On Fee Lane, north of the railroad tracks and on the east side of the road facing north, stands Foster Quadrangle, an Indiana University dormitory built in 1964 as part of the university’s post-war expansion. Between the dorm and Fee Lane is a small cemetery enclosed by a low limestone wall. This is called the […]
Using materials generously donated by Alice Reed Morrison, the History Center Research Library has launched its first online exhibit. The Lake Monroe Oral History Project focuses on the stories of Salt Creek Valley residents who were displaced by the construction of Lake Monroe in the 1960s.
This exhibit, created for the History Center by interns Delainey Bowers and Dorothy Berry, uses original audio recordings and photos from Morrison’s 1986 dissertation entitled “Portrait of a Lost Community: A Folklife Study of the Salt Creek Valley of South Central Indiana and the Effects of Community Displacement Following Formation of the Monroe Reservoir.” […]
In honor of the 2018 Monroe County Bicentennial, we have had Monroe County’s first deed book preserved. Dating from December 1817-December 1825, this book is a record of the first land transactions in the county. Along with these first land sales, Deed Book A also contains numerous city plat maps. This invaluable piece of Monroe County history can now be viewed in the MCHC Research Library.
Bloomington Plat Map, Deed Book A, 1818. Note that this map may have been added in later, or may have been edited by various recorders.
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The MCHC library has two new maps on display!
A map showing the location of all cemeteries in Monroe County is mounted near the southeast corner of the Education Room beside the Cemetery of the Month display. This map is the result of years of work by the Cemetery Committee in locating as accurately as possible all cemeteries that are now extant or have ever existed in the county. It is plotted on a modern map showing present roads and other geographic features to simplify finding the cemetery. Unfortunately we do not know the exact location of many of the cemeteries. Others have been destroyed and some removed to new locations.
A portion of the cemetery map showing cemeteries found in Bloomington Township
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The Monroe County Historical Society was organized in 1905 when interested members of the community met at the Christian Church and heard Rev. Amzi Atwater read a paper titled “Recollections of the University 40 Years Ago.” Atwater was the first president and curator of the Society.
Atwater came to Bloomington to attend Indiana University in 1864. After completing two degrees, he was called to be the pastor of a Disciples church in Ohio, but returned to IU in 1870 to teach Latin and Greek. In 1888, he was made a vice president of the university and served in that capacity for four years.
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While working on our houses and buildings index (coming soon!), volunteer Lee Ehman came across this curious article published June 9, 1910 in an unspecified local newspaper: “A large Plymouth Rock hen escaped from a coop in a local grocery yesterday, mounted to the third story of the court house and laid an egg at […]
Sarah Parke Morrison , the first female to attend classes and graduate from Indiana University, was born September 7, 1833, in Salem, Washington County, Indiana, the eldest child of John I. and Catherine (Morris) Morrison. The above photo is Morrison c. 1869 (From the collection of the IU Archives Photograph Collection. Used with permission.)
John came to Washington County in 1820, at the age of 18, and was hired to teach at the Salem Grammar School. He left for a time to complete a degree at Miami University in Ohio, then returned to Salem and opened the Washington County Seminary for Men. Sometime later, along with his wife, he opened the Salem Female Seminary.
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While working a Research Library shift I took a telephone inquiry about this question. Initially poking around the library’s vertical and family files, I found nothing. Bobby, a reference librarian at the Monroe County Public Library, steered me to their “highways and roads” vertical files and I found a page copied from the Monroe County Family Heritage 1987 book, detailing Theodore (Pete) Ellis’s life.
From 1921 Pete’s parents, Robert and Nora, operated greenhouses in the 1200 block of E 2nd St, with nine buildings plus the family home, all of which were destroyed by fire in 1935. They also established a retail flower shop at 304 E 5th St.
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Join us November 7th from 10am-3pm for a free genealogy seminar in the education room! Allison Deprey Singleton from the Indiana Historical Society will be leading a genealogy seminar that has something for genealogists of all skill levels. Guests can choose to attend all of the following sessions or individual sessions: 10am-11am: Start With What […]
