History

What really happened on the circus train in 1918? Read the story of this tragedy for the entertainment industry of the time.

In the cool, pre-dawn hours on a June night in 1918, a train engineer closed his cab window as he chugged toward Hammond, Indiana. He drifted to sleep, and his train bore down on the idle Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Train. Soon after, the sleeping engineer's locomotive plowed into the circus train. In the subsequent wreckage and blaze, more than two hundred circus performers were injured and eighty-six were killed, most of whom were interred in a mass grave in the Showmen's Rest section of Chicago's Woodlawn Cemetery. Join local historian Richard Lytle as he recounts, in the fullest retelling to date, the details of this tragedy and its role in the overall evolution and demise of a unique entertainment industry.

Author Janis Thornton reveals the stories of a day in Indiana like no other.

Palm Sunday 1965 started as the nicest day of the year, the kind of weather that encouraged Hoosiers to get out in the sun, fire up the grill, hit the golf course, or roll down their car windows and take a leisurely drive. That evening, however, throughout northern and central Indiana, the sky turned an ominous black, and storms moved in, quickly manifesting as Indiana's worst tornado outbreak. Within three hours, twisters, some a half-mile wide, ripped through seventeen counties, devastating communities and leaving death and destruction in their wake. When the tornadoes were finished with Indiana, 137 people were dead, hundreds were injured, and thousands more were forever changed.

Explore the city of yesteryear

East Chicago, Indiana, was a melting pot. The Indiana Harbor neighborhood drew comparisons to Ellis Island as immigrants flocked from all over the world to work at its steel mills. Once home to more than a hundred nationalities, the “Workshop of America” made metal and many other products. Despite issues like pollution and political corruption, it earned the nickname “City of Champions,” winning state titles, sustaining a historic high school rivalry, and producing greats like Gregg Popovich and Junior Bridgeman.

Award-winning Region journalist and Lost Hammond author Joseph S. Pete explores bygone landmarks like Washington and Roosevelt High Schools, Inland Steel Christmas parties, the zoo, Taco Joe’s, the Mademoiselle Shoppe, movies palaces, the gym where Michael Jordan played his first Bulls game, and more.

From the Wabash and Erie Canal to the Faultless Caster Factory, Evansville has seen much of its history disappear.

In the early twentieth century, vestiges of old Evansville like the B'nai Israel temple and Coal Mine Hill gave way to a modern city. Numerous changes in the thirty years following World War II altered the physical appearance of the city, including the removal of the old Central High School, Assumption Cathedral, Gear Town, and more. Less physical but nevertheless vital history like the struggle over Civil Rights in Evansville has been overlooked and, until now, lost.

Weaving together a captivating fast-paced account illustrated with over eighty images, award-winning Evansville historian Dr James MacLeod tells the fascinating story of what was lost, what came in its place, and what was preserved against the odds.

Indiana Authors Awards (Nonfiction) 2024

More than two centuries removed from its founding, Indianapolis has seen its share of landmarks and landscapes pass into memory. Some have totally vanished, such as the National Road covered bridge over the White River, the Marion County Courthouse, the 1835 Indiana Statehouse and the previous headquarters for the long-standing Flanner House organization. Others still exist, but not in their original location or form, like Pogue’s Run, the Central Canal through downtown and the remnants of structures at Riverside Park. Indianapolis historian Edward Fujawa explores the history of lost sites, how they appear today and how some are still used or repurposed.

But Speedway is more than a town that surrounds the most famous automobile racing track in the world. The city is proud of its quality schools, and residents have prospered from the businesses in the area. Civic pride runs strong through this community where generations of families have remained in the same neighborhoods, and sometimes in the same house.

While many institutions of higher education made great sacrifices during the Civil War, few can boast of the dedication and effort made by the University of Notre Dame.

For four years, Notre Dame gave freely of its faculty and students as soldiers, sent its Holy Cross priests to the camps and battlefields as chaplains and dispatched its sisters to the hospitals as nurses. Though far from the battlefields, the war was ever-present on campus, as Notre Dame witnessed fisticuffs among the student body, provided a home to the children of a famous general, responded to political harassment and tried to keep at least some of its community from the fray. At war's end, a proud Notre Dame welcomed back several bona fide war heroes and became home to a unique veterans' organization.

Haunting mysteries from America’s Heartland/

Indiana rightly prides itself as a safe place to live. Nevertheless, the Hoosier State has experienced its share of unexplained deaths and unsolved disappearances. The state’s oldest missing child case, the disappearance of four-year-old Richmond Byers from Seelyville in 1904, may never be solved. The 1998 attempted bombing of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse remains one of the only unsolved instances of domestic terrorism in the United States. The identities of Bedford’s so-called Carnival Babies will likely forever be unknown. The 1929 murder of Elizabeth Miller may have been the result of the community’s belief that she was a witch, but the true culprit has never been brought to light./

Author of Unsolved Indiana/ Autumn Bones explores some of Indiana’s least known unsolved mysteries.

Enduring mysteries from the Hoosier State

Crime and tragedy have all too often disturbed the peace and stained the memory of Indiana’s bucolic countryside. The small town of Dupont was thrust into the nation's spotlight in 1947 after a series of suspicious deaths were blamed on a well-known local housekeeper—suspected serial killer Lottie “Tot” Lockman. On a fall day in 1976, a Benton County farmer found an unusual package in his cornfield—a corpse. Dubbed “The Box Lady of Benton County,” her identity remains a mystery. On September 13, 1989, Joseph Bova was killed outside of his Merrillville home when a pipe bomb rigged to his truck’s ignition exploded. With no witnesses, suspects, or motive, his case remains unsolved.

Author Autumn Bones explores some of Indiana’s least-known unsolved cases.

Facing the fury and danger of Lake Michigan

Ever since French explorers first cast their eyes on Lake Michigan, this huge inland sea has been the scene of thousands of shipwreck rescues and tragedies. As mishaps and disasters proliferated, a dedicated service of lifesavers arose. Braving perilous conditions, these servicemen pulled those aboard the merchant schooner Havanna from certain death. The intrepid St Joseph Lifesavers saved the crew and passengers of the City of Duluth. Sadly, not all rescues ended in heroism, as was the case with the doomed Arab that went down along with two other ships.

Author Michael Passwater captures the stories of shipwrecks and the brave men and women that risked their lives against an angry Lake Michigan.

Owners of the General Equipment company opened the restaurant chain Burger Chef, intending to promote their equipment they instead sky-rocketed themselves into owning the second largest burger chain in America.

Frank P. Thomas Jr., Donald J. Thomas, and Robert E. Wildman, owners of the General Equipment Company, entered into the fast-food business by opening a 15¢ hamburger restaurant called Burger Chef in Indianapolis in 1958. General Equipment was a manufacturer of restaurant machinery and built the equipment installed in each Burger Chef store. The partners started their new Burger Chef division to sell more equipment; they never could have imagined that Burger Chef would eventually grow to become the nation's second-largest hamburger chain and beloved by customers in towns and cities across America. Burger Chef continued in business until 1982, cooking its popular flame-broiled hamburgers and introducing its memorable advertising icons, Burger Chef and Jeff.

Today this railroad, most often called the Monon, is only a memory of a time when trains streaked across the hills and farmland of southern Indiana. The Monon Railroad in Southern Indiana examines the real purpose of railroads as movers of people and the products they devoted their lives to producing and focuses on areas from New Albany to Bloomington. It identifies the only two counties in Indiana that were a part of the Salem limestone district and gives a glimpse of how the stone was removed from the earth and eventually formed into some of the nation's most beloved buildings and structures. It also takes a look at the history of several lumber-based industries and the famed products that they manufactured. New Albany was once known across America as a key producer of hardwood plywood, used in custom cabinetry, and the Showers Brothers Furniture Company of Bloomington was once the largest manufacturer of furniture in America. This book talks about the industries that created the cities and towns that many Hoosiers called home.

Circle City Catastrophes/

Disaster was a fact of everyday life in 1800s and early 1900s Indianapolis. During the 1860s, more than 1,700 people died in what is now the Herron-Morton Place neighborhood. In 1882, ten people drowned under the Union Railroad Depot. Ropes were considered an adequate fire escape in the 1890s, but when the National Surgical Institute caught fire, they proved unequal to the task. The owners of the Prest-O-Lite Company created the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but their company also had four major incidents that caused eleven deaths and destruction in the city. In 1917, Hollywood was responsible for the deaths of six people in an Indianapolis apartment building. Join Jack Finney as he explores these and other Indianapolis fires and disasters./ 

Join Jack Finney as he explores these and other Indianapolis fires and disasters./ 

A visual history of South Bend, Indiana by author, photographer and local resident Day Marnon Danielson. Perfect for fans of South Bend and Indiana history.

The land now called St. Joseph County was familiar ground to Native Americans long before recorded history. Many Indians, including the local Potawatomie and Miami, trod the well-worn path that offered a two-mile portage between the St. Joseph River (and Lake Michigan) to the Kankakee River and eventually the Mississippi River. Pierre F. Navarre built a log cabin beside the St. Joseph River in 1820, and began a settlement that would eventually become South Bend and Mishawaka in St. Joseph County.

The over 200 vintage images in this book, drawn from St. Joseph County and Mishawaka as well as South Bend, look back at the commerce, industry, and businesses like Studebaker, Ball Band, Singer, and Bendix, which grew on the rich resources of the area. Education was a high priority for early settlers, and they established one-room schoolhouses and Notre Dame University. The photographs show public places, buildings, and servants, some long gone, others that are still with us today. And of course, there are pictures of the people, the homes they built, and the activities they enjoyed in their northern Indiana home.

The city of Bloomington and Indiana University were linked from the start, grew together and still share joys and sorrows 180 years after their founding.

The many vintage photographs in this pictorial history bring to life both historical ambiance and transformation in town and gown from the late 1800s to the present. When Monroe County was organized in southern Indiana in 1818, hilly, thickly-wooded Bloomington became the county seat. The first courthouse was a log cabin, and 30 families made up the town. Six years later, when Bloomington's population had increased to 500, Indiana's first public institution of higher learning opened with 10 students and a single professor. It would grow to become Indiana University, and start building its present campus in 1884. Bloomington prospered during these decades through the presence of IU, as many as 40 industries, and its growing production of limestone. The town's Beaux Arts courthouse building (1907) and IU's wooded central campus form Bloomington's signature twin landmarks. Around them lie many distinctive neighborhoods, a now-extensive campus with Big Ten sports arenas, and a picturesque countryside that draws bicyclists from across the nation.

With an eye for bizarre, macabre detail, Keven McQueen tracks down seventeen true crimes and unsolved mysteries in this collection of historic Hoosier homicides.

This grim collection of tales includes unimaginable incidents like the Indianapolis businessman whose car contained suspicious hams and the man who handed his new bride a drink of carbolic acid. It also reveals the tragedy of Gary's beautiful Arlene Draves, killed by her football player boyfriend, as well as a surprisingly comic courtroom revelation by Hammond's Hazel McNally that cleared her of all charges.

Author Keven McQueen is an instructor in the Department of English at Eastern Kentucky University. He is the author of twelve books on biography, history, folklore, ghost lore, natural disasters and historical true crime.

Cruise down Indiana's ""road that built the nation"" and delve into its history and beauty told through hundreds of images.

The Indiana National Road Association works to preserve, protect, and promote the Historic National Road. This byway is designated an All-American Road through the National Scenic Byways program and traverses six states from Baltimore, Maryland, to East St. Louis, Illinois. The road began as a primary route west for pioneers, and today the byway allows travelers to explore the American past--it is truly ""the road that built the nation."" This volume continues the story that began on the eastern leg of Indiana's Historic National Road, inviting readers to complete their photographic journey westward from Indianapolis to Terre Haute. These images document the people and stories that are part of the National Road's heritage, and it is hoped this book will encourage advocacy for the protection of important heritage resources.

Downtown Gary: Millrats, Politics, and US Steel provides a glimpse of the Gary of yesteryear when downtown was the social, cultural, and political center of the community.

Before the era of gigantic shopping malls, big-box stores, and online shopping, the commercial centers of major American cities were located in areas often referred to as downtown. From the 1920s through the 1960s, people from throughout the Calumet Region flocked to the Steel City's popular stores, theaters, and restaurants by car, bus, and the South Shore Railroad. For many, Gordon's, Lytton's, Sears, and Goldblatt's bring back memories of window-shopping, making layaway plans, visiting Santa, and being asked May I help you? by courteous employees. Downtown Gary: Millrats, Politics, and US Steel provides a look at the stores, politics, churches, schools, and of course, United States Steel Corporation and the millrats of forgotten Gary.

Haunted Hoaxes of the Hoosier State

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, newspapers were a major source of ghost stories. Paranormal experiences, no matter how mundane, were newsworthy and entertaining—even when they turned out not to be ghosts after all. A coffin holding a “talking corpse” on a train turned out to be a box of bullfrogs. An overturned automobile carrying white paint resulted in a paint-covered “ghost” wandering the streets, and a spiritualist tackled a phantom haunting a cemetery only to find that it was a fraternity pledge all along.

Revealing that the truth can sometimes be as amusing as the legend, author Ashley M. Watson gathers newspaper clippings about Indiana ghost stories that were not ghosts at all.

Part of Belt's city anthology series, a reconsideration of one of America's most misunderstood cities.

Is Indianapolis just another midwestern city to fly over on the way to bigger and better destinations? Or is it, as locals know, a place where different peoples and ideals converge to create a rich cultural center? The Indianapolis Anthology showcases Naptown's vibrancy and diversity with pieces from journalists, poets, historians, established community voices, and first-time writers. The Circle City is more than the home of the Indianapolis 500, John Dillinger, Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Kurt Vonnegut, Prozac, and Wonder Bread. In these pages, you'll find:

- lawn chairs in the beds of pick-ups

- Punk rock in Naptown

- suffragists and entrepreneurs

- cement pietàs

- dog bakeries and yoga studios

- red brick bungalows and war memorials

- steakburgers and Mexican seafood; pho and sauerbraten.

In other words, you'll find images from a city that is truly a cross section of today's America. Edited by Norman Buzz Minnick and with contributions from Etheridge Knight, Terrance Hayes, Michael Martone, and Karen Kovacik.

An insiders' look that will make you see a great midwestern city in a brand-new light.

During that era, Ben captured many images of the race and race events that surrounded the Indy 500. He was there when Bill Vukovich met his fate in 1955. He photographed the first Indianapolis 500 Parade, which has become an annual event. He captured A.J. Foyt winning his first race at the Brickyard. He was on hand to photograph the breaking of the 150-mph barrier. Then he saw the transition from the front-engined Offenhauser to the rear-engined Lotus-Fords, which ended the Golden Era.

Surveying the sensational newspaper accounts as events unfolded, author and historian Chris Flook recounts this grisly tale of political intrigue and conspiracy.

In the fall of 1902, Indianapolis police uncovered a prolific graverobbing ring operating across the city. At the time, cemeteries across central Indiana were relieved of their dead by ghouls, as they were called, seeking fresh corpses desperately needed by the city's medical colleges. The ring was also accused of multiple murders. In Hamilton County, a former Confederate soldier named Wade West delivered stolen corpses by floating them down the White River. His counterpart in Indianapolis, Rufus Cantrell, an itinerant preacher and full-time graverobber known as the "King of the Ghouls," ransacked Indy's cemeteries for years before being caught.

Through the years, relentless change has swept away many of Mishawaka’s businesses and landmarks and the memory of once-prominent events.

The Great Mishawaka Fire of September 5, 1872, destroyed much of the central business district and changed the downtown forever. The street carnival of August 1901 was the most exciting week in the city’s history but later faded into obscurity. The Twin Branch Power Plant supplied the region with electricity, but hardly a trace of it remains today. The massive Rubber Regenerating Company operated for over twenty years, and now a popular park exists atop its buried rubble. Center Point Tower, the landmark that never was, pointed the way to downtown’s future revitalization.

Peter J. De Kever finds these and other lost stories from Mishawaka’s past.

Once known as the "Main Street of America," the Lincoln Highway route was established across northern Indiana in 1913, linking larger cities--Fort Wayne, Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend, LaPorte, and Valparaiso--to smaller communities. Most Lincoln Highway towns renamed their main streets Lincolnway in recognition of the nation's first coast-to-coast auto road. When the Lincoln Highway Association shortened the route in 1926, the route linked Fort Wayne to Columbia City, Warsaw, and Plymouth, giving the state two Lincoln Highway routes. From Fort Wayne to the famous Ideal Section, between Dyer and Schererville, Indiana's Lincolnway towns remain proudly connected to Lincoln Highway history. Through vintage photographs, postcards, advertisements, and other historical records, this armchair tour of the highway visits sites favored by early tourists, documents the people and places that made the highway a vital corridor, and celebrates Hoosier Carl Fisher's leadership in the formation of the Lincoln Highway Association, as well as the people who work to preserve its legacy today.

Emerging from the former Indiana Territory, the state's early population was in need of education, health care, and social services to assist young families, the poor, the infirm, and the elderly. These needs were frequently met by Catholic religious orders, including the Benedictines, Sisters of Providence, Franciscans, Daughters of Charity, and other established organizations of dedicated religious men and women.

A major river port, Madison thrived during the steamboat era as well as when railroads came to dominate the landscape. The city's glorious past is still on display. Many magnificent edifices dating back to eras from the beginning of the 1800s to the early 20th century provide wonderful examples of Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate architecture. The National Register of Historic Places lists over 133 Madison blocks, making it Indiana's largest historic district. To stroll along the main streets of Madison, to follow the river as it meanders past the town, or to visit the restored railroad station, now home to the Jefferson County Historical Society, is to follow the paths of history. Very few cities in America can boast such centuries-old splendor.

Founded in 1842 by David Foster, a frontier trader, Kokomo has since become the home to many of the nation's most influential inventions. From the birthplace of the automobile to the introduction of stainless steel and the development of canned tomato juice, Kokomo has been a leader in ingenuity, earning its nickname, the "City of Firsts." In this collection of reminiscent images, Kokomo, Indiana illustrates the charming history of an area which has developed from a small community to what is now one of the largest cities in Indiana. The book is an exploration of the city's streets and a stroll through the history of its growing neighborhoods, tracing the fascinating past of a bygone age.

Human action made one of the worst natural disasters in Indiana history even worse. Indiana and the Great Flood of 1913 reveals how this happened and how to avoid a similar fate in the future.

Indiana suffered enormous losses in the Great Flood of 1913, yet this disaster is largely forgotten. The combined tornado and flood barreled through Terre Haute, killing more than twenty. One hundred fourteen miles away in Peru, the circus lost most of its animals in the storm. At the southwestern corner of the state, a "sea of water,'? as local papers put it, washed over Evansville turning streets into canals. In the capital, levee failures left hundreds homeless and vulnerable to disease and famine. Pulling from archival photographs, newspapers, and local accounts, Dr. Nancy M. Germano shares stories from across the state to reveal how Indiana's history of settlement and development contributed to one of the state's worst disasters.

Indiana's landscape is dotted with urban and rural cemeteries teeming with restless spirits. These are the stories of the Hoosiers who refuse to rest in peace.

Crown Hill Cemetery is the final resting place of many notable Indiana residents, as well as one rather infamous soul, but it may also serve as a playground for the spectral children of Community Hill. Tales of mournful spirits can be found at Stepp Cemetery and Highland Lawn, while other areas such as Forest Hill and the cemeteries of LaPorte have far darker stories to tell. Join tour guide and paranormal investigator Ashley Hood on a journey through Indiana's ghostly burial grounds--from the Hoosier National Forest to the banks of Lake Michigan.

During World War II, the city of Evansville manufactured vast amounts of armaments that were vital to the Allied victory.

The Evansville Ordnance Plant made 96 percent of all .45-caliber ammunition used in the war, while the Republic Aviation Plant produced more than 6,500 P-47 Thunderbolts - almost half of all P-47s built during the war. At its peak, the local shipyard employed upward of eighteen thousand men and women who forged 167 of the iconic Landing Ship Tank vessels. In this captivating and fast-paced account, University of Evansville historian James Lachlan MacLeod reveals the enormous influence these wartime industries had on the social, economic and cultural life of the city.

Crawfordsville, Indiana, has a rich history of spiritualism and paranormal lore. /

In the late 1800s and early 1900s mediums were trained in the city, and spiritualism was preached from the street corners. Spirit photography was all the rage, and many flocked to town to have their photos taken with ghosts. The Crawfordsville Monster caused a nationwide stir after terrorizing the town for several days and being spotted by more than 100 people. Urban legends also abound in this small city, including legends like the cursed chair of Oak Hill cemetery, Spooky Hollow and the Old Hospital./

Authors Christopher and Christina Hunt share these tales and others devoted to the mysterious past and darkly thrilling secret life of the heart of Montgomery County.

From being known as ""The Heathen Town Four Miles Away"" to becoming a booming factory town, discover Anderson, Indiana through the centuries.

The city of Anderson is named after Chief William Anderson, whose Indian name was Kikthawenund, meaning ""making a noise"" or ""causing to crack."" Early settlers referred to the area as Anderson Town, while the Moravian missionaries called it ""The Heathen Town Four Miles Away."" It later became Anderstown before the Indiana State Legislature shortened the name to Anderson in 1844. In the spring of 1887, natural gas was discovered in the city. Several industries came to the area, leading to a population explosion. Anderson soon became a ""factory town,"" with General Motors building plants throughout the city. The success of the automobile factories attracted entrepreneurs and made Anderson the economic center of Madison County. From the 1940s through the 1970s, downtown Anderson had its share of family-owned businesses as well as national chain stores like J.C. Penney, Sears & Roebuck, and Montgomery Ward. Today, it remains filled with a rich heritage and continues to grow in a new economic market.

An early aviator, Chicagoan Octave Chanute, glided his aircraft over the dunes almost 10 years before the Wright brothers' flight at Kitty Hawk, and botanist Henry Chandler Cowles studied plant succession in Miller Woods, now part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Like its citizens, Miller Beach's architecture is diverse, with historic park buildings designed by George W. Maher: the Marquette Park Pavilion and the Gary Bathing Beach Bathhouse, recently renovated as a museum that honors Chanute and the Tuskegee Airmen. Miller Beach contains other historic structures: Miller Town Hall dates to 1911, the old railroad depot houses a restaurant, the 1910 Miller School is home to a community arts group, and Ayers Realtors remains in its 1926 building. Miller Beach is now a part of Gary, Indiana, and the draw of the beach remains a timeless part of its past, present, and future.

The city's harbor and the arrival of the railroad brought new industry, from the manufacture of rail cars to glassmaking and flour mills. Michigan City even pitted itself against Chicago in a race to become the major port on Lake Michigan. The early twentieth century saw a rise in tourism as lakefront attractions sprang up. Excursionists arrived by boat and train for bathing, shooting galleries, a merry-go-round and roller coaster, and the Oasis Ballroom. As a result of the city's dune preservation efforts in the 1960s and 1970s, the city continues as a haven for water sports and a resort for Chicagoans and others in the Midwest.

A vibrant community of artists, watermen, entrepreneurs, educators, and spiritual leaders left a legacy well worth preserving.

Nestled in northeastern Indiana's Kosciusko County, Syracuse and its two lakes, Lake Wawasee and Syracuse Lake, became a popular area both for industry and tourism following the completion of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1874. What had been a quiet fisherman's paradise developed quickly, as hotels, restaurants, and merchants sprang up to meet the growing demand of residents and visitors. Pharmaceutical manufacturer Col. Eli Lilly helped establish the first sailing club on Lake Wawasee, and Chicago-based mobsters in Al Capone's crime syndicate ran gambling operations. Upscale hotels attracted the wealthy and influential, while ambitious locals made Syracuse a competitive industrial presence in the state, nurtured innovative boat builders, and supported a strong foundation of schools and churches.

From its humble beginnings as a place to swim and row a boat, Ideal Beach eventually became Indiana Beach, a small amusement park where families could have good old-fashioned fun.

Founded by Earl Spackman in 1926, its popularity was bolstered by the addition of a dance hall that drew the top bands of the nation during the Depression and war years of the 1940s. When Earl passed away, his son Tom continued his legacy, setting Indiana Beach on a course that would make it one of the most popular vacation resorts and amusement parks in the entire Midwest, delighting nearly one million visitors every year.

Part of Belt's City Anthology Series. A strong series of personal essays, historical exploration, nature writing, and photography. ... Love's anthology gathers [Gary's] resilience without shying away from the city's hard realities.―Chicago Review of Books

Once the second-largest city in Indiana, and home to the world's largest steel mill, Gary has suffered greatly in the postindustrial global economy. Population numbers now approach pre-Great Depression lows. Large swathes of its land are urban prairie, and a recent survey found a quarter of its built environment is in a dilapidated or dangerous condition. But Gary is also a national center of Black culture and political power. It is home to the Indiana Dunes National Park and globally rare ecosystems. Union, community organizing, and environmental justice struggles there have profoundly shaped social and political life in the United States.

Edited by Samuel A. Love, The Gary Anthology's contributors include essayists, poets, and journalists, but also graffiti writers, ministers, activists, organizers, and steel workers. Their insights into the city complicate our simplified narratives about violence and urban decay, offering readers the chance to hear from those who are reshaping the city from the bottom up.

A nuanced look of a city that is full of everyday joys and tragedies and a vibrant rebuke to stale notions that Gary is dead.

Strange and unusual things lurk behind the calm façade of Dearborn County.

Several legends surround Hillforest Mansion, the home of one of Aurora's founding families. Many have seen the ghost of a farmer and his mule at Carnegie Hall in Moores Hill. The glowing grave at Riverview Cemetery may connect to the 1941 Agrue family massacre. St. Mary's Church rectory is said to be haunted by the former priest, and the spirits at Whisky's in Lawrenceburg are not just in the drinks. Several schools in the area echo with the sounds of former students and staff, and numerous local residences house the spirits of former owners who never left.

Join Mary Ellen Quigley and Rebecca Wilhelm on a chilling tour from Lawrenceburg to Lawrenceville and beyond.

From our contemporary vantage point, we should take the time to look back to how people in American communities lived at the beginning of the 20th century.

The focus of this work is Evansville--in the early 1900s, the only emerging metropolis between Louisville and St. Louis, and then the radial center of a hinterland stretching in all directions for at least 100 miles. Evansville illustrates how the city landscape changed because of the early industrial era, how people made a living and related to each other, and how they spent their leisure time. About one-fifth of the images in this collection focus on the residents of the Evansville region: the Tri-State of southwestern Indiana, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois, which has been Evansville's service area since the 1850s.

Images of America: Gary's Glen Park looks back at the southern neighborhood of Steel City from its birth to the early 1970s.

America's Big Steel gave birth to Gary in 1906, when the United States Steel Corporation established a plant in Indiana along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The new city on the lake attracted thousands of job seekers from the coalfields and factories in the East to far-off lands in southern and eastern Europe. As they settled in Gary, immigrant groups established communities, built churches and schools, and instilled in their children the values of hard work, strong faith, and cultural traditions. Each chapter in Gary's Glen Park looks at a specific part of this southern neighborhood's history, such as the neighborhood, local businesses, memorable events, and people. Other chapters focus on the foundations of any community: the churches and schools.

Terre Haute's storied past from 1811 to the present.

From the days of French explorers and the establishment of Fort Harrison in 1811 to the rise of the ""Pittsburgh of the West"" and beyond, Terre Haute's history is a study in paradox. Home to prominent schools, railroads, and distilleries as well as social reformers, national figures, and corrupt politicians, the city that grew up along the Wabash suffered devastating setbacks but also soared to spectacular achievements.

Beginning as a humble Army fortification in the 1790s, Fort Wayne became the second largest city in the state, as well as the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana.

Founded at the confluence of three rivers--the St. Mary's, St. Joseph, and the hence formed Maumee--Fort Wayne stands astride a rich and storied history that begins with the 1792 order issued by George Washington for Major General ""Mad"" Anthony Wayne to secure and construct a permanent fortification at the headwaters of the Maumee. Wayne arrived on September 17, 1794, and the fortification was dedicated as Fort Wayne that October. When the military garrison abandoned the fort in 1815, the town became an important frontier outpost by 1829 with only a population of 300 people. Bolstered by travelers on riverboats and later railroads, Fort Wayne was hit hard by the Great Depression, but bounced back in the post-World War II economic boom. In the 200-plus years of the city's history, it has become an icon of Midwest gumption, weathering many highs and lows, becoming a hub for both sports and cultural arts while a thriving city of over 250,000 people has emerged.Postcard History Series: Fort Waynecelebrates the growth and success of this city during the first half of 20th century.

Established at the foot of Hoosier Slide, a natural landmark, Michigan City had attracted a diverse group of pioneers, industrialists, and fun-lovers by the late 1800s. Hoosier Slide is now gone. While the rugged dunes in the east have been replaced by resort communities, the beauty that first captivated settlers is as evident now as it was in the early part of the 20th century.

Jerry Davich explores the remnants of Gary's glory days, from Union Station to City Methodist Church.

A poster child for our nation's urban experimentation a century ago, Gary was forged with hype and hope, dreams and sweat, political agendas and tons of steel. The hardscrabble city attracted all kinds, from shady scoundrels and famous architects to hardworking immigrants and brilliant entrepreneurs. Boasting 180,000 residents at its peak, the booming melting pot eventually faded away under the afflictions of urban decay, racial unrest and political upheaval.  Revisit the Sheraton Hotel's demise, Emerson High School's hard lessons, Vee-Jay Records' last release and a devastated downtown filled only with façades and fond memories.

Countless manufacturing centers in northern Indiana strengthened the economic fabric of Hoosier land. The railroads that criss-crossed northern Indiana were instrumental in populating the small towns and larger cities by employing thousands over the course of many years. Through photographs of depots, freight houses, and other railroad structures, long demolished yet an integral part of community development, Railroad Depots of Northern Indiana reviews the history of the cities and towns that used the rail to transport raw materials and finished manufactured products across the state to markets such as Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cincinnati. This book also tells the story of a short line railroad and the commodities it has transported for the past century, as well as the longest-existing interurban, still operating just south of Lake Michigan, the resilient South Shore Line.

Explore neglected corners of Hamilton County history

Hamilton County's past harbors sundry strange tales, many of them lost to time--until now. In 1867, a groom disappeared just before his wedding, presumably running away on cold feet. Four decades later his remains were discovered buried under a shed in a mystery that remains unsolved. In the 1870s, the Sheriff marshaled a seven-man posse, including two local African Americans, to deal with "desperados'? in an isolated corner of the county. Their heroic efforts swiftly liberated the local populous from the yoke of banditry. A giant wave of ravenous squirrels descended on Central Indiana in 1882 to feast on crops, to the shock and dismay of new settlers.

Join county historian David Heighway for a tour of all things odd and forgotten.

An accessible, intimate look at the oft-neglected history of Arab Americans in Greater Indianapolis who have made a remarkable impact on the region since the late 1800s.From establishing local businesses to working in the fields of health care and education, Arab Americans have made indelible contributions to the cultural vitality, economic growth, and social fabric of central Indiana. Arab Indianapolis features the stories of Arab Americans--some famous, some not--who have shaped the Capital City's past and will continue to define its future. It details a history hidden in plain sight, one sometimes buried beneath Indianapolis's most iconic landmarks such as Lucas Oil Stadium, Monument Circle, the Indiana War Memorials, the Governor's Residence, and Riverside Park. Highlights include: Helen Corey, the first Arab American to hold statewide elected office and the author of one of the most famous books on Syrian cuisine

• Jeff George, a Syrian American from the region who went on to play quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts
• The Syrian Christian community and the building of St. George Orthodox Church
• Indianapolis's connection to St. Jude Children's Hospital
• Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana governor and grandson to Syrian immigrants

Through short essays, over eighty beautiful photographs, interviews, and even a few recipes, this collection embraces the full humanity of Arab Americans in the Midwest. It will give you a deeper sense of the myriad lives of Arab-descended Hoosiers who call Indianapolis home. Arab Indianapolis is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to know the full story of how Arab Americans continue to shape one of the Midwest's most iconic cities.

The coldest cases from Middletown, USA

With dozens of unsolved murders spanning decades, Muncie and surrounding Delaware County might have more killings without justice than any American community like it. In 1962, Maggie Mae Fleming was shot to death as she sat in her living room. Paula Garrett was bludgeoned in her home in 1979, and her son, who survived the attack, wants justice. Garth Rector, killed in 2008, could have been murdered by any number of people he knew--or dated.

Journalists and award-winning true crime authors Douglas Walker and Keith Roysdon shine a spotlight on the victims, and on their loved ones and the investigators still hoping for resolution to long-cold murders.

Groundbreaking research published by Robert S. Lynd and his wife Helen Merrell Lynd in 1929 transformed Muncie, Indiana into a barometer of social attitudes, customs, beliefs and behavior in the American heartland.

Recognized as the most widely studied mid-sized community in America, Muncie has attracted researchers and historians for nearly a century. A town which prospered in the 1920s, and survived the economic hardships of the Great Depression, Muncie has grown to become a prospering business community with a strong link to its rich past. Muncie: The Middletown of America explores the evolution of Muncie in a series of over two hundred black and white images. Spectacular photographs unveil Muncie's past, from the Ball Brothers, whose glass-making company gave the city its reputation in the 1880s, to exciting high school basketball and volleyball contests in the 1980s and 1990s. Striking imagery enables the reader to connect to the past and visualize how Muncie developed to where it stands today.

Early settler William Smith chose a ridge with a commanding view, and Corydon was founded at the thriving population center of the Indiana Territory.

Located at the confluence of Big and Little Indian Creeks, Smith was comfortably settled around 1800. Territorial governor William Henry Harrison was a frequent guest, giving his name to the county that was later established. Corydon eclipsed Clarksville to become the territorial capital when the Illinois Territory was cut away in 1813, leaving the previous capital at Vincennes on the extreme western boundary of the Indiana Territory. Indiana became the 19th state on December 11, 1816. In 1827, William Holmes McGuffey (of McGuffey's Readers fame) recommended William Porter for headmaster of the Corydon Seminary. Porter went on to become a judge and bought the Gov. William Hendricks residence. Porter's daughter Helen married Patrick Griffin and raised her family in the house where she had been born. Maurice Griffin raised his family on the square, where his son Frederick Porter Griffin resided until arranging for the Hendricks house to become part of the Corydon Capitol State Historic Site. The Porter-Griffin family photographs, now housed in the Frederick Porter Griffin Center, made this book possible.

This strategic location brought development and prosperity to Zionsville as people traveling through Indiana stopped to discover the distinctive flair of this small but industrious community. Local historian Joan Praed Lyons depicts the spirit of a town in which a rousing game of donkey softball raised money for a new park and neighbors formed bucket brigades when fires broke out. In this delightful collection of vignettes, Lyons brings new life to Zionsville's history through her engaging and meticulously researched prose.

Catch a whiff of rum and candor when Jacob Ritter sits to write one morning in 1861. His opening line: "I have killed my wife because she is a witch." When the trains roar through this New Albany, they are quite likely meeting flesh. The men in the saloons are armed and irritated. And the murderous can be most industrious, like the man who was sentenced to death, sold his body to New Albany's first physician, collected the cash, reneged on the contract and then tried to sell his corpse again. Millions have roamed these broad avenues during New Albany's nearly two hundred years. Most have been honest sorts. Others, well…

Heartland stories of heroism, tragedy, mystery, and more

Decatur County, Indiana, may be small town America, but its history is exceptionally fascinating. Local luminary Will Cumback was not only a noted statesman but also a good friend to President Abraham Lincoln. The Underground Railroad ran through the county. The first tree on the Decatur County Courthouse Tower was seen in 1870, and a tree has grown there ever since. David Letterman's first broadcasting job was at WTRE in Greensburg, and the last no-hitter in the history of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was thrown by Burney's Janet Rumsey.

Join history teacher and Greensburg native John Pratt on a journey through the colorful history of Decatur County.

The story of the intersection between vigilantism and law enforcement

In frontier Indiana, vigilantism was a grim necessity. Beginning with the vigilance committees of the 1860s that lynched the Reno Gang and the Knights of the Golden Circle, who plotted to assassinate Governor Morton, the Hoosier State was a hotbed for citizens taking the law into their own hands. Later groups such as the White Caps enforced their own moral code, while the state legislature sanctioned the Horse Thief Detective Association and the Banking Vigilantes.

Chronicling the vigilante groups that operated in Indiana, author Robert Bowling explores the evolution of law enforcement from the lone marshal on the frontier to the birth of the modern police department and the Indiana State Police.

Give the ball to Leroy,” the “Carmel Connection,” “Holy Toledo!” & More

Over its century in existence, Ross-Ade Stadium hosted thousands of memorable moments. Here are the 100 greatest games from the stadium’s first 100 years. Go inside Ross-Ade as Purdue clinches the 1929 Big Ten Championship and Bob Griese plays a perfect game against top-ranked Notre Dame in 1965. Relive Drew Brees leading the Boilermakers on a dream-come-true Rose Bowl season in 2000 and a former walk-on quarterback sinking #3 Michigan State with an epic passing performance.

From Jack Mollenkopf to Jim Young, Tiller Time to the Brohm Squad, Rod Woodson’s epic Old Oaken Bucket battle to the Tyler Trent game, author and Purdue alum gathers the moments in Ross-Ade when legends were made.

From Muncie’s past come weird tales of supernatural encounters, creepy ghostlights, haunted houses, and eerie hoaxes.

In the years before the Civil War, wraiths routinely harassed travelers on turnpikes southeast of the city. A poltergeist once terrorized a family farm in northeast Center Township in 1890. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ghosts appeared frequently at local businesses, theaters, office buildings, factories, and turnpikes.

Delaware County historian Chris Flook delves deep into local historical archives to reveal dozens of uncanny encounters, ghostly pranks, and strange paranormal phenomena of the Magic City.

The falls of the Ohio River at Louisville presented a considerable obstacle to this floating traffic, and vessels traveling on this major waterway were forced to portage their cargo around the turbulent waters. In 1812, three enterprising brothers from New York, Abner, Joel, and Nathaniel Scribner, bought land at the western end of the rapids and named their new settlement New Albany in honor of the capital of their native state. Their village became the head of downriver navigation on the Ohio and evolved from a backwoods settlement into Indiana's largest city, a lively river town where steamboats, textiles, sheet music, automobiles, and pastries have all been manufactured. Natural disasters have periodically changed the face of the city, but New Albany has always recovered due to the determination of its citizens. This collection of vintage images portrays the triumphs and tragedies of these residents.

Discover school spirits and downtown haunts of Bloomington, Indiana

For many, the most terrifying sight in Bloomington is the bathroom in a freshman dorm, but even more disturbing things lurk in the dark corners of this college town. Two haunted portraits hang in the Indiana Memorial Union Building, and the ghosts of suicides roam the stairwell in Ballantine Hall. At the end of every night, bartenders at a downtown pub pour a shot of whiskey for a not-so-dearly-departed spirit. At a nearby old manor, two ghost children stir up trouble. Farther out of town, in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest lies Stepp Cemetery, a remote and desolate graveyard that is one of the most haunted locations in Indiana.

Join Bloomington native Klara Lee Sweet on a spine-tingling tour of the city's spectral history.

The little town on the hill grew as many settlers found the flat, fertile prairie lands surrounding the town ideal for farming. The construction of the Michigan Road just a few years prior had opened up settlement in New Carlisle and the surrounding Olive Township. The railroad built in 1852 ensured success of the town as it bypassed other rival towns causing them to fade into obscurity. The images in this book give a glimpse into the small-town life of New Carlisle and the surrounding areas such as the communities of Hamilton and Hudson Lake that played such an important part of the community's rich heritage.

Defined by a tangled web of deception for more than a century, Northwest Indiana's political culture involved secret handshakes, tapped phone calls, backroom deals and murder.

Found submerged in his car with a rock on the gas pedal, city official Babe Lopez's execution-style murder rocked East Chicago. Shot and killed at a political fundraiser, power broker Jay Given's murder occurred while four hundred guests mingled in a neighboring room. Former Lake Station mayor Keith Soderquist stole thousands of dollars from his reelection campaign and the city's food pantry account to gamble at local casinos. Author Jerry Davich explores the hidden political scandals and highly publicized court cases of public servants once sworn to serve and protect.

Are you aware that the Southern Railway once used half of the railroad tunnels in the state? Indiana's first railroad, built in Shelbyville, was only a mile long, but in 1847, completion of a major steam railroad from Madison to Indianapolis made the state's capital a center of transportation. Unlike canals, railroads could be built just about anywhere. Southern Indiana's quickly growing network of rail lines was able to haul tons of goods at low cost, and enabled settlers to travel great distances in a single day. Railroad Depots of Southern Indiana takes the reader on a journey through the towns and cities that shape Indiana's railroad lore. Images depict regional rail history from the inner workings of now demolished depots to one of the oldest "short lines" in Indiana. Through more than 200 vintage photographs, author David E. Longest documents locomotives, rail equipment, the moving of stock, depots, rail stations, and freight houses, and finishes with a tour of the rail museums and excursions that still allow tourists and aficionados to "ride the rails."

When a young man from the Netherlands by the name of Jacob Munster opened Munster's General Store, complete with a small U.S. Postal Station in the back, more residents populated the area, and the "Town of Munster" was founded in 1907. Munster, Indiana is a photographic tour of the places, people, and events that have shaped the Town of Munster from the 1850s onward. Nearly 250 historically significant images capture the town's growth from a simple farming community to the bustling town it is today.

Explore the notorious and unusual side of Muncie's history.

Muncie is the classic small American city. But for much of the past two centuries, the city fell victim to murder, corruption and the bizarre. Mayor Rollin Bunch went to prison for mail fraud, while his police commissioner faced a murder rap. Viola Babe Swartz ran a brothel out of a truck stop that was raided by police at least a dozen times but ran for sheriff in the 1974 primary election. June Holland, of the locally famous Holland triplets, killed her neighbor for refusing to sell her house.

Indiana's history and early settlement began along the Ohio River and includes prehistoric Native American sites, 400-million-year-old Devonian fossil beds, the site where Lewis and Clark first met on the Corps of Discovery voyage, and Indiana's first state capitol. Communities along the Ohio River Scenic Byway include Lawrenceburg, Aurora, Rising Sun, Vevay, Madison, Jeffersonville, Clarksville, New Albany, Corydon, Leavenworth, Cannelton, Tell City, Troy, Rockport, Newburgh, Evansville, and Mount Vernon. The byway celebrates the scenic, recreational, and historic in its architecture, winding roads, and overlooks.

Despite the mistaken trivia game answer, Elmo Lincoln, the first Tarzan in 1918, was born in Rochester, Indiana, not New York. And John Chamberlain, famous modern sculptor, was born here too. Clyde Beatty, wild animal trainer extraordinaire, lived here while the Cole Brothers-Clyde Beatty Circus had its winter quarters in Rochester in the 1930s. For a community with such a small population, Rochester has harbored more than its share of famous people.

Posey County is a place where neighbors are friendly, the BBQ is good, and the blue skies are plentiful above checkerboard fields. It’s also a place where the dead roam freely.

Ghosts linger in the basement of the Sheriff’s Department, ready to jump out at unsuspecting correctional officers. Misty apparitions wander around a town once devastated by a tornado and can even be found in the brand-new Dollar General. The public library in Poseyville also has several librarian ghosts still hard at work keeping the library orderly.

Follow paranormal investigator Joni Mayhan as she delves into the darker side of this vibrant community and unearths its peculiar hauntings.

Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2018.

Begun in 1918 as the Eastern Division of the Indiana State Normal School, Ball State remained a branch campus of Indiana State until 1929 when it became Ball State Teachers College, Indiana's fourth public institution of higher education. In 1965 the teachers college became Ball State University. Throughout its history, Ball State's distinguishing characteristic has been the positive interactions between students, faculty, and members of the community. This book will show how these interactions have worked out at Ball State in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in social organizations such as student government, fraternities, sororities, and clubs throughout the region. The book will also show how the members of the Ball family have played a major role in the growth and development of the university.

During those years, this region of 26 counties, from which Indiana and much of the Old Northwest had developed a century before, was in transition toward consumerism and mass culture, as symbolized by automobiles, road-building, movies, radio, and popular magazines. Southern Indiana celebrated the state's centennial; political progressivism in the era contributed to, among other things, prohibition and women's suffrage. Americans for the first time sent young men off to war in Europe. The vintage photographs included in this book, culled from 20 private and public collections, are representative of southern Indiana. They show people at work, at play, in worship and school, in clubs and organizations, in travel, and at war. Most have never before been published. Once the most populous section of the state, the area o the south became much less so. Culturally--especially in the woods, hills, and valleys of the un-glaciated center of the district--southern Indiana retained its upper South character. It remained largely rural and agricultural. Most settlements were isolated and small; many communities had been losing popularity and people because of hard times on the farm and the appeal of larger cities.

Since the end of the American Revolution, Native Americans, pioneer farmers, industrialists and factory workers settled across the county in hamlets, villages and towns of all sizes.

Nearly one hundred distinct settlements existed in what we now call Delaware County. Some of these communities survived the ebb and flow of history to prosper, while others disappeared, becoming lost in the collective memory. Today, many residents would only recognize the city of Muncie and the towns of Albany, Daleville, Eaton, Gaston, Selma and Yorktown. A few might know of villages such as Desoto, New Burlington, Smithfield and Wheeling. Most have probably never heard of Dogtown, Gate’s Corner, Granville and Soccum. Drawing on years of research, local historian Chris Flook uncovers the stories of these lost towns.