Category: Road Trip Indiana Series

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Adams County Courthouse

First Courthouse
Adams County officials contracted to construct the first courthouse in May 1839. The contract stipulated that the courthouse would be,
“…shall be a framed house built of good material, thirty by forty feet in size and two stories high; the lower story or room to be left without any partitions, and the upper story or room divided into rooms to accommodate the grand and petit juries…The weather boarding on the two sides next to the streets shall be planed.” This building served as courthouse until 1873, when it was sold and moved to another site on Front Street in Decatur. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Adams County Courthouse

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – West Central Indiana Day Trips – Jimmy Hoffa

The son of John and Viola Riddle Hoffa, James was native to Brazil, Indiana. His father, a coal miner, died of lung disease when Jimmy was seven years old. His early education was sporadic, due the the necessity of his having to work to help support the family. His mother went to work upon the death of her husband and eventually moved the family to Detroit. Continue reading Sample Chapter – West Central Indiana Day Trips – Jimmy Hoffa

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Central Indiana Day Trips – Ryan Whit

Ryan White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990)
The son of Hubert Wayne and Jeanne Elaine (Hale) White, Ryan was native to Kokomo, Indiana. When his parents had him circumcised at birth, the bleeding continued long after it should have stopped. The medical staff at St. Joseph Memorial Hospital diagnosed him with severe hemophilia A. The diagnosis required him to be treated with weekly transfusions of a pooled plasma blood product called factor VIII. Continue reading Sample Chapter – Central Indiana Day Trips – Ryan Whit

Indiana Photo Gallery, Road Trip Indiana Series

Photo Gallery – Clark State Forest

At the time of settlement, vast forests covered Indiana. These forests spawned many industries dependent on the high quality hardwoods found in these forests. Many furniture makers located in the state and the ship builders along the Ohio River needed the lumber for shipbuilding. In addition, much of the valuable timber was exported. The State appointed Charles Deam to oversee the operation of the Forest. Continue reading Photo Gallery – Clark State Forest

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – First Indiana Gas Well

Natural Gas
Drillers searching for coal usually found natural gas in the process. This gas was highly flammable, hard to handle and considered a nuisance gas. Steel maker Andrew Carnegie pioneered using natural gas in his foundries in the 1880’s and proved that using natural gas was feasible. In 1885, he claimed that using natural gas saved 10,000 tons of coal a day in his huge blast furnaces. On January 20, 1886, drillers discovered a huge gas well in Findlay, Ohio that drillers could not control, so great was its gas flow. The flame plume from the well burned for four months. Continue reading Sample Chapter – First Indiana Gas Well

Road Trip Indiana Series

East Central Indiana Day Trips

Take a fun tour through the rich history of Indiana using East Central Indiana Day Trips as your guidebook. This tourism guide will help visitors find all the historical treasures in east central Indiana.
Take a fun tour through the rich history of Indiana using Southwest Indiana Day Trips as your guidebook. This tourism guide will help visitors find all of the historical treasures in south central Indiana. Continue reading East Central Indiana Day Trips

Road Trip Indiana Series, Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter – Indiana’s Timeless Tales – Pre-History to 1781

Pleistocene Era
The Pleistocene Age began roughly two million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. During this vast period, at least three episodes of extensive glaciations covered most of what is now Indiana. These glacial events are called the Pre-Illinoisan, Illinoisan, and the Wisconsinan Ages.
The Ice Ages Continue reading Sample Chapter – Indiana’s Timeless Tales – Pre-History to 1781

Podcast - Indiana Places and History, Road Trip Indiana Series

Podcast – Southeast Indiana Interesting Places

Greetings, today I want to talk about some of the interesting historical places of Southeastern Indiana. I will use the historical markers located around the region as a reference point. My book, Southeast Indiana Day Trips from my Road Trip Indiana Series includes every historical marker installed by the Indiana Historical Bureau in the region. In the book, I include the text of the marker as well as some background information to give the marker more context. Historical markers, ignored by many, can give some interesting insights into the events, people and places of a city, town or village. Many of the topics of the markers are not well known. Continue reading Podcast – Southeast Indiana Interesting Places