Category Indiana

Shifting perspectives

Ted Shideler Leave a comment
Read time: 3 min.

I’ve driven past Salem Township’s Walnut Grove schoolhouse a thousand times, always from the front along County Road 500-South. From that angle, it’s one of the best-preserved schoolhouses in Delaware County! It wasn’t until I wandered back into nearby Saunders Cemetery that I noticed something I’d never seen before- a garage door cut right into the building’s rear wall. Who cares, right? Still, it was a reminder that sometimes all it takes is a shift in perspective to see a familiar landmark in an entirely new way. I suspect there’s a larger lesson to find, as well. 

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Bison in Bluffton

Ted Shideler 4 Comments
Read time: 5 min.

If you look at Indiana’s state seal, you’ll spot a scene that hasn’t existed here in well over a century: a bison galloping across a hewn fence in the wilderness. Once, these massive animals roamed the Hoosier landscape in enormous numbers! Today, though, their presence is mostly symbolic. Aside from a few managed herds, the only place in Indiana where you can reliably see bison is at Ouabache State Park near Bluffton, where a small group lives within a dedicated range. Recently, I got to visit them.

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Welcome to Cammack!

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 6 min.

If you’ve ever driven west out of Muncie on Jackson Street Pike, you’ve probably passed through Cammack without realizing it. Blink, and you might miss it, since the community consists of a handful of houses, a restaurant, and a grain elevator quietly situated back from the road. Fortunately, a closer look reveals the remnants of a once-busy railroad town whose story stretches back nearly a century and a half.

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This year’s most pointless deep dive involves a right-of-way marker

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 6 min.

I’ve spent nearly three-quarters of my life on Muncie’s west side just a stone’s throw from Yorktown. That means the intersection of North Morrison and West Petty has been part of my daily rhythm for as long as I can remember. Once I started noticing Indiana’s right-of-way markers scattered along the roadside in 2023, I realized something peculiar: I couldn’t recall a single time when the little monument on the southwest corner of that intersection wasn’t broken and toppled over. That nagging thought stuck with me, and eventually, I had to find out when it happened. That’s where this pointless deep dive begins.

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Whitley County’s former jail and sheriff’s residence

Ted Shideler 4 Comments
Read time: 4 min.

I came to the idea of photographing Indiana’s old jails and sheriff’s residences far later than I probably should have. Between 2011 and 2017, I set out to visit every historic courthouse in Indiana. Towards the end, I realized just how many of those early county jails are still standing! I doubt I’ll make it out to some of the state’s most far-flung communities again to capture them all, but I did manage to stop in Columbia City and snap several shots of the old Whitley County Jail. It’s a striking structure.

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Delaware County Patriots: John Barnes

Ted Shideler 3 Comments
Read time: 5 min.

Moved by the promise of independence, countless men across the colonies stepped forward for our emergent nation during the Revolutionary War. Some rushed to enlist, eager to support the cause and fight for a new future. Others, like John Barnes, found themselves drawn into the conflict through a draft. Whether by choice or by duty, Patriots’ participation formed the backbone of the Continental forces in a shared struggle for liberty.

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Six old grain elevators

Ted Shideler Leave a comment
Read time: 5 min.

Spotting an old grain elevator rising above the rooftops of a small town is fun. Once the lifeblood of local agriculture, the towering structures served as anchors to many rural communities! Unfortunately, time hasn’t been kind to most old grain elevators. Fires claimed many, neglect eroded others, and the steady march of agricultural consolidation funneled business away to larger, centralized operations that left the small-town landmarks obsolete.

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A tale of two water towers

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 4 min.

I’ve officially reached the point in life where I have favorite styles of water towers and I’ve been looking for a card to get punched. Anderson’s massive, squat tanks have impressed me for as long as I can remember, and the cheery smiley face in Markle has been a beloved roadside companion on countless trips up north. Still, nothing beats the classics- those old-school towers shaped like a cylinder topped with a cone. They’re simple, elegant, and increasingly rare. Unfortunately, Lynn’s aging water tower is probably next on the chopping block.

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Delaware County Patriots: William Polen

Ted Shideler 2 Comments
Read time: 6 min.

William Polen wasn’t merely applying for a pension when he appeared before the judges of the Delaware County Circuit Court at the age of seventy in November 1832: he was offering his country a piece of living history! Polen’s testimony became part of a wave of thousands submitted under the 1832 Pension Act, an enormous effort to honor those who had fought for independence. Through his words, we’re reminded that the Revolution was not only won on the battlefield, but also safeguarded by the stories of the men who lived it.

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It’s hard to believe that this was a county jail

Ted Shideler Leave a comment
Read time: 4 min.

By population, Crawford County ranks eighty-sixth out of Indiana’s ninety-two counties. It’s eightieth in terms of size. The county seat, English, is home to a scant 685 people! I didn’t expect much of a courthouse when I visited, but I certainly didn’t anticipate the tiny old jail tucked alongside it. It’s hard to believe it served until 2004!

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