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Moment of Indiana History

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A vintage color lithograph poster montage of a 19th-century agricultural fair, featuring a central pavilion and smaller vignettes of animals and crowds.
From Draft Horses to Corn Dogs: The First State Fair
On the fair's first day in 1853, 15,000 people went through the fair; on the second day, 25,000; attendees spilled over into attractions beyond the fairgrounds.
  • A two-story white brick mansion built in the Greek Revival architectural style. The house features a prominent two-tier central portico with white columns, a balustrade, and a triangular pediment at the roofline. Dark green shutters frame the windows on both floors, and bare trees flank the sides of the property.
    Indiana’s Three Day Governor
    US Senator and staunch Lincoln supporter Henry S. Lane may be best remembered for his three-day term as Indiana’s thirteenth governor.
  • An American Impressionist oil painting by Theodore Clement Steele, titled "Brookville Landscape" (1904). The piece captures an atmospheric, expansive view of the Whitewater River Valley in Indiana. In the foreground, a verdant green field is dotted with small, brownish figures—possibly cattle or farm equipment—and patches of blue water. A cluster of white and grey buildings with prominent church steeples marks the town of Brookville in the mid-ground, partially obscured by dense, leafy green trees.
    Adapting To Life On The Frontier
    In 1812, Pennsylvania lawyer John Test and his family moved west, reluctantly settling in the Whitewater River town of Brookville, Indiana.
  • An antique, oval-framed daguerreotype featuring a somber middle-aged man and woman from the mid-19th century. The man on the left has wavy dark hair and wears a dark jacket over a light-colored, double-breasted waistcoat and a stiff white collar with a dark cravat. The woman on the right wears a dark shawl and an elaborate, ruffled bonnet adorned with checkered ribbons that tie in a large bow under her chin.
    Giving Thanks On Schedule
    Governor Noah Noble proclaimed Indiana’s first Thanksgiving Day December 7, 1837. In 1863, Indiana joined all the Northern states in a coordinated observance.

"Moment of Indiana History" was a weekly two-minute radio program exploring Indiana History. The series was a production of WFIU Public Radio in partnership with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations (IPBS).

The program began as a co-production of WFIU, Bloomington, and WBAA, West Lafayette as a module to air on IPBS radio stations. From 2007 to 2014, the series was produced by WFIU for broadcast by IPBS stations as well as other entities interested in Indiana history. Now being re-released every Wednesday.

  • A vintage, red-and-white fire engine. This historic hand-pumper fire engine is characterized by its large, red body and white wheels. The engine's body has gold lettering that spells out "A. C. BICKHAUS." The engine is positioned in a rustic, brick-walled room.
    From Bucket Brigade To Professional Fire Department
    Indiana's new capital had been established in 1825 without a fire brigade; not until a year and a half later was a volunteer company organized in Indianapolis.
  • Dedication ceremony, Indianapolis Senate Avenue YMCA, 1913. George Knox, one of the founders of the branch, stands at the far left; to his right are Madam C. J. Walker, Freeman B. Ransom (attorney for the Walker company), special guest Booker T. Washington, Alexander Manning (editor of Colored World newspaper), Dr. Joseph H. Ward, R. W. Bullock (secretary of the Louisville YMCA), and Thomas Taylor (Senate Avenue secretary).
    Faburn DeFrantz: A Lifetime Of Leadership For Racial Progress
    “Little progress ‘happens’," stated Faburn DeFrantz. "Usually it must be wrested from influences that—either belligerently or indifferently—deny it.”
  • A red brick building with multiple towers and a central dome. The building has a Romanesque Revival architectural style and was formerly the Central Avenue United Methodist Church.
    The Second Life of an Indianapolis Landmark
    As demographic change altered the landscape of downtown Indianapolis, the church that had housed Indiana's largest Methodist congregation faced demolition.
  • A faded and creased handwritten letter on a single sheet of paper. The handwriting is in cursive. In the middle of the page, there is a printed illustration of a woman in a classical robe, holding a banner that says "UNION FOREVER" and standing on a base that says "AMERICA."
    A Shifting Role on the Civil War Homefront
    Women on the Civil War home front spent the war years occupied with matters outside the boundaries of what was then considered “women’s work”.
  • A close-up photograph of an antique map of Indiana, dated 1826. The map is folded and shows the state's boundaries and internal divisions
    Mapping the Frontier
    Gazetteers helped lure settlers westward into the towns of Indiana and other frontier states and gave them concrete information about their destinations.
  • An illustration titled "The Joys of the Free Highway" by G. Wright from 1907. It depicts a family next to an early automobile in a snowy landscape with a large building in the background.
    An Avant-Garde Electric Car
    Gasoline propulsion claimed the day, and by 1914 the Waverley Electric car went out of production. Turns out, the vehicle was a century ahead of its time.
  • A black and white photograph shows a group of American Red Cross volunteers and soldiers gathered around a "Clubmobile" during World War II
    Soldiers’ Solace: Clubmobile Women During World War II
    Clubmobile women did more than hand out coffee and doughnuts. Their most important job was to listen to soldiers' fears, frustrations, and hurts.
  • A weathered wooden building with a window and a door, a rustic wooden fence in the foreground, and a light dusting of snow on the ground.
    A Subtle Celebration
    Christmas in pioneer Indianapolis was a private and almost invisible holiday.
  • A detail from a mural showing robed figures of the Ku Klux Klan gathered around a burning cross. The scene includes a figure on a horse and a woman in the foreground
    Slaying The Dragon
    From small beginnings in 1922, the Ku Klux Klan had attracted an estimated thirty percent of all white males in the Hoosier state onto its membership rolls.
  • An interior view of the Indiana First Supreme Court chambers, which is a historical courtroom with a raised bench, three wooden chairs, and a smaller table with a quill and inkwell. The room has white walls, a wooden floor, and a window on the left side.
    On The Vanguard For African American Rights
    At a time when other branches of government proved inconsistent on matters of African American rights, the Indiana Supreme Court steadily upheld human rights .

A Moment of Indiana History is a production of WFIU Public Radio in partnership with the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations. Research support comes from Indiana Magazine of History published by the Indiana University Department of History.