USA > Indiana > The Indiana centennial, 1916; a record of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Indiana's admission to statehood > Part 4
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After a lapse of a century these descriptions are of much interest from an historical point of view. Personal estimates of the region vary and opinions were obviously warped in many cases; but these descriptions reflect conditions about which we could today obtain information from no other source. These books are now out of print and are not avail- able to the public. Because of the growing demand for this material it has been deemed wise to issue a volume reprint- ing certain accounts of travelers which concern Indiana previ- ous to 1830. This has been done as nearly as possible in the original form. The copy has been taken from the original editions as found in the Indiana State Library. Included in the volume are four contributions which have never before
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appeared in print. The selecting and editing of this mate- rial was done by Professor Harlow Lindley, of Earlham Col- lege, Secretary of the Indiana Historical Commission.
3. THE PLAY PARTY IN INDIANA.
The play party was a common kind of social entertain- ment frequently resorted to in Indiana in its early history. At present it is only in the remote districts that it has not been lost or even forgotten. Mrs. Leah Jackson Wolford, for- merly of Ripley county, in connection with her graduate work in the University of Chicago, made a large collection of these early games and songs which makes a very interesting con- tribution to the folk-customs and amusements of Indiana. Into these play party entertainments enter the elements of both religion and nationality, and this publication is a distinct con- tribution to the history of the social life of the State.
4. THE INDIANA CENTENNIAL.
In this volume, edited by Professor Harlow Lindley, Sec- retary of the Indiana Historical Commission, there is pre- sented a report of the Commission's activities during the Centennial year, together with a history of both the County and State celebrations of the one hundredth anniversary of Indiana's admission to statehood.
5. THE MESSAGES OF THE GOVERNORS.
It was the design to present in a series of volumes all the Executive messages and proclamations of any historical value, from the early history of the State to the present time. It was hoped that two volumes might be ready by January, 1917, bringing the messages down to 1851, but only one volume is now ready for publication. The messages in this volume, the collection and arrangement of which have been the result of . much painstaking labor, have been under the editorial direc- tion of Dr. Logan Esarey, of Indiana University, and Pro- fessor Samuel B. Harding, formerly of the Indiana Historical Survey of Indiana University. The volume now ready con- tains the Executive documents relating to the institution of government in the Old Northwest, the messages of Governor William Henry Harrison and other Territorial Governors, and all the regular and special messages of the Governors of the
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State from the beginning of Governor Jennings' term in 1816 to the close of Governor Ray's term in 1831. The volume contains matter of the greatest historical interest and im- portance which will be made available in very convenient form to our public libraries and to all citizens who may be inter- ested in the contents of the volume. This volume has not yet been published owing to a lack of funds.
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SUMMARY
The Indiana Historical Commission, a non-salaried com- mission, created by the General Assembly of 1915, was charged with two duties. Its immediate duty was that of a State Centennial Commission, and its permanent duty that of the publication of historical material relating to Indiana. The law provided that $5,000 of the total appropriation of $25,000 might be used for publication purposes.
The Indiana Historical Commission as a Centennial Com- mission on an appropriation of $20,000 has carried on a state- wide campaign of Centennial publicity; it has financially assisted in celebrations of state-wide significance ; it made pos- sible a State Pageant Master, who could successfully intro- duce the pageant movement to the educators of our State; it secured as a permanent centennial reminder an artistic Cen- tennial medal; it made possible a motion picture of seven reels, depicting the history of the State; it has given an im- petus to the clubs and schools of the State for a study of our state's history and development; it has approved of and as- sisted in the Pioneer Mother Memorial movement, and unani- mously approved of the movement to secure the Old Capitol at Corydon for a permanent state memorial; it has been re- sponsible for the erection of a large number of Centennial Memorials over the State, and perhaps its most permanent and far-reaching work has been the inauguration of a perma- nent State Parks Movement, which has already resulted in securing for the State, as a gift from the people of the State, real estate which has cost more than twice the amount ap- propriated for the use of the Commission for Centennial cele- brational purposes.
On the basis of the appropriation of $5,000 for historical publications, the Commission will issue four volumes, and has another ready for publication, when funds are available.
Its permanent work as laid out by the creating act is to collect, edit and publish documentary and other materials re- lating to the State of Indiana. It is provided that the pub- lished volumes of the Commission are to be printed and bound at the expense of the State in such numbers as the Commis- sion may direct, and distributed free to each public library
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in the State and to the library of each college and normal school in the State. Until this Commission was created In- diana had no state agency for the publication of historical material. All of our neighboring States, and in fact a ma- jority of the States of the Union, have such a state agency with sufficient appropriations to accomplish permanent re- sults.
The States recently organizing their historical work are merging their historical societies into Historical Commis- sions.
In the questionnaire addressed by the Commission to the county Centennial Chairmen covering the various phases of the year's work, appeared this question: "What do you con- sider to have been the most helpful and permanent results of your celebration ?" Two closely related facts stand out above all others, in the answers-the arousing of a new in- terest in state and local history, and the creation of a com- munity spirit and consciousness. The two are supplementary to each other and in a word express the vital significance of the celebrational activities of 1916.
From the bluffs of the Ohio to the sand dunes of Lake Michigan there has been a general outburst of patriotic interest in Indiana and its history. The schools, as never be- fore, have turned to a consideration of their own common- wealth. Club programs have been given the same direction. By city, by township and by county, the facts of local history have been unearthed and rehearsed, both in print and pageantry. Pioneer relics and heirlooms have been rescued from the oblivion of a thousand attics and displayed to an appreciative citizenship. The State has been fairly dotted with memorial markers. Centennial committees have been merged into permanent historical societies.
All this presents a tremendous potential asset in an en- lightened and rededicated citizenship. The big question is, shall this new force which we may call the Centennial con- sciousness-the spirit of '16-be conserved and further util- ized, or shall it be allowed to dissipate for the want of proper focus and direction. The year's work has pointed out many needs and many possibilities, and to meet the former and realize the latter, it is vitally important that a supervising, state agency be permanently provided.
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Probably the most obvious need has to do with an agency for the publication of the sources of Indiana history, toward which a beginning has already been made. To all students of our history, its material, its basic facts, should be made eas- ily accessible. While it is not the generally accepted province of a State to write its own history, it is or should be its prov- ince to make presentable the bare facts from which it may be gleaned and written. This important responsibility should be assigned to a specially constituted body with capacity to supervise and direct the publication of such materials.
But there are other needs, hardly less pressing, though perhaps less obvious. The year of attention to things histor- ical has emphasized the need of a centralizing agency for the coordination, the conservation and the direction of our historical interests. For instance, in the enthusiasm of the centennial anniversary, many county historical societies have been either organized or rejuvenated. They are capable of performing valuable service, but the tendency will be, as it has been in the past, for them to languish for the want of intelligent direction and incentive. A state society or com- mission should be able to coordinate and direct the activities of these societies to the end that they may make distinct con- tributions to the State.
Such an agency should likewise be able to encourage and support the schools in their new zeal for Indiana history. The present Commission has cooperated with the State Board of Education in outlining and preparing courses of study and also suitable programs for celebrational occasions. This work in our educational institutions should not cease in 1916; . indeed it should only have begun, and a special commission could do much to foster it.
Centennial celebrations have revealed all over the State a vast and bewildering array of priceless relics of the past. Unless gathered into permanent exhibits and museums, they will be largely lost. The collections made at the county cele- brations over the State point the way toward county museums, as the exhibit made during the state celebration at the John Herron Art Institute speaks for a state museum. Yet with- out a coordinating and supervising agency, it is too much to expect that such a desirable consummation will be realized.
Furthermore, the work which has been done in developing
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the field of local history should be continued under trained supervision. With the encouragement and direction which a state historical commission could give, this very important work could be made to continue with system. In this con- nection it may be stated that valuable material may be found in communities all over Indiana which should be in the pos- session of the State. A permanently established Commission would be able to do much more in securing and saving such, than is now possible. The continuance of such a Commission would be a decided step towards the conservation of the his- torical interests of the State. It would be a fitting after- math and the natural sequel to the splendid Centennial observance of 1916.
On the last day of the year, 1916, the following letter was sent to all Centennial Chairmen and Editors who had con- tributed to the work of the year:
December 31, 1916.
To County Centennial Chairmen and Editors:
As the year 1916 draws to a close, the Indiana Historical Commis- sion and its officers look back with much satisfaction on what has been accomplished in the proper observance of the Indiana Centennial. The end sought in the beginning-a people's celebration, historical, educa- tional and patriotic-has been attained in a remarkable manner. The celebrations have passed and have become a part of our history, but their results remain.
A splendid manifestation of the year's work has been the spirit of cooperation which has been so generally displayed in the patriotic cause. It is this that has made the efforts of the year so successful, and in concluding its work the Commission wishes to express its great apprecia- tion of the support accorded it in the direction of the Centennial move- ment.
In the first place, the latter would not have been possible without the zealous and patriotic service of the county chairmen and their im- mediate helpers. Leadership, involving much time and labor, was es- sential. Where there was failure in securing it, little was done. The Commission wishes therefore to give much of the credit for the good showing made in so many counties to the local leaders, to whom it takes this means of expressing its thanks and appreciation.
Included in the above, but worthy of special mention, is the news- paper press of the State. The dependence of all public enterprises upon publicity is axiomatic, and without the support of the Indiana editors, the Centennial ideals would have fallen far short of realization. Such support was generally hearty and generous and an evidence of public spirit and progressiveness for which the Commission likewise expresses its praise and gratification.
On behalf of the Indiana Historical Commission.
HARLOW LINDLEY, Secretary.
PART III CELEBRATIONS
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Walter C. Woodward, Director
Lucy M. Elliott, Assistant Director
COUNTY CELEBRATIONS By WALTER C. WOODWARD, Director.
The immediate occasion of the creation of the Commis- sion was the near approach of the one hundredth anniversary of the admission of Indiana into the Union. Accordingly, the immediate purpose was the planning and supervision of an appropriate celebration of the Centennial. To this patriotic task the Commission at once addressed itself.
With but twenty thousand dollars at its disposal for cele- brational activities, the Commission faced a difficult problem. Such ambitious projects as those of Centennial Expositions and great central celebrations as had been put on in other States, were manifestly out of the question. Moreover, the members were doubtful as to the desirability of such forms of observance, had they been possible. Their great concern was that the observance of our centenary might be such as would reach the citizenship of the entire State, quickening it with renewed loyalty and a deeper sense of civic responsi- bility.
Actuated therefore by a wise expediency as well as by ne- cessity, the Indiana Historical Commission blazed the way to a new scheme of observance. In thorough keeping with our democratic institutions and political organization, it de- termined to decentralize the Indiana celebration, making it state-wide and a real people's celebration. It determined to make the anniversary mean as much in the extreme corner of the Pocket as in the Capital itself. With this end in view a campaign was vigorously undertaken in behalf of a state- wide celebration, threefold in its significance; historical, in the knowledge and appreciation of the history of the Com- monwealth; educational, in the knowledge of our State and its institutions, present as well as past; patriotic, in a new admiration and love for the Indiana that is and may be. In a word the Commission went to the whole people of Indiana with this challenge: "This anniversary is an occasion for taking stock of our history, local as well as State, and of pay-
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ing due tribute to the builders of the Commonwealth. It is a patriotic service for hamlet and town and city. We may show thereby whether we appreciate and whether we are worthy of the deeds of our fathers. It is our celebration, as a people, to make of it what we will." This is the Indiana experiment which has been observed with much interest by other States which are soon to celebrate their own centenaries.
Careful organization was necessary to insure a state-wide observance, and the Commission began organizing the State on the basis of the County. Centennial chairmen were se- cured in the various counties, each to select his own county committee for the planning and execution of the work. Men and women from all walks of life accepted these posts of re- sponsibility, in the spirit of rendering a real public service, without hope of reward. In all but two or three counties, leaders were thus secured. With a few the leadership was nominal only, but the majority took up their work energetic- ally and patriotically, several achieving results truly remark- able. On the whole it may be said that very satisfactory work was done in the majority of the counties and that rea- sonably satisfactory results were attained in from three- fourths to four-fifths of them. There were probably not a dozen counties in the State in which some kind of celebra- tion was not held.
The general schedule as outlined by the Commission pro- vided for the holding of local and school celebrations early in the spring. Very many county school superintendents co- operated by setting apart one day of observance throughout the schools of their counties. This did much to prepare the way for the later celebrations, participated in more generally, beginning early in the summer and running well into the au- tumn. The greater number of the latter were county wide in scope.
The program of these county celebrations, held all over the State, varied largely in length, in content, and in the spirit which pervaded them. Some were for a day, others continued two or three days, and yet others for a week. As a whole they consisted of homecomings and reunions, histor- ical and inspirational addresses and sermons, music festivals and old melody concerts, exhibits of pioneer relics, industrial and agricultural displays, historic drama-pageants, folk
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dances, school drills, etc., reproductions of pioneer life, Cen- tennial parades of various kinds, and exercises in connection with the dedication of permanent memorials. A feature of not a few celebrations was the presentation of the historical moving picture, "Indiana," prepared with the sanction of the Commission. The Commission did its utmost to see that these observances were strictly patriotic and Centennial in nature, and such were the greater number. In some coun- ties the observance was conducted in connection with Chau- tauquas, industrial fairs and county festivals, and in a few the Centennial idea was prostituted for commercial consider- ations. On the whole, however, it is felt by the Commission that its plan for a state-wide celebration has been realized both in scope and in spirit to a remarkable degree, consider- ing the limited amount of funds at hand, and the very short time for preparation. It has been a distinctive and impres- sive sight to see the great array of counties, following fast one after another, each making its own contribution to the Centennial year, paying its own tribute to the State of which it is an integral part.
It is difficult to make an accurate and a just comparative statement of the celebrational work over the State. The county celebrations par excellence were those in which the townships united in a great community effort, or those in which the whole county participated. In this first class be- long Allen, Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Carroll, Daviess, Decatur, Dekalb, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Huntington, Jackson, Johnson, Knox, Mad- ison, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Porter, Posey, Ripley, Shelby, Spencer, St. Joseph, Union, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Washington and White.
In the second class are those whose celebrations were not so nearly county wide in effort and execution, such as Cass and Clinton, which put on excellent school celebrations, Clark, Dearborn, Delaware, Elkhart, Gibson, Greene, Howard, Jas per, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Lake, Laporte, Martin, Newton, Rush, Scott, Starke, Tipton, Ver- million, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, Wayne and Wells.
In the third class, which did little or nothing in the way of formal county observance must be named Adams, Benton,
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Brown, Clay, Crawford, Fountain, Fulton, Hamilton, Han- cock, Hendricks, Lawrence, Morgan, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Steuben, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe and Whitley. Of these latter a few did some work through the schools, as Adams, Brown, Crawford, Foun- tain, Hancock and Randolph. Adams and Hendricks, and to a less degree Noble and Putnam, cooperated in County Day of the State celebration at Indianapolis.
In some counties the celebrations were held elsewhere than at the county seat, as at Owensville and Oakland City in Gibson, Merom in Sullivan, Huntingburg in Dubois, Clinton in Vermillion, Worthington in Greene, North Judson in Starke. In a few instances celebrations held at county seats were wholly local, as at Richmond in Wayne county, largely a fall festival and carnival. In a few counties, township celebrations had been very generally held prior to that of the county, Boone ranking high among these. Scores of local and town celebrations were conducted all over Indiana.
Some of the celebrations included in the above were really regional, their influence extending beyond the limits of the counties in which they were held. Such was that at Bloom- ington, which set an object lesson to the State in pageantry; at Vincennes, around which the foundations of statehood were laid; at Evansville, whose pageant, early in the year, pointed the way for the counties of the Pocket district; at Fort Wayne, "The Glorious Gateway of the West;" at South Bend, where first appeared the white man; at New Albany, at the Falls of the Ohio; at Peru, home of the Miamis and the "Lost Sister," Frances Slocum.
In an observance of our Centennial of statehood, two cele- brations were naturally more than county and more than regional-those held at Indiana's two capitals, Corydon and Indianapolis, which accordingly stood out from the others as state celebrations. The former, staged for two days, June 2 and 3, around the old Harrison county court house, the first Capitol, and beneath the Constitutional Elm, portrayed vividly the beginnings of statehood. The latter, of two weeks' dura- tion, October 2 to 15, at the present Capital, depicted through the State pageant and otherwise, the wonderful development of Indiana during the past century.
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The Commission feels that this state-wide observance, unique in the history of state centennial celebrations, which has been conducted under its auspices and direction, has been of incalculable influence and significance. The Centennial propaganda has been carried to the four corners of the State and we have had the inspiring spectacle of a people of a com- monwealth delighting to do it honor and reverence. A much more intimate and appreciative knowledge of the history of Indiana has resulted, together with a far better acquaintance with the present facts of the State, its geography, its people, its resources, its possibilities. This bespeaks a greater and a more intelligent State loyalty, the basis of a higher type of citizenship. The fact that the people as a whole in the various communities have united in the activities of the year, has brought about a unity and cooperation hitherto unknown. In many cases a new community consciousness has been de- veloped. Out of it all, likewise, a more perfect State con- sciousness has come, which augurs well for Indiana, on the threshold of her second centenary.
A more detailed report of the Indiana Centennial observ- ance by counties, follows :
ADAMS
At first thought it would seem to be a cause for regret if not chagrin that the first in the alphabetical list of the coun- ties of Indiana should have to be marked zero on its record of Centennial observance, at least so far as a formal celebra- tion is concerned. But if there is a lingering suggestion of truth in the old adage that a bad beginning makes a good ending, perhaps after all Adams county, in its do-nothing pol- icy, made its own distinctive, though negative, contribution to the success of the Centennial year.
It is bootless to attempt to diagnose the unhappy situation. E. S. Christen, county superintendent of schools, accepted the county chairmanship, and apparently tried to get the Centen- nial movement launched. Be it said to the credit of the Herald and Democrat of Decatur that these papers used their columns freely, both news and editorial, in an attempt to get something started. Two or three public meetings were held in which the sentiment was in favor of a celebration, but
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the drive and enthusiasm necessary to get the thing focused seemed lacking.
The only observance in the county was in connection with the schools. Mr. Christen reported that every school in the county had a Centennial program on the last day of school in the spring of the year. In some of the townships, at least, Admission Day was observed.
Thanks to the initiative of the Delta Theta Tau Sorority of Decatur, Adams county took its place in the Centennial Cavalcade on County Day of the State celebration, being rep- resented by Miss Marie Connell.
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