Orville, is also a co-inventor. Near Millville, IN there is a museum to commemorate their amazing inventions and discoveries and allows visitors to see all of the history they have made.
17. Connersville Canal House
The Canal House in Connersville, IN was originally constructed to be an office for Canal administration and workers. However it eventually became much more than that. It was used to house canal workers at one point and it also eventually became a bank, veterinary hospital, and the private residence of one of the Connersville mayors.
18. Civilian Conservation Corps Statue
Founded in 1933 by then president Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Civilian Conservation Corps was a volunteer program for men aged 17 to 28. Meant to employ this demographic during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps set out across the United States developing natural resources and building infrastructure such as roads and dams. In Versailles, Indiana, the CCC built Versailles State Park on 1,700 acres of farmland starting in 1934. Dedicated in 2010, the statue on park grounds commemorates the efforts of hundreds of workers whos work still affects the state park and beyond to this day.
19. Indiana’s First Public High School
Floyd County, Indiana was recognized as a county in 1819. It has the second-smallest area of land in the whole state. On October 3rd, 1853, New Albany High School was founded under the name of Scribner High School making it the oldest public high school in the state of Indiana.
20. Pigeon Roost State Historic site
Pigeon Roost was established in 1809 by William E. Collings, and was the site of the major war that began in 1812. At this site is where Native americans took settlers shortly after the war began and killed 24 people. This was a surprise attack on the settlers that took them off guard.
21. Morgan's Raid
During the summer of 1863, General John Hunt Morgan led a cavalry group across Ohio and Indiana. General Morgan already raided through Kentucky and Tennessee building his calvary group by looting and capturing horses from civilians. The purpose of the raid was to cut off Union forces moving toward Chattanooga by Major General William S. Rosecrans.
22. Freeman Field in Seymour, IN
Freeman Field was an Air Force pilot training school which was used during World War II. It was built on December 1, 1942. It was named after Richard S. Freeman, an Indiana pilot who died when his plane crashed. As WWII was coming to an end, the school stopped training pilots and started to use it to store both American and foreign aircraft, such as German and Japanese aircraft. In 1948, Freedom Field was declared inactive.
23. Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans
Dedicated in 1997, this memorial includes twenty-five limestone pillars that include stories of war carved into their interior walls. The inscribed messages, containing diary and letter entries from soldiers, as well as all the names of those fallen, that make up The Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans and serve as a shrine and testament to military veterans of the twentieth century. The memorial centers on the experience of veterans in wars of the 20th century, specifically World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Thompson and Rose Architects designed the limestone and granite memorial located in Bartholomew County’s Courthouse Square, and it was funded by the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program.
24. Civil War Monument
Memorial is on South Harrison Street north of West Taylor Street, on the left when traveling north. Located on the East lawn of the Shelby County Courthouse in Shelbyville, Indiana. The monument is a representation of those who served in the Civil War and did not make it home. Those brave people are honored in Shebly County, Indiana.
25. Valparaiso’s Memorial Opera House
The Memorial Opera House, also known as Porter County Memorial Opera Hall, was built in 1893 and is such a big historical landmark because it was the meeting place of Chaplain Brown GAR Post No. 106. The building was originally dedicated to Porter County soldiers and sailors who died during the Civil War, but later was dedicated to every soldier. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, “it was a popular spot for political rallies, concerts, lectures, plays and social events.” It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
26. The Godfroy Reserve: Blackford County
The Godfroy Reserve Was a tract of land that was set aside for the Miami Indians that resided in the areas that would become Blackford and Jay counties in Indiana. The Reserve was established by the third treaty of St. Mary’s in late 1818. Under the treaty, “all the land lying west of the Twelve Mile Purchase and south of the Wabash river” would be ceded to the white man with the exception of two reservations that would remain for the Miami people (Montgomery, 1922, pg.260).
27. Anti-Slavery Historical Marker
In my opinion, this should be considered an extremely important historical marker. This marker, located at 150 Courthouse Square, Greensburg, IN, Decatur County, tells the story of a man who fought against injustice during the times of slavery. This historical marker helps to show that it is important to speak out against injustice, even when it can be uncomfortable.
28. Hamilton County Honors Fallen Firefighters with a Statute
The fire department of Hamilton County, Indiana wanted to honor the loss of three of their firefighters. The project that took almost a decade to create was finalized in 2016. It features a bronze statue of two life-sized firefighters with a dog on top of a limestone base, as well as three firefighter hats.
