The works of beloved poet James Whitcomb Riley -the folksy Hoosier who wrote “Little Orphan Annie,” “The Raggedy Man,” and “When the Frost is on the Punkin”- are considered by many to be timeless classics. As Greenfield’s favorite son, a statue of Riley stands ready to give his next reading in front of the monumental Hancock County Courthouse.
Continue reading “The Hancock County, Indiana Courthouse (1897-)”
The Marsh supermarket in Greenfield, Indiana, opened in 1988 and closed in 2017. Six years after it was shuttered, the building became home to Great Lakes Ace Hardware.
Continue reading “Abandoned Marsh: Greenfield”
Modern movie theaters bear little resemblance to the cinemas of the sixties and seventies. State-of-the-art megaplexes with immersive formats and digital projection define the cinematic experience today, but a chain of neighborhood theaters offering affordable, family-friendly fare once stood at the industry’s forefront. Two hundred Jerry Lewis Cinemas operated during the company’s brief peak, and one of them was in Greenfield, Indiana.
Continue reading “An old Jerry Lewis Cinema in Greenfield”
Center Township’s District 3 schoolhouse was built in 18941, but the institution’s history goes back even further: an earlier District 3 schoolhouse sat about a third of a mile north of the present structure, abutting the Little Brandywine Creek on an acre deeded by Elisha Davis2. The school was commonly known as “College Hill” at least as early as 18823, but its name was changed -briefly- when it was relocated.
Continue reading “What’s left of Center Township’s College Hill schoolhouse in Hancock County”