Looking Back by Ruth L. Huff May 19, 1984 In 1890 the residents of Ellettsville were in an uproar because the Monon railroad was trying to change the name of their village to Logan. The exact reason for the change was unclear. Perhaps the railroad preferred the shorter name in order to facilitate their record
Blog post by Randi Richardson Deed books include property transactions and slaves were considered property. Occasionally, then, even in those states where slavery was banned by constitutional law, deed books include contracts of indentured servitude, one of the ways whites maneuvered to keep possession of their slaves in spite of the law. John Sedwick,
Blog post by Randi Richardson There once was a funeral home in downtown Ellettsville. If you didn’t live in Ellettsville during the 1940s and 50s, you probably have no memory of it. In the span of history, it existed only briefly. The two-story building at 112 N. Sale Street is believed to have been built
Blog post by Randi Richardson Ellettsville is no stranger to flooding. When one of the heaviest rains ever experienced in the area fell in late November 1883, it nearly cost a few of the people in Ellettsville their life. An account of the event, as noted below, was published in the Bloomington (IN) Progress on
William B. Hoadley, a native of Monroe County, was born March 29, 1899 to John W. and Dovie (Figg) Hoadley, Jr. His grandfather, John Hoadley, Sr. a native of England, immigrated to the United States in the 1840s and soon afterward became quite prominent in Ellettsville’s stone industry. Although William appeared to have some interest
A BLOODY TRAGEDY IN ELLETTSVILLE
Blog post by Randi Richardson Sometimes the line between “vigilante justice” and just downright meanness is quite thin and poorly defined. Such is the 1854 case in which Harrison Spear, variously spelled Speer, was a victim and Hugh Butler, one of several perpetrators, died. The assault was allegedly triggered by Spear’s immoral behavior. Newspapers in
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