Lafayette School Corporation’s Oakland High School does history with IHB
On September 2, Bureau staff visited Oakland High School in Lafayette to present interactive lessons to the inaugural class. The lessons were meant to reinforce the importance of primary sources in research and introduce students to a range of Indiana History topics. The presentations were geared to a 9th-12th grade audience and asked students to explore documentary evidence relating to slavery in Indiana, Lafayette artist George Winter and the Potawatomi removal, and the impact of bias on the historical narrative as seen in two historical markers that are currently under review by the Bureau.
The staff enjoyed their visit and many Oakland students were inspired by these forays into public history. Thank you to Kathy Atwell, Executive Director of the Tippecanoe County Historical Association for permission to use George Winter sketches and to Sue Carr, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, for bringing an original George Winter on Sept. 2. The presentations and activities are now available on the IHB website for educators to use in the classroom. Visit our new For Educators page to download the lesson plans, primary source documents, and discussion guides!
IHB reminds you to make Little Orphant Annie by the "Hoosier Poet," James Whitcomb Riley a part of your Fall to-do list.
New Indiana Historical Marker revises date of first classes at IU Bloomington
In 2007, when the city of Bloomington applied to the Indiana Historical Bureau for a state historical marker to commemorate Seminary Square, it provoked an extensive search for primary sources to provide a definitive answer to the question of when classes first began at what is now Indiana University.
Earlier historians had suggested a variety of dates in the spring of 1824 or 1825.In 1987, the Indiana University Board of Trustees ended the debate by approving a resolution that made May 1, 1824 “the anniversary date of the beginning of classes at the State Seminary.”
Friday, August 26, 2011, Jeremy Hackerd, former manager of the Indiana Historical Bureau’s State Historical Marker Program, participated in the dedication of the State Seminary historical marker at Seminary Square Park. Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, IU Executive Vice-President and Provost Karen Hanson, and Steve and Connie Ferguson also spoke at the ceremony.
It was fitting for Hackerd, currently Project Manager at IU’s Eppley Institute, to be there, since it was his research at the IHB that convincingly substantiated April 4, 1825 as the correct date when classes began. Indiana Historical Bureau staff continue to conduct extensive historical research to ensure that the texts of IHB state format markers installed throughout the state will be supported with reliable sources, according to the goals and guidelines for the program.
Below: Jeremy Hackerd speaks at the ceremony. Seated are Connie Ferguson, Stephen Ferguson, Mayor Mark Kruzan, and IU Assistant Vice President Kirk White
Marianne Hughes, marker volunteer, reported recently that a 1966 historical marker, “Site of Hardin’s Defeat” was lying along the road. After a review of the text, it was decided the marker should not be replaced. The review, detailing inaccuracies that led to the decision, may be read here. Thank you to INDOT, Fort Wayne Division, for removing the marker, and to Marianne for her vigilance.
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