Here is a turn-of-the-century look at the Henry County Courthouse, which wasn’t even 30 years old when this photo was taken in 1898. Tools used to build the courthouse are among the many items on display at the Henry County Historical Society Museum. (Photo courtesy of Doug Magers).

By DARREL RADFORD
Historically Speaking

Walking into the Henry County Historical Society museum in New Castle may be as close to entering a time machine as you’ll ever get.

The way people lived, fought for freedom and died for this country seems to speak through the carefully preserved artifacts here. As you take in items intended to reflect the history of Henry County, the history of our nation also resonates.

We all studied American history in high school. But many of these folks represented here were living it before our textbooks were ever printed.

Arrowheads in one upstairs display remind us that Indiana’s very name means “land of the Indians” and Indians were the first real settlers of this area.

A canteen from the Revolutionary War is featured in another display case nearby. Sitting near it is a document from what could be considered an extension of that fight – the War of 1812.

Then there’s the Civil War artifacts from those who lived right in our own backyards:

— The sword of Gen. Grose

— The weapons used by Henry County soldiers

— Portraits of Seth Hinshaw, the Greensboro resident who played a prominent role in the underground railroad that helped many slaves find their freedom

— A Civil War diary with very personal insight into how life was here during that turbulent time

On display now is a tribute to some of the valiant veterans Henry County has been blessed with over the years, from Middletown’s Ira Hough and his medal of honor in the Civil War to those who served and died in the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Gen. Omar Bundy’s inspiring story is captured in newspaper clippings and military medals upstairs. Mount Summit’s Allen Shively and his Navy Cross are featured near the museum’s entrance.

Recently, the family of Raymond Byrd, who died on the Western front in World War II, was at the museum to see the military display, which includes letters he wrote as well as his Purple Heart, which was posthumously awarded. More on the Byrd family and the military display will be featured in a future column.

From the artistic brilliance of the Thaddeus Coffin desk to the rustic but useful nature of tools used more than a century ago to build our beautiful courthouse that still stands today, the museum literally weaves a story as brilliant as one of Samuel Graham’s famous coverlets.

It’s both fun and inspiring to actually see a Jesse French piano, one of thousands made right here in New Castle and shipped all over the world. Poignantly, a sheet of music on the piano here is from the song “Where Did Catherine Winters Go?” If you haven’t seen the black-and-white footage of New Castle workers by the hundreds leaving their factories to search for the girl, you should. We hope to offer visitors a chance to see that soon.

It’s equally as enjoyable to see a Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet in all its useful splendor. Thousands of those were made here as well.

Visitors from as far away as San Francisco, Alexandria, Va., and Cincinnati have come to the museum in recent days. We hope that the hundreds here in Henry County who either have never been here or who haven’t visited in a long time will come and take this time machine journey. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday each week from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Perhaps some of the hundreds of items here are waiting to speak to you.

Darrel Radford is executive director of The Henry County Historical Society and a frequent contributor to The Courier-Times.