Did You Know

Many streets in Anderson were renamed in January, 1889. Their current name is shown first and the previous name follows. First Street was Bond. Second Street was California. Third Street was North Canal. Fourth Street was Hannah. Fifth Street was Hamilton. Sixth Street was Benton. Seventh Street was German. Eighth Street was Anderson. Ninth Street was Washington. Tenth Street was Bolivar. Eleventh Street was Williams. Twelfth Street was Canal. Thirteenth Street was Lane. Fourteenth Street was Taylor.

The Anderson Herald was established in June, 1868 and was published every Friday morning. Subscriptions were $2 for a year, $1 for 6 months and 50 cents for 3 months. It became a daily in 1883.

Madison County Historical Markers

This past December, the City of Anderson presented tow refurbished Madison County historical markers to the Society listed below:

Anderson's First Natural Gas Well, activated March 31, 1887 at 1806 Meridian Street. It was 847 feet deep and made Anderson "The Queen City of the Indiana Gas Belt."

Buckeye Manufacturing, north of 18th Street and south of the Big Four Railroad on Columbus Avenue. It is now an auto parts store. Many of the first Lambert cars were built in this plant in the early 1900's. It closed its doors in 1922.

February Trips

Some MCHS members visited the Wabash County Historical Museum and the Henry County Historical Society Museum in February. They carpooled from Madison County History Center each time. On February 21, they toured the Wabash museum in late morning and met with Museum Directory Tracy Stewart.

On February 28, they were in New Castle to Henry County's museum and visited with Museum Curator Marianne Hughes. They stayed only a few hours at each facility, but learned much about how these museums were operated and organized.

HISTORY PLAIN AND SIMPLE

AS SPACE ALLOWS....We'll spin a little history of Madison County, its towns and communities. Most of them are still here, but a few have faded away. If you know something interesting involving our county, please let me know. I've only lived here 30 years, so there is much I don't know. And, please correct me when I get something wrong. My number is 649-4471.

The exciting thing about history is it's the world's longest adventure story. No one is sure where it begins and no one knows if it will ever end. History is a soap opera. Well, not exactly, because it's more exciting than a soap opera. Some of its twists and turns, its O. Henry endings to incidents, are more improbable than anything a "soap" writer could dream up.

Who could have imagined a Native American chief named Anderson? (Or do you, like some Native Americans I've known, prefer "American Indian?") Who would have written a plot in which some of Central Indiana's enormous natural gas beds were wasted by mounting an arched string of gas jets across White River and lighting them around-the-clock? Fiction writers would say it's too unbelievable. But in Anderson, Indiana, they did just that, and people came out from Indianapolis on the interurban to stare at it. It can't compare with today's movies or TV programs or sports events, but in the late 19th century it was Academy Award-caliber entertainment.

In Madison County, many are living on Indian mounds, created by the Hopewell culture of Indians. Only recently have we discovered why the mounds were built. Like Stonehenge in England, the mounds were created for scientific study. At the Great Mound in today's Mounds State Park between Anderson and Chesterfield, the sun beams through a slight dip in the mound at the exact moment the summer solstice occurs. This fact was determined by a team from Ball State's anthropology department about 15 years ago. And after this discovery, the team began to find signs that this mound may be deliberately lined up with other Indian mounds throughout the Midwest--southern Ohio, East St. Louis and other places. The Adena-Hopewell Indian society, connecting and working together, communicated across hundreds of miles! So much for the notion that American Indian tribes were "primitive."

History is exciting! History is shocking! History never ends! History has shaped what Madison County is today. So, let's begin a great adventure together. Here's the deal. You tell me what you've uncovered about Madison County's past, and I'll tell you what I know.

-------Carole Carlson, Madison County "newcomer"

Want To Know A Little More History?

How Athletic Park came about....The disastrous flood of 1913. The park was originally the old fairgrounds, which was a source of entertainment to all ages in the 1890's. The City of Anderson purchased the Park on January 24, 1913, for $8,500 and named it The Athletic Park. In March of 1913, the city suffered a disastrous flood, and the water from the White River flooded the Municipal Electric Light and Power Plant, causing the city to be without electric power for several hours. The National Guardsman were called out to patrol the city streets.

The Anderson Democrat, the town's first daily newspaper, became The Anderson Bulletin in March, 1885.

Memorial Gifts

We extend our special thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Jack B. Nicholson who have made gifts to the Historical Society in memory of the following:
Reed P. Conrad
Daniel Almquiet
Debbie VanNess Seward
Robert L. Austin
Keith Michael Austin,
(son-in-law of Harry and Maureen Kirchenbauer)

STATE OF INDIANA HISTORICAL MARKERS IN MADISON COUNTY

MASSACRE OF INDIANAS

In 1824, local white men murdered nine Indians in Madison County. These men were tried, found guilty and hanged. It was the first execution of white men for killing Indians in the U.S. This marker is just east of Markleville on State Road 38.

WENDELL WILLKIE

On August 17, 1940, Willkie accepted the Republican Party's presidential nomination, but lost the election to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Willkie was born in Elwood, IN, in 1892 and died in 1944. He is buried in Rushville. This marker is located in Elwood.

INDIANA'S FIRST INTERURBAN

Charles I. Henry's Union Traction Company, the first electric rail line, began operating on January 1, 1898, and ran from Anderson to Alexandria. This marker is in downtown Alexandria.

SERVICES AT THE INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

BORROW professional books, media and other items. A searchable database of material is also available on their website.

REVIEW examples of brochures, disaster plans, newsletters, job descriptions and other documents.

SMALL TRAVELING EXHIBITS on Indiana history are available, free for historical societies and museums; $100 for other organizations.

COMMUNIQUE ONLINE shows what exhibits, programs, resources and opportunities are available around the state.

TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS teach more about the issues of planning, care of collections, fundraising, outreach, human resources, etc., for history groups.

MORE ABOUT MAPLEWOOD CEMETERY'S DECEASED
from Marilyn Marsh's Notebook

Section 11

HIRAM TRUMBLE VANDEVENDER - 1839-1863. Mr. Vandevender was raised on a small farm outside of Anderson, but received the benefits of special education. He was an excellent student and well liked by everyone. When the Civil War broke out he helped raise a company from Anderson. He became captain of Company K, which went to Virginia and participated in the Battle of Rich Mountain. Soon after, Captain Vandevender moved on to Company E and fought in several battles, only to be killed at the Battle of Vicksburg while commanding his company in a charge. His new wife, Caroline Myers, received the bad news back home in Anderson and had him laid to rest in her family's plot.

MYRON B. REYNOLDS. A native of Anderson, he was born in 1898. He was active in Boy Scouts as a child and one of the founders of the National Cub Scouts of America. He was the second Boy Scout of Madison County. He was a prominent business man and owned the Reynolds Gas Regulator Company and co-owned the RWG Foundry in Anderson.