Blog post by Randi Richardson Lots of people from Monroe County had kin that lived in Brown County located adjacent to Monroe County on the east. Some of those kin may be among those noted in the June 2019 issue of the Brown County Journal dedicated exclusively to hucksters—the vehicle operators and the families and communities they
Blog post by Randi Richardson This sketch accompanied the circus announcement published in the Bloomington Evening World on July 26, 1924. The caption under the sketch noted that the “biggest lion is the one that tried to kill the trainer and the smallest lion is the one that saved its master’s life.” It was additionally
Blog post by Randi Richardson After shooting and killing Elzie Easton and gunning down his companion, James Douglass, on Christmas Eve, 1889, George Buskirk, the saloon keeper, escaped through a rear door and headed east to the home of his mother. He reportedly gave some thought, initially, to turning himself in to the sheriff, or
On Monday morning, February 26, [1838], about half past four in the morning, the citizens of Bloomington were roused from their sleep by the ringing of bells and cries of fire. It was soon ascertained that the fire was in the frame buildings owned by G. R. Johnson and occupied by Mr. Jonathan Legg as
Blog post by Randi Richardson On May 9, 1883, the Bloomington Progress reported that a car load of old rubber boots had been gathered up over the past year and shipped to eastern cities as they were in great demand by the manufacturers of chewing gum. The rubber was reportedly melted in large kettles and
Blog post by Randi Richardson The Lilly Library at Indiana University, Bloomington, has a number of items relevant to the history of Monroe County. Among those items is Session Book 2 for the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation at Bloomington. This book covers the period from 1838 to 1860 and includes a list of baptisms from January
Blog post by Randi Richardson There’s no doubt about it. The hitchrack surrounding the court house square was controversial. Oh, not at first, when Bloomington was yet a village, the streets were dirt and the merchants few. Folks came to town on a horse or in a buggy, occasionally a team of oxen, tied up
Blog post by Randi Richardson On the afternoon of September 27, 1951, the Airport Roller Skating Rink and a small residential home utilized by the rink for storage were completely destroyed by fire fanned by a brisk wind. The rink, which measured about 110×60 feet, was located two miles west of Bloomington. It was owned
Blog post by Randi Richardson By the time the Civilian Conservation Corps program ended in 1942, some three million men, including more than 63,000 Hoosiers had worked in more than 2,000 camps throughout the 48 states and the U. S. possessions of Alaska, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. There were 56 CCC companies in
A MONTH IN THE YEAR OF A FLU EPIDEMIC IN MONROE COUNTY
Blog post by Randi Richardson From January 1918 through December 1920, five hundred million people around the world were infected with the flu which resulted in the deaths of somewhere between three to five percent of the world’s population. Many of those who died were soldiers. During the month of October, 1918, the number of
Read More