Local History House Research
When my spouse and I moved into our current home in December 2023, we were curious about when our house was originally built (I was originally told 1948), when an obvious addition was built (originally told 1968), and of course, who lived there over the years. However, having never done this type of research, I […]
Steck’s Local History Display
The Local History section of the Crawfordsville District Public Library invites the community to visit the second floor to see its newest display and learn about some of Crawfordsville’s retail history. In 1936, Hershel Steck and Harold “Nick” Nixon, founded and opened Steck’s Menswear at 107 E. Main Street. Steck’s Menswear, in business until 1991, […]
Memorializing Sidney Speed
Stop by the library’s second floor to learn about Civil War veteran, Crawfordsville mayor, and renowned stoneworker, Sidney Allen Speed. He designed and built many iconic monuments in Montgomery County and beyond, including General Lew Wallace’s thirty-foot-tall gravesite memorial at Oak Hill Cemetery. Sidney Speed was one of three Speeds to work in the monument […]
A Look at Our Past: The Lincoln School
The Lincoln School for Colored Children operated in Crawfordsville from its inception in 1881 to 1947. The first location opened in September of 1882, at the corner of Spring and North Walnut, with 42 students. The land and buildings of the school provided a safe space for the black community to socialize and learn. In […]
Digital Genealogy Resources
In our June article, we covered the resources available on the Crawfordsville District Public Library website. In this follow-up, we will explore other digital resources available that are fun ways to explore genealogy and the history of our county and state. Providing a broad range of services and digital ephemera is the Indiana State Library […]
Preserving Local Memories
The Crawfordsville District Public Library is home to the Marian Morrison Local History Collection, featuring materials on Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana and surrounding areas. Located on the second floor of the library, our Local History and genealogy section is a part of the Reference Department and features a robust online database in addition to the […]
Montgomery County Veterans Stories and Records
Once called Decoration Day, from placing flowers and wreaths upon the graves of fallen soldiers, Memorial Day has become a day of remembrance of those who have served our country. The exact origins of the day are unknown, but it does date back to the 1860s. Some have claimed the 1863 dedication of the Gettysburg, […]
Early Lodges of Montgomery County
In celebration of the bicentennial of Montgomery County, December 1822-December 2022, the local history area in the library showcased four historical displays throughout the year. The current and last display is called Early Lodges of Montgomery County. Enlarged copies of postcards featuring the historic lodge buildings in Crawfordsville, Waynetown, Darlington, and New Market are displayed […]
The Trail He Left Behind
Time marches along steadily whether we like it or not. In my case, before I knew it, ten years slipped by…ten long years in which I doggedly researched and wrote a biography about William Bratton, our local hero who was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. When I began the process, I discovered […]
Remember Me When…
Almost all of us have them…a small collection of yearbooks from our school years that sparks nostalgia in our hearts every time we browse through them. For some Montgomery County students in the 1880s, they did not receive yearbooks but might have received an autograph book for their birthday or a holiday if they were […]
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