Mooresville's Bicentennial Park: A Historical Perspective

Folks driving through downtown Mooresville have likely noticed the new Bicentennial Park located on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets.

Mooresville Bicentennial Park (complete with traffic noise)

(December 5, 2017 video by the author)

(click video to play--it's in focus, really)

I've been asked a few times to explain the meaning of the sculpture.  I'm no art critic, but I'll have a go at interpretation.

Mooresville Bicentennial Park Sculpture

(December 5, 2017 photo by the author)

(Click pictures to enlarge)

The sculpture represents the flames atop the torch on the Indiana State Flag.

Indiana State Flag

(designed by Paul Hadley in 1916; adopted in 1917)

The town's motto is "Home of the [Indiana] State Flag," because Paul Hadley designed the flag, and spent much of his life, here.  So the sculpture commemorates that event.

From a historical perspective, the torch flame sculpture represents more than just the flag.  It symbolizes the eternal flame of human hope and progress, as demonstrated through one's hometown.  Mooresville's pioneers laid down roots here because they saw the potential of a bright, shining future, filled with prosperity, community spirit, social diversity, and the pursuit of happiness.  That future has been transpiring since 1824, and it continues to blossom, as the torch is passed from generation to generation of Mooresvillians.  The sculpture is an invitation to everyone living and working here to keep building upon what our forebearers created and established.  After all, future generations will look back upon us as part of their history, and we want to shine on brightly to them, as our predecessors shone.  We may now be facing 21st century challenges, but our pioneering spirit is the same as those who came before.

Bicentennial Park incorporates other aspects of Mooresville history, as we discussed previously in this blog.

Historical commemorations like Bicentennial Park are important because we need a sense of continuity, of belonging to something bigger than ourselves.  Each person who calls Mooresville home, whether in a residential or a business sense, contributes another brick in our historical edifice, which grows progressively taller and more majestic.  Bicentennial Park honors all of us by showing that the light of Mooresville cannot be extinguished--not by hard times or environmental disasters--so long as we are willing to make a stand to support our community.

New Local History Video Series

Mooresville Public Library has begun a new video series (see playlist) called Mooresville Moments: Our Local History, based upon its collection of local history postcards and flashcards.  The title is borrowed from the popular newspaper column, "Mooresville Moments" (1999), written by town historian Wanda Potts (1921-2012), who served as MPL's Indiana Room librarian from 1966 to 2002.

In this first installment, we feature the official Mooresville Town Banner, designed by Bonita Marley, who served as library director from 1961 to 1984. The flag commemorated the 150th anniversary of the town's founding. You can see it flying downtown in Bicentennial Park.

Mooresville's Town Banner (video)

(Mooresville Moments #1)

by Mooresville Public Library

Thanks to Wanda and Bonita, the library has an extensive local history collection preserved to share with the public. We hope this new video series does justice to their treasure trove of Mooresville history.

Downtown Mooresville's New Bicentennial Park

Mooresville's new Bicentennial Park is now substantially completed and open to the public.  The park is downtown on the northeast corner of Main and Indiana Streets, where Samuel Moore's general store was situated (built in 1824), and where the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) buildings were located (the first was built in 1869, replacing Moore's wood-frame/brick structure; the second in 1881).  The I.O.O.F. capstone (dated 1859) has been incorporated into the new park (see photo below).  (As always, click the images to enlarge them.)  The capstone commemorated the founding of I.O.O.F. Morgan Lodge #211 in 1859, NOT the date the first building was constructed, but the capstone was incorporated into the structure in 1869 when the first building was erected.

The park's sculpture reminds us of the flames atop the torch shown on the Indiana State Flag.

Alongside the American and Indiana flags flying in the park is Mooresville's official town banner, designed in 1974 as part of the town's sesquicentennial celebration by Bonita Marley (1906-2002), director of Mooresville Public Library (1961-1984).

  

The state historical marker commemorating Paul Hadley and the Indiana State Flag was relocated a few feet north of its original location.

 

Landscaping and final touches will be completed in Spring 2018, according to an article in the Mooresville-Decatur Times, Saturday, December 2, 2017, pages A1-A6.

New street lights, brick sidewalks, and signage surround downtown on Main and Indiana Streets, as can be seen in the photos above and below.

Indiana Bicentennial Quilt on Display

Thanks to the generosity of local artist Sherry (Spencer) Foster, we now have an Indiana bicentennial quilt on display in our Indiana Room.  It is a wonderful historical tribute to our flags, featuring the American flag, Indiana State Flag, Indianapolis City Banner, and Mooresville Town Banner.  Stop by to have a closer look.  Click the photos below to enlarge.

What's Missing? (Indiana State Flag Fun Quiz)

Can you see what's missing from Paul Hadley's template (first photo, below) he used in one of his many initial designs of the Indiana State Banner? Compare it to Hadley's "official" Indiana State Flag (the one shown below was displayed at the Indiana statehouse during the 1920s). Visit the MPL Indiana Room to check your results!

Click the images below to enlarge them.

Paul Hadley's template for the Indiana State Banner (renamed Flag in 1955)

Paul Hadley made this particular "official" flag circa 1923

to display at the Indiana statehouse

By the way, several of the missing bits were originally included in Hadley's template, except one important modification the state legislature requested when it officially adopted Hadley's winning 1916 design to be the Indiana State Banner in 1917.  As you spot the differences, you might guess which bits probably fell off during the template's decades in storage.

Our 2016 Old Settlers Parade Float

Here are a few photos of the library's float in yesterday's (Sunday, August 7, 2016) Old Settlers parade.  Click the images to enlarge.

Dude! You've just photobombed my picture. Plus, our cat (Cauli Le Chat) chewed on that piece of candy you're about to pick up. Just saying.

 

MPL executive director Diane Huerkamp (right) once again carries the library banner in the Old Settlers parade. Janet Hensley Moritz (left) also carries the banner.

Miss Beth-on-Tuesdays (backseat, looking out) was tossing Indiana State Flags attached to candy sticks to the crowd. We heard a little boy say there was a penny also attached, to give it sufficient ballast.

Above is one of the Indiana State Flag candy sticks that Miss Beth was tossing to the crowd.

The library's 2016 Old Settlers float, designed by Miss Beth and Miss Sharon.

The boy in the yellow shirt is holding one of the Indiana State Flag candy sticks that Miss Beth tossed from the truck.

 

These banners were hanging on lampposts throughout downtown Mooresville.

Click the following links to learn more about the Indiana State Flag and its designer, Paul Hadley. 

Mooresville's 2016 Old Settlers Festival runs August 7-8-9 at Pioneer Park.

Paul Hadley/Indiana State Flag Historical Marker Dedication

The Paul Hadley/Indiana State Flag historical marker dedication ceremony was held this morning (Saturday, August 6, 2016) in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  Here are a few photos from the event.  Click the photos below to enlarge.

 

The new historical marker awaiting its unveiling

Dave Nash, chairperson, Celebrate Mooresville,

welcomes the audience

Casey Pfeiffer, historical marker program manager, Indiana Historical Bureau,

spoke about the public process used to establish historical markers

(and this marker particularly)

Dave Nash spoke about honoring Paul Hadley

Lois Huntington, State Regent, Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution,

spoke about the Indiana State Flag's legacy

 Bud Swisher, Healthier Morgan County, spoke about

personal memories of Paul Hadley and

designing the Indiana State Flag

  

Janice Bolinger, Honorary State Regent,

Indiana Daughters of the American Revolution,

spoke about the meaning of the Indiana State Flag's symbols

and the historical mysteries surrounding the flag

The unveiling!

The new historical marker!

The front side of the new historical marker

 

The rear side of the new historical marker

At the beginning of the ceremony, Mooresville Boy Scout Troop 231 honor color guard presented the colors--first, the American flag, then the Hoosier flag.

 

Also on display at the dedication ceremony was the official Mooresville town banner, designed in 1974 by MPL director Bonita Marley.  The town flag is on permanent display in the MPL Indiana Room.

A nice crowd was on hand for the dedication. The marker is located in Hadley Memorial Park in downtown Mooresville (on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets). The marker site was also the location of Samuel Moore's general mercantile store, which was the first wood-frame business built in Mooresville (Moore founded the town in 1824).

MPL treasurer Steve Saucerman speaks with

Mooresville Academy museum director/historian Julie Kyle-Lee

 MPL president Lynn Adams (right)

Learn more about the history of the Indiana State Flag and Paul Hadley at: 

• Poletika, Nicole.  "'A Permanent Emblem of Its Own:'  The Indiana State Flag & Its Designer."   Indiana History Blog, January 11, 2017.  Indiana Historical Bureau of the Indiana State Library.  (Click here to access the blog article.)