MARION COUNTY 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

I N D I A N A P O L I S

TIMELINE

H I S T O R I C A L

OF MARION COUNTY

TIMELINE

THIS WEEK IN INDIANAPOLIS

1920

FADELY

HISTORY

AWARD

OUR WORK

The Marion County Historical Society (MCHS) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1961 for all those interested in the history and culture of Marion County, Indiana.  It was originally formed to advocate for historically significant architecture in downtown Indianapolis, but it now also includes programs and activities that explore and preserve our local heritage.

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Through a variety of programs, conferences, grants, and publications, MCHS works to develop community awareness of our past and its impact on the present and future.  Past programs have included:

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Tour of Citizens Gas & Coke Utility Plant

Visit to Carmelite Monastery

Oral History Workshops

Reprinting of Indianapolis Histories

Programs supporting local authors

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UPCOMING PROGRAMS

New programs will be posted soon.  We are finalizing our 2020 schedule and navigating through the COVID-19 restrictions. 

 

In the meantime, check out Hoosier History Live's encore presentation of "Epidemics in Indiana History" featuring Marion County Historical Society's own Bill McNiece & Bill Beck.

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The 1918 Pandemic: Indianapolis Confronts the Spanish Influenza

Sunday, July 12th, 2020

Dr. Bill McNiece and Bill Beck, both board members of the Marion County Historical Society, will reprise their October 2018 presentation at the Medical History Museum of Indiana, presenting a day-by-day chronology of the 1918 Pandemic in Indianapolis.

 

The presentation will consider what lessons that outbreak from a century ago hold for residents today and offer some comparisons to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The virtual presentation will take place on Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 2 p.m.

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Please visit the Indiana Medical History Museum website (imhm.org) for more information and to register for this presentation.

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All are welcome.

Virtual Presentation

The Extraordinary Life of Janet Flanner

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Ray Brown of the Marion County Historical Society discusses the life and times of Janet Flanner, who was born in Indianapolis in 1892 and by 1925 became a writer and correspondent in Paris for The New Yorker magazine.

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Program begins at 2 o'clock in the afternoon in the Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room (Central Library, 6th floor).  

 

All are welcome.

Indianapolis Central Library, 6th Floor

40 East St. Clair Street

Indianapolis, IN 46204

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Indiana War Memorial Plaza

Sunday, June 2, 2019

J. Stewart Goodwin, Brig. Gen., USAF (Ret), Executive Director of the Indiana War Memorials Commission, discusses the establishment of the War Memorial Plaza in downtown Indianapolis.

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In the late 1920s, four city blocks were cleared to make way for the Indiana World War Memorial, Obelisk Square, and the American Legion Mall, which is home to the Legion's National Headquarters

building, and Cenotaph memorial.

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Program begins at 2 o'clock in the afternoon in the Nina Mason Pulliam Indianapolis Special Collections Room (Central Library, 6th floor) overlooking the beautiful grounds of the Memorial.  

 

All are welcome.

Indianapolis Central Library, 6th Floor

40 East St. Clair Street

Indianapolis, IN 46204

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George W. Julian: Champion of the Oppressed

Sunday, April 28, 2019

Steve Barnett (Executive Director, Irvington Historical Society) presents the life of George W. Julian (1817-99), noted statesman, abolitionist, & early Irvington resident.

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Program begins at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  All are welcome.

Bona Thompson Memorial Center

5350 East University Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46219

A History of Garfield Park

Saturday, March 2, 2019

John Hornberger (Friends of Garfield Park Treasurer) & Carol Hall (Indiana Historical Society Board Member) discuss the history of Indianapolis's oldest city park.

Garfield Arts Center

2432 Conservatory Drive, 2nd Floor

Indianapolis, IN 46203

 

LEADERSHIP

Board of Directors

President: William L. McNiece, Ph.D.

Vice-President: (open)

Secretary: Stephen Lane II

Treasurer: Bill Beck

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Board Members:

Steve Barnett

Ray E. Brown, Jr.

Carol A. Hall

Gerald Phillips

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Website: Carl Bates

 

CONTACT US

Marion County Historical Society

P.O. Box 2223

Indianapolis, IN 46206

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Marion County Historian:

Steve Barnett

srbarnett44@yahoo.com

Please direct your questions to us about Marion County, Indiana local history only.  We are not a genealogy society and we have no holdings or archives.  For genealogy information, please contact the Indiana Genealogy Society or the Genealogical Society of Marion County.

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The Indiana State Library can help you with obituaries and information from old newspapers.  Other sources to contact are the Indiana Historical Society and the vertical files in the Indianapolis Public Library branches.

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Looking for information on the city of Marion, Indiana? Try the Grant County Historical Society.

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To join the Marion County Historical Society, go here.

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