Since 2022 is the bicentennial of Morgan County, Indiana, here are three historical maps that might be of interest. The Library
of Congress and the Indiana Historical Society have digitized Morgan
County maps published by W. W. Richie (1875); Baskin, Forster
& Company (1876); and Earl O. Gilbert & C. G. H. Goss (1909).
(The 1875 & 1909 maps are from LOC; the 1876 map is from IHS.)
Click the images (below) to access the maps, courtesy of the Library of Congress and the Indiana Historical Society.
1875 Richie Map of Morgan County, Indiana
1876 Baskin, Forster & Co. Map of Morgan County, Indiana
2022 is the Morgan County bicentennial. To celebrate, Mooresville Public Library's Indiana Room invites patrons
to checkout books about Morgan County (and Mooresville) history using their Evergreen Indiana
(E.I.) cards. These items may be found in the E.I. catalog, along with many others (some of which are reference only). All of the display items, as well as numerous others, may be checked-out. (Click photos below to enlarge.)
Clifton Wheeler (1883-1953) was born in Hadley, Hendricks County,
Indiana, in 1883. While in the fourth grade, his family moved to
Mooresville when his father, Alonzo L. Wheeler,
purchased the Banner Flour Mill on East High Street (at the railroad
tracks, where the car wash is located today). The Wheeler family lived
in the house on the southwest corner of the intersection of Indiana and
High Streets.
Clifton Wheeler (Photo Courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society)
Rose and Alonzo L. Wheeler when they lived on Lockerbie Street in Mooresville
Banner Mills on East High Street, Mooresville (Built in 1868)
Wheeler House, 7 West High Street, Mooresville, Indiana
(Built 1895; Renovated 1915) (2008 Photo)
Banner Mills Advertisement (Mooresville Times, January 28, 1910)
In a letter (1945) to the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette
(Indiana), Clifton Wheeler wrote, “When I finished high school I was
reluctantly allowed to come to Indianapolis to William Forsyth’s studio
for a year. Forsyth and my doctor aunt, who lived in New York, assured
my parents that I would not necessarily be a tramp if I studied art and
at last they sadly agreed that I might go to New York for a year to art
school.”
The ArtSmart Indiana website
states, “Wheeler had studied under Forsyth at the Herron Art Institute.
He then studied with William Merritt Chase in New York City and went to
Europe twice to study. Around 1911 he returned to Indiana with his
wife, and they built a home and studio in Irvington, an eastside
Indianapolis neighborhood where Forsyth and other artists also lived. He
became an instructor at the Herron Art Institute, in charge of the
antique class. . . . Wheeler had no special technique or subject, but
his decorative work was well known, and he had murals all over the
country. His murals at the Indianapolis Circle Theatre and City Hospital
([later] Wishard) are among his best work. His landscape
paintings—especially his snow scenes—are held in high regard.”
Self-Portrait (Undated) by Clifton Wheeler
The Road Through the Woods (1924) by Clifton Wheeler
Paul Hadley, another Mooresville artist who also taught at
Herron Art Institute, considered Clifton Wheeler to be the best of the
Hoosier Group school of artists.
At
one time, public libraries determined their overall effectiveness in
serving the public based upon door count, i.e., the number of persons
entering the building. With the advent of online history and
genealogical resources, increasing numbers of people are using the
Internet (rather than visiting their local libraries) to conduct their
genealogical research or to learn about their communities' histories.
How,
then, does a library reach patrons who don't physically visit the
facility? Many libraries have found social media as their new pathway
to patrons. Videos, podcasts, blogs, and posts to such social media
sites as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others have become
effective mechanisms to reach a new, different audience than those
coming through the library doors.
These
two slideshows, along with a handout (links below), summarize some of
the resources available for history/genealogy librarians to use in
creating a digital footprint.
Mooresville
(Indiana) Public Library has several videos on YouTube to illustrate
how local history may be brought alive visually. Watch this playlist to learn more.
Indiana Room at Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library
In Madison, Indiana, Doretta Johnson and her family moved into a 4,100-square-foot dwelling in 1987. There was a large main house along with a motel wing on two acres of land. The asking price was $59,900. For the late 1980s, that was unbelievably cheap. Soon after moving in, they discovered the reason: the property was haunted by something paranormal--and terrifying.
At first, there were just a series
of strange events. Fresh paint bubbled and ran down walls. New
wallpaper would not stick. A fireplace stain returned shortly after it
had been sandblasted clean. These incidents could have been ordinarily explained readily enough.
Then much more bizarre and threatening things happened. Objects levitated. Shadowy apparitions abounded. Writing mysteriously appeared on walls. Horrifying noises clamored about. Spontaneous fires erupted. Family members were violently attacked, both physically and psychologically. It must have been unimaginably scary.
Along with Jim Henderson, Doretta Johnson published a book in 1995 describing her family's suffering from malicious unseen forces. Our book trailer below elaborates.
MPL Book Trailer #691
The People in the Attic, by Doretta Johnson with Jim Henderson
Full-blown haunted house tales like this are unusual but not altogether rare. Since the mid-1960s, paranormal investigation has been popularized (and sensationalized) by nonfiction accounts, novels, movies, and television programs (especially since 1987, when the Johnson haunting started). People are becoming less reticent in sharing their ghostly encounters. What was once relegated to folklore has become somewhat respectable in certain parapsychological circles. Academics as well as ordinary folks seriously examine such cases. Spiritualists have been experts in the field for over 150 years.
Assuming the authors to be trustworthy--I have no reason to think otherwise--this haunted house tale is truly chilling. You may not believe that it happened--in which case, consider it a striking work of horror fiction--but for those more open-minded, there is at least something going on here that invites careful study. Of course, more than 30 years have passed since these events purportedly transpired, so perhaps it is too late for further investigation. Such cases are not uncommon, however, and opportunities for "ghost hunters" to examine the paranormal close-up will doubtlessly present themselves now and in the future. For myself, I would not have wanted to have experienced what Doretta Johnson's family lived through, whatever the cause. But, from the safety of my armchair, it makes a marvelously spooky read.
