Indiana - Monroe County History Center

Artifacts from the “Lost” Community of Wayport

Feb 19, 2019Monroe HistorywehiaI-69, Indiana, Monroe County, Wayport

Post by Randi Richardson Wayport is a village founded in Sections 28 and 33 in Washington Township, Monroe County, Indiana. It was laid out in 1851 and comprised of 16 lots. For a while it included a store, post office and a blacksmith shop. It reportedly “hit its peak” from 1877 to 1879. Danielle Thomas

Dr. John Herschel Lemon Reminisces about Early Life in Bloomington

Nov 26, 2018Monroe Historypeople, places, wehiaBloomington, Indiana, John Herschel Lemon, Monroe County

Blog post by Randi Richardson The item noted below is based on a column in an unidentified Bloomington newspaper called “Looking Back.” It was found in a scrapbook compiled by a man named Fred Lockwood. The scrapbook is held by the Monroe County History Center, Bloomington, Indiana. It also includes information and a photograph from

Barbara (Ellett) Dail Remembers Stinesville

Aug 13, 2018Monroe History1 Commentpeople, placesBaker, Dail, Ellett, Indiana, Monroe County, Monroe County History Center, Payton, Stinesville

Barbara Rose Ellett was born March 12, 1937, in the old Hoadley Mansion in Stinesville, Monroe County, Indiana. Her parents were Charles Homer and Blanche Elizabeth (Baker) Ellett. Her maternal grandparents were Sherman and Sarah Lucy Evaline (Stewart) Baker; her paternal grandparents were W. A. Gorman and Mary Gettysburg “Getty” (Payton) Ellett. Barbara grew up

Hays Market One of a Kind

Aug 8, 2018Monroe History3 Commentspeople, placesBloomington, Cavaness, Currie, Curry, Garage, Hays, Indiana, Market, Monroe County, Morton Street, Quarries, Sixth Street, Smithville

Many people who have lived for a while in Bloomington remember Hays Market at 6th and Morton streets. It wasn’t always a market, however, and the stone carving over the door provides a clue to its origins. The first owner of the building was Lawrence Currie and his son, John. Lawrence Currie, whose name was

Certificates of Selection for the Civilian Conservation Corps

Jul 17, 2018Monroe HistorywehiaBloomington, Civilian Conservation Corps, Indiana, Monroe County, Stevens, work relief

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933-1942 during the presidency of Frank D. Roosevelt. Initially, the program provided manual labor jobs related to unemployed, unmarried men between the ages of 18-25. Later it was modified to include older men up to the age of 45 and they were

Scoby’s Divorce and Battle for Child Custody

Jun 21, 2018Monroe History1 CommentwehiaBloomington, divorce, Indiana, Monroe County

Although there were significantly fewer divorces in the early nineteenth century than there are today, they nevertheless did exist. One of the earliest divorces on record in Monroe County is that of James and Ruth Scoby. On August 24, 1824, the Monroe County sheriff was commanded to bring several witnesses to court to testify on

Earliest Telephone Book in the County

Jun 4, 2018Monroe History2 CommentswehiaBloomington, Indiana, Indiana Genealogical Society, Monroe County, telephone

We don’t know with any certainty when telephones were first introduced in Monroe County or the date of the first telephone book. However, the date of the earliest known telephone book in the county is 1902. It has been preserved on microfilm at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington and is part of the

Gentry Bros. Organize Another Big Show

May 22, 2018Monroe HistorywehiaBloomington, circus, Gentry, Indiana, Monroe County

The front page of the Bloomington (IN) Evening World on October 22, 1917, announced that Bloomington, the home of circuses and circus men, was to have another big show enterprise organized by J. W. Gentry, East Kirkwood Avenue, who helped make the Gentry Bros. Show famous from coast to coast. Gentry reportedly was at work

Tragic Accident Ends Life of Sanford Brown

Apr 23, 2018Monroe HistorywehiaBrown, Consolidated Stone Quarry, Indiana, McDonald, Monroe County, Richardson, stone industry

Sanford Harrison Brown is the 3X paternal great grandfather of my husband, Richard T. Richardson. He was born about 1841 in Kentucky. In 1862 he married Minerva Jane “Mary” McDonald in Monroe County, Indiana, and with her fathered eight children including a daughter, Laura, who married Joshua Reece Richardson. In January 1896, Sanford reportedly went

Affidavits for Soldier’s Exemptions

Apr 17, 2018Monroe HistorywehiaBloomington, Indiana, Indiana Genealogical Society, Monroe County, Soldiers, Veterans

In 1927 the federal government determined that “any honorably discharged soldier, sailor, marine or nurse who had served at least 90 days or more in the military or naval forces of the United States and who was totally disabled as evidenced by a pension certificate or the award of compensation, and the widow of any