Seminary Square Park, the original location of Indiana University, was founded in 1975.

Seminary Square Park is the original location of Indiana University, which is now a large sprawling campus to the northeast. The university was founded here in 1838, but the first educational institution at the site was a seminary founded in 1816 (it didn't actually receive state approval until 1820 and the first building wasn't erected until 1824) four years after the granting of Indiana's statehood. Eventually, the school became a college in 1828 and by 1838 it became Indiana University. The University stayed here until it moved its current location in 1883 when it became clear that the site was too small for the growing institution. However, education remained an important activity here. A high school, junior high, and preparatory school (for the university) operated here. Finally in 1964 a fire destroyed the high school building and it was decided that it would not be rebuilt. The other structures at the park were demolished. The park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Seminary Square Park

The Mathers Museum of World Cultures' exhibit, 800 Seasons: Change and Continuity in Bloomington, 1818-2018, features various sites in our community. Starting at the Mathers Museum walk to a few other sites featured in the exhibit.

800 Seasons:  Walking tour

This walking tour includes a variety of museums, landmarks, and historic markers in the city of Bloomington. The tour offers a chance to learn about a number of the historical homes, downtown buildings, and includes stops at several museums. Visitors might also enjoy using Clio to see some of the landmarks on the University of Indiana campus, located just blocks from the downtown area. 

Historical Downtown Bloomington Walking Tour

In September of 2019 IU President Michael McRobbie announced the creation of IU's newest museum, the IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. It was created by combining the rich and varied collections of two long-standing institutions, the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and the Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology. The building underwent renovation in 2020-21 and the new museum will open in 2022.History of the Mathers Museum:Though it was not formally chartered by Indiana University at the time, the first officially acknowledged museum on campus opened their doors to the public in 1943. For twenty years after their conception, they exhibited their acquisitions independently. It wasn’t until 1963, after some insistence from the Department of Anthropology, that a university chartered museum would be created underneath the directorship of Wesley R. Hurt. In December of 1965, Indiana University Museum opened its first exhibit.By 1970 the museum had managed to expand their collections and exhibits to the point where it became necessary to relocate to a larger building in order to accommodate their growing number of artifacts and patrons. With this need for a better facility, larger space and more resources in mind, museum staff decided that it was time to seek accreditation with the American Association of Museums. This accreditation was awarded in July of 1971, and by October of 1980 a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the newly named William Hammond Mathers Museum. In April of 1983, the new building and its collections became open to the public. Today, admission to the museum can be gained for free for students and non-students alike. <blockquote>The museum’s collections are available to scholars, students, and interested members of the public for research. The museum also emphasizes two other aspects of its research mission. First, the museum trains students to conduct research on material culture, so that knowledge and understanding of the world’s cultural heritage may be enhanced in future generations. Second, the museum is committed to improving informal education by making its exhibits and programs available to faculty and students doing research on methods and results of informal education.</blockquote>The Mathers Museum considers itself to be a museum of world cultures, offering a diverse range of collections and exhibits meant to educate and inform on the histories and impacts of different cultures as well as the “human phenomena” of unifying cultures. Not only do they offer several exhibits but have many educational collections such as the African, Asian/Pacific-Oceania, North American Euro American, North American Native American, Central and South American, and Ethnomusicological Collections. They also boast a collection of photography that includes over 10,000 pieces and a textile collection of over 400 pieces.With the help of donors and the University of Indiana, the museum intends to extend their reach from their physical location to the great wide web by bringing their collections online. They also publish an open access journal known as the Museum Anthropology Review (MAR) that offers a wide range of “articles, reviews, essays, obituaries and other content advancing the field of material culture and museum studies.”

The IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is Indiana University’s newest museum. Opening to the public in 2022, IUMAA draws upon the strengths and rich collections of the former Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology and Mathers Museum of World Cultures. Together, these two collections of over 5 million artifacts span across a broad range of the human experience from Indiana’s first peoples to contemporary communities. Through cutting-edge technology and exhibition design, as well as special building features, the new museum will provide visitors a new way of seeing its collections, exhibits, and programs from the “inside-out.” And access to behind-the-scenes of the museum will enable visitors to understand the meaning and purpose of the museum collections, and the museum’s research and study of artifacts from Indiana’s past and around the world.

IU Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

The Lilly Library has consistently been regarded as one of the nation’s top libraries for rare books and manuscripts. IU President Herman B Wells established it in 1960 in order to house the substantial private library of the late Josiah K. Lilly Jr.; Wells believed the Lilly Library would establish and proclaim IU’s validity as caretakers and curators of Indiana’s most precious literary legacy as J.K. Lilly’s collection was considered one of the finest private libraries in the world. The donation included more than 20,000 rare books and 17,000 manuscripts. Some believe that this was one of the intellectual turning points for Indiana University.The Library was named after the Lilly family to honor their generous donation. Josiah Kirby Lilly Jr. was born in 1893 in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1914, he graduated from the University of Michigan School of Pharmacy and began to work at Eli Lilly and Company, which was founded by Josiah’s grandfather in 1876. Josiah remained with the Eli Lilly Company for the rest of his life, and became president in 1948, and served as the chairman of the board of directors until his death on May 5th, 1966. He was an avid collector for most of his life and devoted much of his free time building his collection of books, manuscripts, artwork, coins, stamps, military miniatures, firearms, edged weapons, and nautical models. Many of his collections were dispersed. Some were sold, others inherited by family members, and still others donated to museums like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. His books and manuscripts collections, however, were donated to Indiana University.The Lilly Library’s collections have grown considerably since 1960. Some of its most famous items are The Gutenberg New Testament; Audubons’ Birds of America; the first printed edition of The Canterbury Tales; Thomas Jefferson’s personal copy of the first printing of the Bill of Rights; and the personal archives of Orson Welles, Sylvia Plath, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Ngugi wa Thiong’o.In 2019, Indiana University Bloomington received a $10.9 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to renovate the Lilly Library. The library’s collections have grown exponentially over the years, and in order to deal with the increased foot traffic from students and scholars, the renovation will help reconfigure its space to permit for easier access. More modern technology will be added and will allow for better exhibit displays. Furthermore, the library will receive upgrades to its mechanical systems, lighting, fire protection, security and ADA access. These upgrades will help house its rare manuscripts, books, and objects more efficiently.Disclaimer: The Lilly Library will be closed for 18 months beginning in late 2019. However, the building will still take researcher requests. Make sure to call ahead to see if the Library is open.

The Lilly Library is the leading rare books, manuscripts, and special collections repository at Indiana University Bloomington. It serves as a resource for scholars throughout the world and is open to anyone who is interested in the library’s collections. Its holdings include 450,000 books, more than 150,000 pieces of sheet music, and more than 8.5 million manuscripts. Exhibits are on display throughout the year. Public tours are available every Friday at 2pm or by appointment. A multi-million dollar renovation was announced in the spring of 2019. The renovation will result in the library’s temporary closure.

Lilly Library

The Well House quickly became the most romantic location on campus, perhaps because it was located about halfway between the male and female dormitories. Kissing at midnight soon became a rite of passage. Reflecting the gendered history of early college campuses where female students represented thirty to forty percent of the student body prior to the mid-20th century, a dated tradition asserted that a female student is not "a true co-ed" until she had been kissed by her sweetheart beneath the dome of the Well House when the clock hits midnight. This tradition once held a bit more risk, as the women's dormitory had a curfew an hour prior to midnight. Today, female students represent a majority of the student population and also lead their male counterparts in GPA and graduation rates.&nbsp;

The Well House is one of the oldest and most beloved structures on the IU campus. It  was built in 1908 and covers the original well that served the college and community. In fact, water from this well saved old Wylie Hall from destruction during a fire in 1900. The structure was a gift from Theodore F. Rose in 1908. 

Well House, University of Indiana  

Bloomington's first library opened around the town's founding in 1821 and operated within a single room located in the log courthouse. By the end of the nineteenth century, a movement existed in the town to create a much bigger library. As is the case with numerous towns in the U.S., funding efforts included a grant provided by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which helped finance an abundance of libraries and public buildings.The wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie (1835 -1919) enjoyed a complicated relationship with laborers and the lower class. In 1882, Carnegie and his partner instructed people to use violence against steelworkers during the Homestead Steel Strike (workers sought better pay and improved working conditions), arguably one of the worst labor conflicts in American history. Seven years later, in 1889, Carnegie wrote "The Gospel of Wealth" where he expressed his views on philanthropy: "In bestowing charity the main consideration should be to help those who help themselves." He eventually contributed $333 million (ninety percent of his fortune), to projects that mainly funded public buildings and community projects, especially libraries. Indeed, more than $56 million of his wealth went to constructing more than 2,500 libraries. Carnegie deemed the public projects the "improvement of mankind." As early as 1897, two women's civic clubs led efforts to raise funds to construct a library in Bloomington; it took roughly two decades for their idea to manifest. The Sorosis Club attempted in 1897 to obtain a grant from Andrew Carnegie to help build a new library. The conditions of the grant stipulated that the funds would go towards construction, but the town had to provide the land and pay for the building's maintenance. However, when they included the proposal in the local referendum, it got lumped in with funding for a new courthouse and sewer system. The people ultimately voted to fund the courthouse and sewer system, but not the library. With the defeat of the Sorosis Club's plan, the Nineteenth-Century Club stepped in and reestablished the library in the new courthouse. A second attempt by the Sorosis Club to gain a grant from Carnegie emerged in 1915, with Carnegie first offering $15,000 and then $20,000. But, yet again, the proposal was overshadowed by another construction project. The town sought to build a hospital, and so the library proposal again failed to win public support. In 1917, the Library Board purchased land for $21,000 as part of the City Beautiful movement, and as was often the case, involved land that once catered to people of color; an all-Black school stood on the property purchased by the Library Board. The Board asked for $40,000, but only received $31,000 (Carnegie originally offered $28,000). Wilson Boyden Parker, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate, designed the library building. The library included several features championed by Carnegie such as a large, semi-circular fanlight above the main entrance that alluded to the rising sun (a symbol of knowledge and enlightenment). The building also contained a basement with a large room intended for use as an auditorium for civic and cultural events. In contrast to typical Carnegie libraries, the expansive, unadorned sheer wall rising above the fanlight is reminiscent of the Egyptian style. Like many of Bloomington's historic buildings, the town took advantage of its nearby bustling quarry industry and used substantial (and costly) limestone blocks for the library's exterior. The library opened in 1918 with a collection of 2,000 volumes of books. From 1918 to 1929, Bloomington residents used the library freely, while country residents living outside the city limits paid a fee to borrow books unless their townships contributed toward the library's maintenance. In 1929, the library enjoyed enough financial health to provide free books to the entire county and even paid for such amenities as landscaping. Prior to the construction of the current building, this site was home to a public school for African American children. Before the Civil War, children of African American descent were usually excluded from the public schools of the state. In 1869, the state of Indiana passed a law to mandate “the education of colored children" and left the issue of integration or racial segregation up to local school districts. This location was home to the city's "Center School" which practiced segregation. White children were allowed to attend classes on the first floor while Black children received their lessons in an upstairs room. Because of population growth, a new school building was constructed. School leaders decided that the white children would attend the new school and Center School became known as the “Colored School” with a grand total of 54 African-American students attending in the year 1881. Schools in central and southern Indiana continued to operate segregated schools in a number of communities in the early 1900s even as most Midwestern communities ended the practice.   By 1915, the school property was sold to make room for the new public library that would take its place. By that time, the school’s numbers had risen to 93. These students and their 3 members of faculty would eventually transfer to the Benjamin Banneker School that opened on December 7, 1915. The historical marker on the corner of the museum property offers a short history of Center School and was installed in 2005 by the Indiana Historical Bureau, Bloomington Black Business &amp; Professional Association, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. The community was one of the first to have books available for use by local residents, as the county courthouse acquired a collection of books in the 1820s and allowed resident to borrow from this collection. According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the decision to create a formal public library in 1917 was "the culmination of a long and tenacious struggle to bring literature and learning to Bloomington." That “tenacious struggle” began well before the 1915 purchase of the Center School location and was spearheaded by local women's civic societies such as the Sorosis and the Nineteenth Century clubs. In 1897 the Sorosis Club first attempted to gain an Andrew Carnegie grant, but because the ballot put forward that discussed accepting his offer at the local referendum also contained questions about funding a new courthouse and sewer system, the measure was quickly defeated. Another offer by Carnegie for $20,000 was placed on the table in 1915, but needs for better health facilities had won public support and overshadowed the quest for a library. It wasn’t until 1917, after the purchase of their new plot of land, that everything finally began to fall into place. Carnegie Corporation gave them a grant of $31,000 and by 1918, architect Wilson Boyden Parker had brought their vision to life.The basement evolved into a community center during the middle of the twentieth century. During World War II, the Red Cross volunteers used the facility for rolling bandages. A two-story rear wing was added in 1955 to accommodate the library's record, art print, and film collections. In 1970, after fifty-two years in operation, the building ceased functioning as a library. A 1947 renovation allowed the building to survive and since 1994, it has stood as the home to the Monroe County Historical Society (Monroe History Center).<blockquote>When the library opened its doors in 1918, it had a collection of nearly 2,000 volumes and served over 400 city patrons. It was still primarily a town rather than a county library. County residents had to pay a fee to borrow books unless their townships contributed toward the library’s maintenance. In 1929, the policy changed, and the library began serving a county-wide clientele.1</blockquote>The Carnegie Library would continue to serve the public until a new and more modern facility was opened on Kirkwood Avenue in 1970. It was then purchased by a nonprofit organization, The Old Library Inc. (TOLI) who renovated the building and, by 1980, had leased it to other nonprofit organizations such as the Bloomington Area Arts Council, the Monroe County Historical Society.TOLI eventually sold the building to its current owners, the Monroe County Historical Society, in 1994. They have since expanded upon the original building where they now exhibit both permanent and rotating galleries aimed at educating the public and preserving history for the generations to come.

This local history museum is located within the former Monroe Carnegie Library. Constructed in 1917, the building has been listed on the National Register of Historic places since 1978. The museum has called this building home since 1980, a move that allowed for a significant expansion of the museum's holdings. Monroe County History Center currently boasts 8,000 square feet for its many galleries and exhibits, a genealogy and local history library, museum store, and education room. On the corners of the property stand two historical markers for the “Colored School” - or Center School - which opened its doors to African American children from 1874 to 1915 during the era of segregation. The second marker commemorates the building's role as Bloomington’s public library from the building's construction in 1918 to the creation of a new central library in 1970. Bloomington was one of 2500 communities that built a library with Andrew Carnegie's support as he donated an estimated $56 million for library construction. Though the town attempted many times to acquire public support and funds to build a library from 1897 to 1915, it wasn't until 1917 that the project finally came to fruition. Prior to that time, the library shared space with the courthouse. The library used the building from 1918 to 1970 and since 1994, the building has served as Monroe County History Center since that time.

Monroe County History Center

In 1902, the townships of Perry and Bloomington voted for an $85,000 subsidy with hopes of attracting a second rail line to the area. As a result, The Illinois Central Railroad came to town and constructed a railroad through Bloomington, followed by the historic depot in 1906. The building design is simple and enjoys no decoration of any significance, meant only to serve its function. The depot served the community until the 1960s, with its peak business transpiring during the 1920s. The railroad arrived in Bloomington in 1854, a sign of the town's maturation, and it aided in Bloomington's continued growth. By the time the Civil War ended, the town's industrial expansion had coincided with a population boom that led to the city's incorporation in 1866. The public courthouse square enjoyed illumination from twenty-nine street lamps by 1880, and then by the first decade of the 1900s, the city paved roads, built a city hall, added a water and sewer system, and began thinking about luring a new railroad. The depot played a vital role in the development of Bloomington's industrial and commercial base. Located in an industrial area near the city center, the depot served the lumber, furniture, and limestone businesses. Business peaked in the 1920s, and the depot expanded to meet the increased demand. However, nearly a century after the railroad first came to town, other forms of transportation supplanted the railroad and created a substantial decline in business for the depot. In the 1950s, the depot was reduced in size, and then in 1963, the railroad closed the depot.

The former Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot played an integral role in Bloomington's development in the early twentieth century. Illinois Central Railroad built it in 1906 and its purpose was solely to facilitate the transportation of freight goods rather than passengers. The depot was therefore designed with efficiency and functionality in mind; there are no decorative elements. The building has in recent years been home to restaurants before transitioning into an office building. Given its role in the city's history, the depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot

The Wylie House was originally built in 1835 during the late Federal Period, reflecting styles carried west from Washington, Pennsylvania, by builder and owner, Dr. Andrew Wylie. The house itself is constructed of site-made brick and its foundation is made from locally sourced limestone. The restorations that were made to the house took place between 1961 and 1965, with Edward D. James and H. Roll McLaughlin acting as architects. Construction was performed under the direction of John Dickson, using vintage tools and material salvaged from a structure of the same period. Mary Brown Craig acted as the consultant for interior design and decorating. It is currently furnished as it would have been in the 1940s during its occupation by the Wylie family.The building is furnished with original pieces from Andrew Wylie's family and includes his personal library as well as art work and other artifacts belonging to the Wylie's. Before restoration intensive research took place and the results have provided excellent documentation both pertaining to the history of the family and Dr. Wylie, as well as the building and its construction. The records include original bills of sale for numerous items used in the building and also the original hand written contract between Dr. Wylie and the contractor.1Andrew Wylie was born in 1789, the son of an immigrant Irish farmer. He graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg in 1810, where he also served as a tutor while studying theology underneath his eldest brother, Rev. William Wylie. In 1812 he was both ordained as a Presbyterian minister and elected the president of Jefferson College. He would go on to serve as president of Washington College and receive an honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Union College before accepting the post as Indiana College’s first president in 1829. Wylie took his wife Margaret and their twelve children with him.<blockquote>Wylie House has importance concerning its architecture, the early history of its area and education. The beauty and elegance of its Federal type architecture has been noted in the preceding item. One of the earliest examples of such architecture in its part of Indiana, Bloomington, was less than two decades old when Wylie House was built. Although the Daniel Stout House (Old Stone House), already on the National Register, was erected a short time earlier, it is located outside of Bloomington. Wylie House is among the few buildings remaining in Bloomington which have any connection with the 1830s. Moreover, it is the only important structure from this decade which has been carefully restored and is in an excellent state of preservation.1</blockquote>While acting as president, Wylie also taught moral and mental philosophy, political economy, and polite literature. Though his efforts, he not only managed to attract more students and expand the curriculum but, in 1838, Indiana College became Indiana University.<blockquote>“He established the college curriculum which has been changed and modified during the intervening years but which is still the basic curriculum of the present College of Arts and Sciences. He introduced a form of government for students which was progressive, as well as realistic, and which led to unusually harmonious student-faculty relations. He was the most articulate spokesman and publicist for higher education in the state for a period of twenty-two years. He was a successful defender of the University against eccentric forces that threatened to weaken or dismember it in the early days.” – Herman B Wells; “The Early History of IU as Reflected in the Administration of Andrew Wylie (1920-1851)”; address to Louisville’s Filson Club, November 7, 1960 2</blockquote>After the 1851 death of Andrew Wylie and the 1959 death of his wife Margaret, the house was sold by their children to Theophilus A. Wylie, the half-cousin of Andrew and a professor at Indiana University. It now belongs to Indiana University where free guided tours are given in an effort to share the history of the family.From a previously separate Clio entry by Brian Florist that was dedicated to material culture of items in the Wylie House parlor, one learns of a a small circular table with Margret Wylie’s china tea set. The set was gifted from her husband, Andrew Wylie. It is unknown where the tea set was purchased from or the price of the set. However, according to an article by George L. Miller that scaled the prices of ceramics from the 19th century, ceramic prices varied heavily between 1833 to 1855. The lowest recorded price in the article is 80 cents and peaks at about 1.30 dollars. (Miller, 1980). The price of the tea set is most likely in this range.The tea set is of a simple design. The set is made from porcelain and each piece is adorned with a thick gold rim around each of its edges. The set is comprised of a tea pot, tea cups and saucers, a milk pitcher, sugar container, a small handless cup with an intricate design painted on the front, and one plate. The plate is painted with initials of a Wylie family member and the date 1838-1888.During the 19th century, afternoon tea was a prominent part of culture and was a common pastime for men and women, women specifically. Each guest would receive a place setting of utensils, a saucer, a cup for tea, and a small plate. Desserts, salads, small sandwiches, and/or meats and cheeses would be served to the guests. The tea served most likely were Black or green teas. A correspondence between Maggie W. Mellette to Mrs. Louisa M. Biosensors (1887) reads,“I forgot to tell you that my party or ladies tea was a success in every way. I had the nicest tea they all said (ham, turkey, chicken salad, pickles, deviled eggs wrapped in bright paper, ice cream, different fruits cut together, 8 kinds of cake etc.) As they commenced tea I had John Wylie and Minnie to play soft music and that added".“Most pleasant way to take afternoon tea was to invite a few friends who all [knew] one another” (Lady, 1856). The Wylie women often spoke, in their correspondence, of gatherings they hosted or attended with their friends, such as the Ballantine, Dunn, and Kirkwood families. (All prominent families at Indiana University.) Margret Wylie writes to Louis Wylie in 1856, “Mr. McCalla was here to tea and we did not expect him. We sent over to the bakers and got cake &amp; cheese and crackers and we had a jar ofBlackberries.” In another correspondence between Maggie Wylie and Miss Lou E. Wylie (1859), Maggie writes,“Lib Dodds came up this afternoon and stayed to tea we had dryed apples and Blackberries butter and bread and meat and sasafrass tea. Ma is going to make some beer we think we will have company next Friday we want to have Cournel Bryant before he goes we will have Mrs &amp; Mr Kirkwood Mrs and Mr Ballantine Mrs and Mr Gilett Cournel Bryant and Mr Hopkins Mr Fisk and I don't know who else we are going to have oysters and fruit cake and Try coulard cake and pound cake I will write and tell you about it next week I wish you were here to help us."

The Wylie House Museum is a historic house museum owned by Indiana University that provides a glimpse into the home life of a family in the 1840s. The museum is also one of the oldest homes in Bloomington and offers a collection of early to mid-19th-century American furnishings, including many original pieces from the Wylie family. Letters and personal papers from the Wylie family can also be found in the university's archives. The Wylies were a prominent family in Bloomington, Indiana during the 19th century. The house was built in 1835 and was home to Indiana University's first president, Andrew Wylie. After his death, cousin Theophilus Wylie purchased the home and generations of Wylie family resided there until 1913. Now, the Wylie House is a museum restored to its original appearance and the museum staff work. to preserve and study the house, artifacts, and documents in order to provide a deeper understanding of Bloomington's early years.

800 Seasons: Walking tour

Seminary Square Park

Introduction

Images

Sources