Lately, life has felt a lot like one of the old buildings I write about: a little worn out and suddenly pushed into a new chapter. After I lost my job in December, I steadied myself the only way I knew how, by leaning into local history. That instinct led me somewhere fitting- an old neighborhood school-turned-community hub.
Continue reading “Speaking to veterans in a century-old school”
A stately, sprawling Queen Anne home rises just west of the entrance to Richmond’s Glen Miller Park along US-40, and it’s hard not to slow down when it comes into view. The building’s apparent decay only deepens the intrigue for anyone passing through! It hints that this house has lived more than one life. Indeed it has! Among its former identities is one that stopped me cold: the Crain Sanitarium.
Continue reading “The landmark Crain Sanitarium on the National Road”
The story of William Blunk isn’t neatly documented, but it’s exactly the kind of tale that built early America. Tracing him means following faint paper trails, family memories, and a series of misunderstandings! Taken together, though, they reveal something powerful: an ordinary man who did his part in both the Revolution and the settlement of Delaware County.
Continue reading “Delaware County Patriots: William Blunk/Blunt/Blount”
Just after I hit publish on a post mapping the tunnels below Ball State University’s Old Quad as they existed around 1950, a friend messaged me with something even better: a newer map showing an expanded underground network as it appeared in 1982. Naturally, I dropped everything and started mapping again! Here’s what I found.
Continue reading “Even more tunnels beneath Ball State”
I’ve always been drawn to places where people once gathered, and old theaters seem to pull me in more than most. I’d known about the Hartford Theater near downtown Hartford City for years, but I’d never actually stopped to take pictures of it. Even with its current use, the building still gives itself away- in a town of about 6,000, it doesn’t take much to spot a former movie palace.
Continue reading “Hartford City’s old Hartford Theater”
I like massive, hulking ruins as much as the next guy. Portland, Indiana, has one that’s absolutely worth slowing down for: rising high above East Votaw Street on the way to the Jay County Fairgrounds, what’s left of the old Haynes Mill still dominates the landscape. Once I noticed it, I knew I had to learn more.
Continue reading “The eighty-two-foot ruins of Portland’s Haynes Mill”
Hey, there! It’s your old internet pal Ted, popping in with a confession: it’s been way too long since I last wrote about tornado sirens. I can hear my analytics groaning since this is probably the post where my views take a nosedive, but I don’t care. There’s just something about electromechanical sirens that flips a switch in my brain. They’re loud, awkward, and a little ugly. So am I!
Continue reading “It’s been a while since I wrote about a siren”
For decades, enclosed shopping malls promised a very specific kind of future: bright corridors, automatic doors, and the idea that everything you needed lived under a single roof. In small Midwestern cities like Richmond, Indiana, that promise carried even more weight. A mall wasn’t just a place to shop- it was proof that your town had arrived! Today, Richmond Mall’s role is far less clear-cut. What was once a bustling retail hub has transformed into part shopping center, part walking track, and part time capsule. Here’s some of its story.
Continue reading “Richmond Mall: a soft-spoken survivor”
I spent years walking the aisles of Marsh Supermarkets, buying my groceries there, and digging into the company’s history. Recently, all of that curiosity and familiarity converged on a single realization: if I truly wanted to understand the Marsh story, I needed to see where it all began. My search led me to Salem in Jay County, Indiana, where I found the Marsh family’s first store.
Continue reading ” My pilgrimage to the very first Marsh”
Back in July, word spread that a big piece of Muncie’s retail past was on the chopping block: the old J.C. Penney at Muncie Mall was headed for demolition. By September, the scope ballooned: nearly 255,000 square feet -including Sears and the long-shuttered cinema- were also slated to disappear! Fencing went up in October, then everything seemed to stall. What happened? At last, we have an answer.
Continue reading “Here’s why half of Muncie Mall is still standing”