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Henry County Historical Society & Museum

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HENRY COUNTY HISTORY FEED

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Copyright 1887-2026 Henry County Historical Society, New Castle, Indiana

Bringing History to Life & Life to History Since 1887! Hours of Operation
Please contact us to schedule a tour and/or research during these hours: Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays 1 p.m.-4 p.m. If no appointment is made, tour and/or research cannot be guaranteed if no volunteers are available. Open through early March to late December! Admission Fees: None! Call us: 765-529-4028 Email us: HenryCountyMuseum@gmail.com Mail us: 606 South 14th Street, New Castle, IN 47362

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

Open early March - December!
We're always open by appointment! Call us at 765-529-4028 or contact Henry County Historian Darrel Radford at 765-524-0530. Thank you for your support of the oldest, continuously operating historical society in Indiana!

Henry County Historical Society, Inc

1 day ago

On this day in Henry County history, July 24, 1943, New Castle merchant leader Cliff Payne wrote about "Victory Gardens" in his war time column "Cliff's Comments -- A Weekly News Review of New Castle and Henry County Compiled for the Men In Service."Payne was founder of the southside shopping center known as Payne Village, where Marsh Supermarkets used to be. Pictured is an early 1940s photo of a "Victory Garden." Government officials encouraged citizens to plant their own fruits and vegetables, saving canned goods for the troops overseas. Courier-Times employees in the early 1940s photo are l-r Marion Reichart, Jim Cannon, Verl Byers, Jeannette Ogborne, Carl Hinshaw and Raymond McConnell Sr. Payne writes about "Victory Gardens" among other items in an excerpt from his July 24, 1943, column below:ON THE WAR"The hardest job we are having here at home is keeping our spirits under control, especially after our soldiers have over-run Sicily the way they have this past week. We realize there is a long way to go, but it's just pretty hard to remember that side of the story."HOOK'S FIRE"Hooks cigar counter caught fire the other night and about $200 worth of smokes went up in smoke prematurely."HIGH SCHOOL"The lot south of the high school is to be leveled off so that the wartime physical fitness program might be carried on. The grading will cost about $1,400. The machine shop has been expanded so that it virtually covers the ground floor. Room 305 is being converted into a music room, which will be sound proof and have storage space for all the instruments.VICTORY GARDENVictory Garden experts are now holding a post mortem over some of the gardens that were so enthusiastically planted back in the early spring. Their discussions have that same dull ring we used to catch in the Monday morning huddles after Saturday's football games. What with the gophers, aphids, wilt, curl, scale and thrips the garden grenadiers have been busier than a ticklish man on an anthill. My neighbor puts mineral oil in his ears of corn to protect against worms -- and the worms come up to yell that the oil's a good substitute for butter, but where's the salt and pepper? The gardener's comment as he looks over his crops these days is "let us spray." DESTINATION HENRY COUNTYThis Day In Henry County History is brought to you by Destination Henry County Indiana. Discover slam dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com. Visit the Facebook page at https;//www.Facebook.com/VisitHenryCounty.comHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Come visit the Henry County Historical Society Museum at 606 S. 14th St., New Castle and see a 1911 Maxwell. We're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 529-4028 and leave a message. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

2 days ago

On July 23, 1986, WTHR Channel 13, Indianapolis, highlighted New Castle in its 5 p.m. newscast. Highlights included Bob Shauver’s Trojan Marching Band performing and co-anchor Kim Hood playing “Back Home Again In Indiana” on a Jesse French piano at the Henry County Historical Society museum.The picture here, published in the July 31, 1986 edition of The Henry County News Republican, shows WTHR's Kim Hood with Bill Gephart at Baker Park. While Kim Hood's performance on the Jesse French piano at the Henry County Historical Society was a taped portion of the report, WTHR was "Live at Five" during its newscast with Hood joining co-anchor Bill Gephart and popular weatherman Bob Gregory in front of more than 100 local residents gathered at Baker Park."We wanted to show New Castle on the rebound from some tough economic times of the past," Gephart told The News Republican's Darrel Radford at the time.In addition to Hood's performance on the piano, Bob Shauver's New Castle Trojan Marching Band performed, there was a story on the city's new first aid unit, paid for entirely by local contributions, and a look at the rapidly progressing Hills Department Store construction on State Road 3.DESTINATION HENRY COUNTYThis Day In Henry County History is brought to you by Destination Henry County Indiana. Discover slam dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com. Visit the Facebook page at https;//www.Facebook.com/VisitHenryCounty.comHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Come visit the Henry County Historical Society Museum at 606 S. 14th St., New Castle and see a 1911 Maxwell. We're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 529-4028 and leave a message. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

3 days ago

On this day in Henry County history, July 22, 1845, George Hazzard was born in New Castle. He would become a Civil War veteran and early Henry County historian.History was quite literally in his blood. His maternal grandfather was Asahel Woodward, regarded as the first white settler of New Castle.Hazzard is the author of a two-volume illustrated history of Henry County. He not only organized Citizens State Bank, which has one of the oldest charters in Indiana, but was also involved in developing laws governing state banks that ultimately were passed by the Indiana General Assembly. He was Indiana's first state bank examiner and owned The Courier for some years.We have Hazzard's Henry County History available for research here at the Henry County Historical Society. You can come use it for your research at the museum (although we don't allow it to be checked out.) Call 765-529-4028 to schedule an appointment if you'd like access to it some time.DESTINATION HENRY COUNTYThis Day In Henry County History is brought to you by Destination Henry County Indiana. Discover slam dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com. Visit the Facebook page at https;//www.Facebook.com/VisitHenryCounty.comHELP US PRESERVE COMMUNITY HISTORYPlease join the Henry County Historical Society with a $25 annual membership. Visit our website at www.henrycountymuseum.orgCOME SEE US!Come visit the Henry County Historical Society Museum at 606 S. 14th St., New Castle and see a 1911 Maxwell. We're open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1-4 p.m. and ANYTIME by appointment. Call 529-4028 and leave a message.VISIT OUR WEBSITE, BECOME A MEMBERFor more interesting historical information, we invite you to visit our webpage, where membership information is available. Click on henrycountymuseum.org/ and become a member of one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the state ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

3 days ago

MORE ON JACOB AND MARY BROWNAT THE BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURTHOUSEDURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR(BOTH BURIED IN HENRY COUNTY)The Henry County Historical Society received these photos and the following story from Mark Kreps concerning his ancestor Mary Brown. We'd like to share it here with sincere thanks to Mark. -- Darrel Radford, Henry County Historian.The Spirit of 76 and Providence. Mary and another lady packed supplies for their husbands unit who was getting ready to go battle in North Carolina. My ancestor, Mary Armfield Brown, attempted to cross the Yadkin River to get supplies to her husband's (Jacob Brown) unit in time for the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. Mary unsuccessfully forded the river with her horse and helplessly tangled in the horses rein. Two men on the shoreline came after the other lady Mary was with shouted for help. Two men came to see the commotion. One gentleman told him not to risk his life for hers. He thought they both would perish. Meanwhile the man swiftly removed his outer clothing and rescued Mary. All made it safely, thanks to the great hand of God. Mary Brown is buried in Henry County, IN at the Flatrock Cemetery. ... See MoreSee Less

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Henry County Historical Society, Inc

4 days ago

On July 21, 1849, local officials announced cancellation of the Welch, Delevan and Nathans Circus in New Castle due to the cholera epidemic.The poster here was not from New Castle, but an example of what would be seen in communities suffering from an outbreak of the disease.Cholera was an infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine, typically contracted from infected water supplies and causing severe vomiting and diarrhea.The New Castle Courier reported the news:"At a meeting of the citizens of the town of New Castle it was unanimously resolved that for the better security of the health of the town and vicinity against the visitation of that dreadful disease, the cholera, that the proprietors of Welch, Delevan and Nathans Circus, who have their advertisements through the Indiana Courier, to withhold their visit to this place while Cholera is abroad in our land." -- Dr. Joel Reed, Pres't.In Herbert Heller's Historic Henry County Vol. 1, a public notice signed by T.B. Woodward, Joel Reed, John Darr and A.J. Clawson dated July 21, 1849, was featured.The letter read: "Fellow citizens, the dreaded and fatal epidemic cholera has again visited our country and thousands are falling victims to its destructive sway; though as yet it is principally confined to the display in various small towns and some neighborhoods in the interior; as yet, however, New Castle has escaped, and we rejoice to be able to assure our fellow citizens that at this time our town is healthy and there is not a serious case of sickness in the place. Yet we know not the day, nor the hour, when we may have a visitation of the cholera, but hope that by proper care due to caution on our our part, that we may be able to escape. There is a circus show to be here in a few days, and in ordinary times we would not presume to dictate to our fellow citizens the course for them to pursue, but as cholera is abroad and that a number of persons crowded in a confined atmosphere (as within the canvass at a show) is at all time unfriendly to health, would in our opinion at this time be very dangerous. In view of these facts, we respectfully recommend that (in town and country) no one attend."Here is an excerpt from the National Library of Medicine concerning the epidemic's impact on Indiana communities.Boston, Indiana, a crossroads village about 15 miles south of the National Road had 120 people in 1849. There were 53 deaths over five weeks. Of those who became ill, only one recovered. Graves were dug by family members on their own property. The town was abandoned except for one family. Often there was no one left to bury the dead.(7,8)The Indiana College was along the stagecoach route south from Indianapolis. In 1833, cholera broke out in town and the college. There were three deaths among the students and eleven in town. The college was closed, and students were sent home. Many had no way to travel except to walk home. Some of those walkers died along the road.(9,10)In 1832 in Rising Sun, Indiana, another small river town just downstream from Aurora, William Lewis, a Presbyterian minister, wrote to his sister “I have made arrangements in case of my sudden death to secure to my dear wife all her property. She feels solemn, as we all do, and that it is not improbable that this awful calamity should visit usthat she and I will be numbered among its victims. Still we pursue our ordinary affairs, as usual, committing ourselves to the hand of our Heavenly Father.”(11)A bit further downriver, Madison's 1849–50 problems were worse than they had been in 1832. On January 25, 1849, Madison created a Board of Health with quarantine and data-gathering powers. It also had the power to impose fines of $500 on those who brought the disease into the city.(12) Within 5 years, those requirements were forgotten. The County Council required the sexton of the town cemetery to maintain a list of all burials, citing name, age, origin and cause of death.(13) In and around Madison, 163 died of cholera during the worst of the epidemic.(14) On July 12, 1849, Judge Jeremiah Sullivan wrote to his son Algernon: “We have cholera here also (in Madison). Every day one or more deaths.” On June 26, 1850, to Algernon, then in Cincinnati: “We are anxious about you; we hear cholera in Cincinnati is worse than the papers admit. Are you careful to avoid fruits and vegetables? Avoid the night air and damp places.”(15) On June 19, 1849, John L. King of Madison wrote in his diary: “Each morning the first inquiry is about cholera. Each one approaches somebody else with grave face and each asks the other about deaths during the night. No one knows whether his friend whom he left at night in the fullness of life may not in the morning be either a corpse or prostrated in the last stages of collapse.” On July 14, 1849, he wrote, “I wake for breakfast to find panic because of cholera.”(16)In July 1849, cholera came to the hamlet of Hanover (pop. 400), just downstream from Madison. Among the deaths was Sylvester Scovel, President of Hanover College, and three students. After Scovel's death, the college closed for several weeks. More than 14 deaths occurred in the town.(17)The diary of Dr. Asahel Clapp of New Albany, Indiana (further downstream), records that he cared for 34 patients who died of cholera between June and September, 1849. There were nine more in 1850.(18) Yet, the daily New Albany Democrat, during the same time, focused attention elsewhere. It reported that 500 had fallen victim to the disease in San Antonio, and fatalities in New Orleans, Louisville, Lexington, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee were reported.(19) On July 6, Clapp's diary reported that he had ten cholera deaths among his patients that week. During the same period, the newspaper reported deaths in Madison, Corydon and Aurora and only one in New Albany.On July 14, 1849, the New Albany Democrat reported 50 deaths in Washington, Indiana (pop. 1000). On July 17, the paper said that only five families were left in Washington. The rest were dead or fled. On July 19, the Evansville Weekly Journal reported “that Washington had had 12 deaths between 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. People were fleeing.”Napoleon, Indiana, in 1849, was a thriving transfer center for a number of stagecoach routes - principally between Indianapolis and Cincinnati and Indianapolis and Madison. As a transportation hub, Napoleon brought together affected and non-affected communities, and thus, distributed cholera more widely. Thirty-five of its own 250 people died of cholera in 1849.(20,21)In 1849, cholera was in Vincennes, Indiana, again. It was an important commercial site on the Wabash River, part of the canal system between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Cholera was there again in 1849 and, again, businessmen attempted to suppress its recognition. The doctor who diagnosed cholera in 1849 was forced to leave the town.By August 1, 1850, the Vincennes Gazette admitted there had been seven deaths in Vincennes. The Gazette stated that numbers had been exaggerated and one should not believe rumors. On August 8, 1850, the Gazette reported that the disease was subsiding. Lafayette, Indiana, also a Wabash river town, attempted to hide the cholera problem in 1849. On August 15, 1849, Millicent Ann Stratton of New London in Howard County wrote: “The cholera is in Lafayette, about 10 miles distant. It has not reached our settlement yet, but we do not know how soon it may please our Heavenly Father to send it over our land and call us from this unfriendly world to appear before our final judge. We have heard about Salem and the little town of Boston that have suffered greatly.”(25) The cholera survey conducted by the Indiana Medical Association (1853) reported 300 deaths in Lafayette in 1849 from “diarrheal diseases.”(26)Salem, Indiana, an inland village, on a stagecoach route, about 25 miles from the Ohio River and New Albany, was one of the most severely affected towns. In July and August, 1833, there were 113 deaths in and around the town. Its population was a few hundred. The newspaper stopped publication. Most individuals fled. A local minister later wrote that all fled the town except “a donkey and a drunken grocery keeper.”(27–30)Among the ideas about the cause of cholera was electrical disturbances in the atmosphere. This seemed confirmed in Randolph County, Indiana, near the village of Lynn. John Lister drove a wagon along a country road and observed a lightning strike, followed by a sulfurous odor. John and his son died of cholera the next day and 27 others in a few days.(31)Elizabethtown in Bartholomew County was a stop on the Madison to Indianapolis stagecoach route. Eighteen to 20 people died there during July 1849. They were buried about a mile east of town, hauled there in a wagon, four at a time.(32)In 1851, cholera was in Greene County, Indiana. Four doctors died during a period of four days. There were none left in the county. One fourth of the people in Old Point Comfort died. The rest fled.(33)DESTINATION HENRY COUNTYThis Day In Henry County History is brought to you by Destination Henry County Indiana. Discover slam dunk experiences at www.HoopsInHenry.com. Visit the Facebook page at https;//www.Facebook.com/VisitHenryCounty.comCOME SEE US!Come visit the Henry County Historical Society Museum at 606 S. 14th St., New Castle and see a 1911 Maxwell. We're open ANYTIME by appointment. Call 529-4028 and leave a message.VISIT OUR WEBSITE, BECOME A MEMBERFor more interesting historical information, we invite you to visit our webpage, where membership information is available. Click on henrycountymuseum.org/ and become a member of one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the state. ... See MoreSee Less

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NOTICE

Because we are a Special Collections Library and Archive, our hours may differ on short notice due to staffing and volunteers. Please check our hours carefully to make sure we will be open for your visit. Sometimes we are on tours or with previously scheduled guests and cannot answer the door or phone. Appointments are highly recommended for people traveling to visit us. (You can request an appointment by emailing us at HenryCountyMuseum@gmail.com.) We recommend making your appointment at least one week in advance.

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