Spooky Season Reads

Discover the rich, unique history of Italians in Indianapolis, Indiana through vintage images in this pictorial history.

In 1910, Indianapolis had the smallest foreign stock population of any city north of the Ohio River, and city historians merely ignored the presence of the ethnic communities. In the 1920s, the Hoosier capital supposedly lacked a cosmopolitan character, and the Ku Klux Klan gloried in the slogan ""100% American."" However, the size of a community does not indicate its significance in municipal life. Rather, immigrants and their descendants make a difference because of their talents and available local opportunities. Residents of Italian origin have contributed mightily to Indianapolis's economy, culture, and professional and religious life. The first to arrive were the Sicilians who developed the city's fruit and vegetable trade and the Friulani who engaged in terrazzo-mosaic tile work. Early immigrants became grocers, shoemakers, tailors, and barbers. Later, primarily after World War II, many American-born of Italian descent moved into Indianapolis, excelling in business and professional fields, including law, medicine, and education. The community has continued to grow, adding to its numbers the Italian-born but married to American military or engaged in skilled labor in carpentry, tailoring, salesmanship, and food preparation.

Those early pioneers paved the way for women who would play baseball as both amateurs and professionals up to the present day. Some were headlining stars on barnstorming teams, while others organized and operated their own teams, and from the 1890s through the 1930s they were known as Bloomer Girls, due to the baggy pants created by Amelia Bloomer. In 1988, the American Women's Baseball Association began play in the Chicago area. With play starting in 1990, the Washington (DC) Metropolitan Women's Baseball League is now the oldest operating women's amateur baseball league in the country. In 2001, a true baseball World Series was held in Toronto, Canada, with women's baseball teams from the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia. That event will celebrate its fifth season in 2005.

There have been three county seats and six courthouses. The disagreement-started between settlers from Salisbury and Centerville-was bitterly debated in the Indiana Territory legislature. Although Salisbury was the first county seat, it was moved to Centerville soon after Indiana's ratification as a state, and Salisbury faded into a lost town. For fifty-two years, Centerville maintained power, building two courthouses and a jail, until Richmond asserted its dominance in the state legislature. The struggle for the reins of power in Wayne County was Indiana's longest-running feud, igniting untold amounts of community pride. Join Wayne County historian Carolyn Lafever as she shares this story of conflict and courthouses, from tumultuous beginning to peaceful end.

Present-day Fishers, Indiana, is one of the safest places to live in the U.S., but this respectable city has a rough and rowdy past.

Starting off as a small railroad community, Fishers attracted its fair share of drifters, and the whiskey flowed like water. It may have been small, but the lawless town made national headlines on more than one occasion. A two-day bar brawl led to one death and dozens of injuries and required the Sheriff to restore order. A sensational trial exposed mass grave robberies and led to legislative changes. James Redwine became the town's first homicide victim over a Christmas turkey shootout. Author Robert Bowling explores the history of this once small town and the misdeeds that thrust it into the national spotlight.

Featuring more than 200 vintage postcards, Angola and Steuben County captures fleeting images that reflect the interesting and significant scenes of Steuben County's towns and day-to-day activities at the turn of the century. From thriving squares and bustling industries, to pleasant residential and lake areas, these postcards embrace the past and offer a glimpse into the lives and activities of a different era.

Of course, the farmers fought back with guns; the kids with clubs. This happened just about the time of the Irish canal worker infighting; those boys attacked one another with everything they had. Oh, and there are the unexplained monster sightings and things of that nature. But really, it's not all bizarre. After all, Wabash was the first electrically lighted city, and there are scores of heroes and important businesses. There's just so much to hear about. Come along with authors Ron Woodward and Gladys Harvey as they share the strange and important history of this old Indiana county.

The images in this work illustrate the story of one of the first Catholic women's colleges in Indiana from shortly after the Sisters of the Holy Cross arrived from Le Mans, France in 1843 to present day. Envisioned by these women of faith as a place to enrich the minds and spirits of the girls of the frontier, Saint Mary's began its tradition of pioneering education for women. This original mission enabled the college to adapt to the contemporary needs of its students and continue to grow and become a regional leader in science, education, and the arts.

As the number of students increased, and the community and world around the campus changed, Saint Mary's College evolved by continuing to honor tradition. The pictures reflect the evolution of the student body, campus, and academic life.

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door.

Learning about Indianapolis's interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun!

Captured here in more than 220 postcard images is an important chronicle of the past 100 years in the "City of Mineral Water." This visual record showcases the sanitariums--including the glorious Home Lawn and its sibling, the Martinsville--industries and businesses, buildings and people, courthouse square, and special events that shaped the past and influenced the present. This fascinating retrospective is an indispensable companion to and expansion of Morgan County, the authors' first book in Arcadia's Postcard History Series.

Noble County boasts small-town charm and attractions all year long.

And ghosts. The county’s only movie theater is patrolled by the well-known manager, who died in 1995. Two of the highest hills in the state are haunted, one after a hanging and another because of a murder immortalized by Indiana’s poet laureate. The sprawling Kneipp Sanitarium received a visit from the Virgin Mary herself and became a battleground of good versus evil. Former residents of the county poor farm still roam the building. Then there’s the “Thing in the Basement.”

Join authors and historians Mark and Emily Hunter as they tour the dark and spooky corners of Noble County.

Terre Haute might seem like a quiet river town, but the ghosts of the city's past ensure that things never grow too quiet!

From the ghost of a green-eyed bulldog to a mausoleum phone, the town’s cemeteries are a playground for those who have passed on to the other side. The spirits of children haunt the site of the former Glenn Home, where they once lived. The restless spirit of a girl who passed before her time lingers in a local salon, and the apparition of a faceless nun still wanders the hallowed halls of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. The former Condit residence has a long history of premature deaths, while the Preston House held its own secrets within its now vanished walls. Join tour guide and paranormal investigator Ashley Hood on a tour of Terre Haute’s spectral history.