Bicentennial Project: A Years Perspective - One Day at a Time

Bicentennial Project:  

A Years Perspective - One Day at a Time

Tomorrow begins our 365 day scrapbook project for Pike County. Do you have your date/dates picked out? Some of the things you could photograph are:

birthday parties

graduation parties

family reunions

hikes

ball games

new homes

weddings

school activities

first day/last day of school

girls day out

hunting/fishing

scouting events

community events

church events

lazy days

everyday activities

parades,

country roads

landmarks

picnics

There are so many possibilities!

Contact one of us at the History Center to reserve your date. There is a contact form on the right side of this blog to send an email. You can also contact us through our facebook page.

Indiana Statehood Stamp

Indiana Statehood Stamp

Indiana's bicentennial is being marked with a new forever stamp. Known as the Indiana Statehood Stamp, it features a photo of a sunset over cornfields near Milford, Indiana. The photo was taken by Michael Matti, a native of Milford, Indiana. Derry Noyes of Washington, DC was the art director for the stamp. 

The stamp will be released and dedicated during the bicentennial year.

Information for upcoming Indiana Bicentennial events can be found on the Indiana Bicentennial Commission facebook page.

Indiana Bicentennial Barn Quilt

A Bicentennial Legacy Project

Pike County Indiana - The Lemmon Barn

In 2016 we will be celebrating the Bicentennial year for the state of Indiana and also of Pike County. Pike County was the first county formed after Indiana became a state. You may hear references of Legacy Projects sponsored by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission throughout the upcoming year. One of those projects is the Indiana Bicentennial Barn Quilt. They were asking for a 6 inch block (finished size) from each county. As of several days ago there were 6 counties that they still needed a quilt block from and Pike County was one of them. With not much time to plan, a local barn was selected that we had a photograph of. The quilt square was put together this morning with one cutting, one sewing, and another giving encouragement. The block is literally in the mail on the way to the State House.

The Lemmon Barn is a kit barn and was put on a boat in Portersville, Indiana. It was brought down the river to Petersburg, Indiana and erected on the property of Shelby Clay Lemmon at 1104 Vincennes Ave c. 1890. 

December Christmas Dinner at The Village Inn

The Historical Society met this evening at The Village Inn with several in attendance. The evening meal prepare by Betty was delicious as always. The guest speaker for the evening was L. Rex Myers, Daviess County Historian, who spoke about the KKK in Southern Indiana. It was an interesting evening full of learning with great people. It was great having him and his wife Linda there.

The next meeting is slated for January 25^th. 

December Dinner Meeting and Speaker

Pike County Historical Society Christmas Dinner

Thursday December 3, 2015 at 6 p.m.

At The Village Inn

Special guest speaker will be L. Rex Myers, Daviess County Historian

“Klan in Daviess County Indiana”

Come join us for a wonderful evening of food, friendship, and learning.

Meal is Dutch treat from the menu.

Holiday Hours

Upcoming Holiday Hours

The History Center will have amended holiday hours so that our volunteers can spend time with their families. For the days that are open by appointment, you can either message through our facebook page or by email@ pikecountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com .

We hope that during this time, you enjoy family time with your loved ones. This is a good opportunity to dig a little into your family tree and shake it a bit.

November 26 (Thanksgiving) – Closed

November 28 (Saturday) – Open by appointment

December 24 (Christmas Eve) –Closed

December 26 (Saturday) – Closed

December 31 (New Years Eve) – Closed

January 2 (Saturday) – Open by appointment

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

November Meeting

Just a reminder… the regular monthly meeting for the Pike County Historical Society will be on Monday, November 23 at 6:00 P.M.EST. It will be held at the History Center on 1104 E. Main Street in Petersburg. There are several important items on the evening’s agenda, one of which is election of 2016 officers and board members. The current officers and board members for the year 2015 are as follows: President: Amber Leehe; Vice-President: Alfred Foust; Recording Secretary: Sandy McBeth; Corresponding Secretary: Jennifer Uppencamp; Treasurer: Ellen Brasher; Board Member: Shirley VanMeter; Board Member: Rick Miley. Anyone interested in the history of Pike County is invited to attend. 

 October 2015 History Center Acquisitions:
Augusta Mills Ledgers 1872-1876 & 1877-1882
 Otwell High School Yearbooks 1961,1963, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974
Indiana Preservationist September-October 2015
History of the Velpen United Methodist Church
Hoosier Packet Nov. 2015 – Canal Society of Indiana
New Books For Sale: Pike County Pictorial History Books (reprint) $45.00 Pike County, IN Historical Articles from the Press-Dispatch, 2001 $18.00

History Center September Acquisitions

New items added to the History Center reference section. All donations of records and family information are much appreciated. We are always looking for volunteers at the History Center, whether it be for a full day or just a few hours. Contact one of the volunteers either through our facebook page or the contact form on this blog.

This is a listing of the acquisitions received during the month of September 2015 at the History Center:

The Hoosier Packet – News & Journal of the Canal Society of Indiana
Indiana Historical Society – IN Perspective
Indiana Historical Society – Traces
Spencer County Newsletter
Dubois County Newsletter
Indiana Historical Society – Connections, The Hoosier Genealogist
Indiana Historical Society Press – Summer/Fall 2015 Catalog
The Shoultz Family History
The Extended Shoultz Family History (Byerly-Sammey-Hunt-Goss)
Copies of Winslow High School Yearbooks 1937-1951 (few issues missing)
Copies of Winslow High School Yearbooks 1952-1974 (few issues missing)
Press-Dispatch Obituaries 2001-2002
Press-Dispatch Obituaries 1994-1996
Press-Dispatch Obituaries 1991-1993
Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church History - – 3-ring binder of historical information
The Old Fort/Pride’s Fort/White Oak Springs -– 3-ring binder of historical information
Warner’s lake – Washington Township -– 3-ring binder of historical information
Petersburg Theaters (including Lincoln theater) – 3-ring binder of historical information
WWII Uniform belonging to Eddie Hawkins
Lincoln Hotel Postcard (Vincennes)
School Textbooks belonging to Posey Kime
Pike County History – Bicentennial Edition 1776-1976
The Postal History of Indiana by J. David Baker
Dainty Daughters 4-H Club Scrapbook page
Pike Co. 4-H Clubs & Early County Fairs – 3-ring binder of historical information
Winslow High School Yearbooks – 1919, 1920, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966
It’s History from Brenda’s Notebook by Brenda S. Edwards (Boyle Co., KY)
Forkland Heritage It’s People Past and Present 1793-1996 Volumes 1 & 2 (Boyle & Casey Counties, KY

Fright Night at the History Center

The Pike County History Center will be having a fright night for kids on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, from 4 - 8 p.m. It will feature drinks and popcorn, a bounce house, an outdoor silent movie for the older kids, and a craft table where they will be painting pumpkins. We will also be selling cream pies for $1 to be thrown at a yet-to-be-named local celebrities. We will also have a history scavenger hunt, where each of the people working at the event will have one clue about the mystery person. At the end of the event, people can put their guesses into a hat. The correct ones will be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate to Pizza Hut.

We have received several wonderful donations lately. At this time they are being cataloged and will soon be available for viewing and research. We are always interested in receiving copies of your family history and genealogy. If you bring them in, we will make copies of them for the History Center.

History Center August Acqusitions

We are continually adding new reference materials to the History Center. If you have something that you would either like to donate, or bring into the History Center for us to make copies, we would appreciate your sharing with us. We're especially looking for local church and also family histories. Family histories can be anything from family group sheets to more extensive work. You never know when a single family group sheet can make a connection to another family.

This is a listing of the acquisitions received during the month of August 2015 at the History Center:

Jefferson Township School Enumeration 1890-1893
WWI - Letters from Soldiers
WWI Veterans - As listed from the U.S. War Department
Old Bethelson Church Records - located near Hazelton
Morgan Post Record of Deceased Members (through 1893)
Cradle of Liberty Chapter NSDAR History
Historical Information Concerning Little, Pike Co., IN
Pike County Guardian Bonds 1866-1886
Physician's License Book 1885-1897
Physician's Bond Book 1896-1899
Pike County, IN Newspapers - Deaths, Marriages, Births & Important Events 1901, 1909-1911, 1912-1914, 1915-1919, 1920-1921, 1922-1930, 1943
Flat Creek General Baptist Church History
Indiana War of 1812 Soldiers - Militia
Petersburg Business & Professional Women's Club (BPW) Minutes 1959-1960
Historical Information concerning Pike County during WWII
Canal Society of Indiana - Hoosier Packet, September 2015
Daviess Co., IN Historical Society Newsletter

We have received several wonderful donations lately. At this time they are being cataloged and will soon be available for viewing and research. We are always interested in receiving copies of your family history and genealogy. If you bring them in, we will make copies of them for the History Center.

Pike County Historical Society and Museum

The Pike County Historical Society and Museum are housed in the Edith Barrett Memorial History Center at 1104 East Main Street, Petersburg, IN. The Historical Society meets on the last Monday of each month. The Pike County Genealogy Society also has their meetings there on the first Thursday of every month. 

 Mission Statement: The purpose of the Pike County Historical Society is to arouse public awareness and appreciation of the history of Pike County, Indiana. The primary activities utilized to achieve this goal include collecting, preserving, and interpreting objects and artifacts pertaining to Pike County through exhibition, education, and research. The Society believes that an understanding of the past illuminates the present and gives vision for the future. 

 Did your ancestors choose to settle down in this beautiful county or did they continue onward with their journey? Either way, they may have left a record of their life and travels upon reaching their final destination. Whether you have links to Pike County’s past or present, you can research your family lines here at the Edith Barrett Memorial Pike County History Center. Operating hours are Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. We are also open by appointment for those researchers travelling from out of town. Just drop us an e-mail us at pikecountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com to make arrangements. We are more than happy to host you or a group of your family researchers. 

To become a member, you may either print out a membership form to fill out and send in with your payment, or contact us and we can e-mail one to you. The Historical Society also sells various books pertaining to Pike County that you may find interesting. There is a printable order form available here.

Thank You!

     We would like to thank everyone who helped out with our pork chop dinner fundraiser. To all of those who bought tickets, sold tickets, and those who helped that morning by putting the dinners together, many thanks. Most of all we would like to thank the men and women of the Moose in Petersburg. Without them, this fundraiser wouldn’t have been successful. Many hours were spent by the men of the Moose preparing the pork chops and the women of the Moose preparing the cole slaw and baked beans. It was most delicious!

     The fundraiser brought in $2492.00, expenses were $659.10. This made the profit $1832.84! 100% of the profit from this fundraiser is going into a fund for the new roof at the Edith Barrett Memorial Pike County History Center. Thank you Pike County for helping us with a good start towards the new roof! This is such an awesome place to live. 

   

Time for a meeting

The Pike County Historical Society will be having its monthly meeting Monday evening, July 27th, at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at the History Center, which is located in the former Pike County Library building. There will be a guest speaker at the meeting from MT Publishing. There are several items on the agenda to discuss, including the scrumptious pork chop dinner and upcoming events and activities. The public is welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!

We have received several wonderful donations lately. At this time they are being cataloged and will soon be available for viewing and research. We are always interested in receiving copies of your family history and genealogy. If you bring them in, we will make copies of them for the History Center.

At the meeting house

There will be a Historical Society meeting on Monday, June 22 at 6:00 p.m. at the History Center. The public is invited to attend. There are several items to discuss, one being the upcoming pork chop dinner fundraiser. We have received and cataloged several donations since our opening on June 6th. If you are a family researcher and would like to donate copies of your research to the History Center, please contact one of the members, stop by the History Center or e-mail us at pikecountyhistoricalsociety@gmail.com . We’ll make the copies and add them to our growing family file section. Thanks so much!

Grand Opening Day! June 6, 2015

   The Edith Barrett Memorial Pike County History Center is now open. Operating hours are Monday, Thursday, and Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. We are staffed entirely though the wonderful generosity of local volunteers.

   Both the American flag and the Pike County flag graced the flagpole once again in front of the building. What a sight it was! We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the turnout was steady throughout the day. Several items still need to be moved from the old location and into the new one. Displays need to be set up and donations cataloged into the collection. So much has been accomplished, but there is still a long way to go. This is just the beginning for the History Center. Come along on our journey!

Emily is one of our younger volunteers and a Girl Scout. She spent an afternoon cataloging some donated research books into the History Center collection. Thanks Emily!

The History Center Grand Opening!

The deed being transferred

In just a few hours the Edith Barrett Memorial Pike County History Center will officially open its doors! The doors open at 9 a.m. with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. The road has been a long one and scattered with a few obstacles, but we’re almost there. This journey of compiling the histories of the people of Pike County, whether it is through family records, photographs, or oral history is certainly a joy. Pike County is a community rich in many aspects and family is certainly a priority.

A lot of volunteer hours from many people in the community have been donated to help make this day happen. The move from the old Vieck house to the former Barrett Memorial Public Library building will be complete in the near future. We are a work in progress. 

Thank you to everyone that has helped with this wonderful project! This rough gemstone is beginning to shine!