Saturday, July 31, 2010

Mooresville's Oldest Mystery (Mooresville Moments Series)

In the July 20, 1916 edition of the Mooresville Monitor, Solon M. McNabb wrote a newspaper article entitled "Mooresville's Oldest Mystery." It was reprinted in the September 1, 1999 newspaper column, Mooresville Moments (below), edited by Wanda Potts, local historian and Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, Indiana.


Click (above) to enlarge

Friday, July 30, 2010

"The White River," by Danny Buckley

We have it upon good authority that "The White River," by MPL composer Danny Buckley, was inspired by Native American and Indiana pioneer history surrounding the White River, which flows about six miles east of the composer's childhood home two miles southeast of Mooresville, Indiana (in Brown Township, Morgan County). This piece is track four of the instrumental music CD Through Abstract Eyes (2010). Our music video below provides some background to the musical tale:




Old Settlers Queens (Mooresville Moments Series)

As the Old Settlers Fair nears (Aug. 8-10, 2010, at Pioneer Park, Mooresville, Indiana), we reprise another newspaper column from the Mooresville Moments series (July 21, 1999) (below), in which Wanda Potts, town historian and Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, recounts the history of the Old Settlers Queen contest.

Click (above) to enlarge


Thursday, July 29, 2010

Samuel Moore Donates Old Town Park for Old Settlers (Mooresville Moments Series)

In today's reprinting of Mooresville Moments (August 4, 1999) (below), local historian and retired librarian Wanda Potts recalled the establishment of "Old Town Park" on South Street on land donated to the Town of Mooresville, Indiana, by Samuel Moore, founder of the town. This land was to be used for the annual Old Settlers Picnic and Reunion, and the gathering was held there until 1995, when it moved to the newer, larger Pioneer Park on Indianapolis Road.


Click (above) to enlarge

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Newspapers in Mooresville, IN (Mooresville Moments Series)

Another installment of Mooresville Moments (November 24, 1999) (below), written by now-retired librarian and town historian Wanda Potts, recounts the history of newspapers in Mooresville, Indiana.


Click (above) to enlarge


Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Mooresville G.A.R. Post #278 (Founded 1899) (Mooresville Moments Series)


Today's Mooresville Moments reprint (November 17, 1999) (below) covers the history of the Mooresville G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic), Post #278, which was founded in 1899.

Click (above) to enlarge


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Mooresville's Fire Department (Mooresville Moments Series)

Here is another Mooresville Moments newspaper column (October 13, 1999) (below) written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library. This installment explores the history of the Mooresville, Indiana fire department, based upon information from the library's vertical files.


Click (above) to enlarge

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Little Red Covered Bridge, Old Waverly Road (Mooresville Moments Series)

Today we reprise an installment of Mooresville Moments, a newspaper column written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library. This installment (October 20, 1999) (below), written by guest columnist and longtime Mooresville resident Lula Mae Bucker, examined the history of the "little red covered bridge" that once spanned the East Fork of White Lick Creek on the Old Waverly Road, where today the intersection of State Roads 144 and 67 is situated, just east of Mooresville, Indiana.


Click (above) to enlarge

Friday, July 23, 2010

Old Settlers Picnic (1870-Present)

Our latest "treasure trove" local history video presents some of the history of the Old Settlers picnic and reunion in Mooresville, Indiana. Except for one year during World War II, the festival has been held annually since its inception in 1870.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Lindley Block (Mooresville Moments Series)

This installment of Mooresville Moments (June 30, 1999) (below) reveals the history of the Lindley Block, which was akin to a modern mini-mall and once stood on the southwest corner of the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.

Click (above) to enlarge


This newspaper column was written and edited by Wanda Potts, town historian and former Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Mooresville IN Fires (Mooresville Moments Series)

This installment of Mooresville Moments (June 23, 1999) (below) reviews the more famous fires that ravaged businesses and houses in Mooresville, Indiana, throughout its history, and it refers to the history of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) buildings that once stood on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville.


Click (above) to enlarge

Mooresville Moments was written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, in 1999 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the town's founding in 1824.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Historic Sites in Mooresville, Indiana (Mooresville Moments Series)

We continue with Mooresville Moments, the 1999 newspaper column written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library. Mrs. Potts wrote and edited the column to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Mooresville, Indiana (1824), as well as the 200th anniversary of the birth of the town's founder, Samuel Moore (1799-1889). Today's installment (December 8, 1999) (below) examines historic sites in and around Mooresville, Indiana.


Click (above) to enlarge

Monday, July 19, 2010

Children of Great Depression Remember (Mooresville Moments Series)

We continue our reprint series of Mooresville Moments, a 1999 newspaper column written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, Mooresville, Indiana. The column examined a multitude of local historical themes to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the town's founding in 1824. This installment (December 1, 1999) (below) recalls the memories of children of the Great Depression and how their lives were affected.


Click (above) to enlarge

Friday, July 16, 2010

Friends Church & Cemetery (Mooresville Moments Series)

We feature another Mooresville Moments newspaper column (March 31, 1999) (below), written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, which discusses the history of the Society of Friends (Quaker) Church and Cemetery in (and near) Mooresville, Indiana.

Click (above) to enlarge

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Franklin Ice Cream Shop (Mooresville Moments Series)

In her newspaper column Mooresville Moments (1999), Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, described many popular businesses that comprised a significant place in Mooresville, Indiana history. This column (below) discussed Franklin Ice Cream Shop.

Click (above) to enlarge

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Paddle Indiana, by Alan McPherson

Alan McPherson's Paddle Indiana: An Access Guide to Canoeing & Kayaking Indiana's Lakes & Streams (Bloomington, IN: Water Publishing Co., 2000) is an excellent pathfinder for anyone interested in negotiating Hoosier waterways by canoe or kayak.




Join our pioneering ancestors in traveling Hoosier lakes, rivers, and streams. It's a great way to learn about Indiana's riparian ecosystems, and it's a lot of fun to boot.  The book is available to checkout from our Evergreen Indiana catalog.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Composer Rev. Dr. Frank C. Huston & the "Town Song" of Mooresville, Indiana (Mooresville Moments Series)

In her newspaper column Mooresville Moments (August 18, 1999) (reprinted below), Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, wrote about the unofficial "town song" of Mooresville, Indiana and its composer, Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston.


Click (above) to enlarge


To learn more about Rev. Dr. Frank Claude Huston, click here.


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Miss Elsie Record (Mooresville Moments Series)

In her August 25, 1999 newspaper column Mooresville Moments, Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library, paid tribute to Miss Elsie Record, who taught in the Mooresville, Indiana schools between 1907 and 1947.


Click article (above) to enlarge

Thursday, July 8, 2010

More Centennial Celebrations (1924) (Mooresville Moments Series)

We continue our reverie of the 1924 Centennial celebrations of the founding of Mooresville, Indiana by reprinting another installment (July 28, 1999) of Mooresville Moments, a newspaper column written and edited by Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002), Mooresville Public Library. The columns celebrated the 175th anniversary of the town's founding in 1824.

Click article (above) to enlarge

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

1924 Centennial Party (Mooresville Moments Series)

In August, 1924 the townspeople of Mooresville, Indiana held a community party to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the town's founding. On July 14, 1999, to celebrate the 175th anniversary, Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, recounted the events from 75 years before (click article below to enlarge).


Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Remembering Veterans (Mooresville Moments Series)

In November, 1999, Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library (Mooresville, Indiana), compiled this tribute (first three articles below) to local veterans in her Mooresville Moments newspaper column.


Lula Mae Bucker, a long-time Mooresville resident, wrote several guest columns for Mooresville Moments (1999). One of her columns (May 26, 1999) about the veterans' memorial, as it appeared in 1999 in Mooresville, is reproduced below.

Click the articles below to enlarge them.








Thursday, July 1, 2010

100 Historical Facts About Mooresville, Indiana & Vicinity (Mooresville Moments Series)

In today's excerpt from Mooresville Moments (April 7, 1999), Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, shares 100 interesting historical facts about the town and surrounding Morgan County area.



Click (above) to enlarge

Much of the information in this article was drawn from Ralph H. Storm's 100 Facts About Mooresville and Brown Township, Morgan County, Indiana (1936), which is available online.  Storm was assistant Morgan County historian at the time.

Mooresville Moments (1999): Newspaper Column Looking at Mooresville and Morgan County, Indiana History


Wanda Potts (1921-2012)
(January 8, 1955 photo)


In 1999, to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of Mooresville, Indiana, Wanda Potts, Indiana Room Librarian (1966-2002) at Mooresville Public Library, wrote and edited a series of newspaper columns entitled Mooresville Moments, which examined the local history of the town and surrounding Morgan County, Indiana.  Click the link below to read the articles.


Mooresville Moments, by Wanda Potts (1999)
 
    No one knew more about the history of Mooresville and vicinity than Wanda Potts.  Mrs. Potts shared her encyclopedic knowledge of the town and its legacy, and, now, you can, too.