Thursday, August 13, 2015

Our "Virtual" Walking Tour Now on YouTube

Our "virtual" walking tour of historic downtown Mooresville, Indiana is now available to watch on the MPL YouTube Channel.  Or you could just click the graphic below to play the video.


Click Image (Above) to Play Video

Once the video is playing, to view the video "full screen," click the full screen box in the lower right-hand corner of the video box (above).

Monday, August 3, 2015

2015 Old Settlers Festival & Parade

The 2015 Mooresville (Indiana) Old Settlers Festival will be held at Pioneer Park from Sunday, August 9, 2015 through Tuesday, August 11, 2015.

The festival begins with the Old Settlers Parade on Sunday, August 9, 2015, at 2 p.m., which runs along South Indiana Street into downtown Mooresville, then along East Main Street to Indianapolis Road to Pioneer Park.

Watch our video to learn more about the history of this annual event, which began as a town picnic on August 9, 1870.  Our online handout about the picnic's history is also available.

MPL Treasure Trove Video #6
"History of Old Settlers Picnic (1870-Present),"
by Mooresville Public Library

Friday, May 15, 2015

Morgan County (and Other Hoosier) Bridge Histories



Dr. James L. Cooper, professor emeritus of history at DePauw University, has a historical bridges database available online.  Click the links below to find information about Morgan County (and other Indiana) bridges.



We also have two computer CDs with bridge photos to accompany the database information. They are available to checkout in our Evergreen Indiana catalog.

Dr. Cooper has published books recounting the history of Hoosier bridges.  These are available to checkout in our Evergreen Indiana catalog.






Click book covers to go to E.I. catalog

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Two-Twenty-Two-Twenty-Two



Click Photos to Enlarge


On February 22, 1922 (that's 2/22/22, at least in the U.S.), Mooresville High School students celebrated a basketball victory over Monrovia High School (24 points to 22 points) around the "silent policeman" pedestal (built by Raymond King) in the middle of the intersection of Main and Indiana Streets in downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  "Yell leaders" (what we now call cheerleaders) Delbert Wilson and Merle "Pinhead" Harvey stand atop the "silent policeman."

Note the horse carriage and the automobile, which were parked in separate areas "reserved" for horse-drawn vehicles (on North Indiana St.) and motor vehicles (on East Main St.) The I.O.O.F. building is in the background, where today (2015) stands Paul Hadley mini-park.  (UPDATE:  In 2017 the area became Mooresville Bicentennial Park.)

Note, too, that the "silent policeman" has been positioned incorrectly--it should have been turned 180 degrees to correctly designate directions to the cities listed. (The stand could be moved. This was a popular prank among high schoolers from neighboring communities. They would steal the "silent policeman" and haul it away somewhere, and Mooresville police would have to bring it back.)

 
"Two-Twenty-Two-Twenty-Two"
by Mooresville Public Library
(Mooresville Moments #27)