By David Pfeiffer
While canning factories employed many people from Johnson County during the harvest season, they also relied on migrant workers to fulfill their labor needs. Migrant workers were people from outside the county who were brought in by the companies to…

By David Pfeiffer
In 1930, Kenneth Rider and William Switzer, the owners of the Hoosier Canning Company, opened a factory on the east side of Trafalgar, near the Big Four railroad tracks. A fire on December 22, 1930 caused substantial damage, but the factory was…

By David Pfeiffer
What started as a home business in Greenwood, IN, became one of the largest canning factories in the Midwest. Millions of cans of tomatoes, peas, and other vegetables were once processed here at Polk’s Canning Company. The Polk family were early…

By Joanna E. Hahn
Though we cannot be sure exactly where Eliza Harris and her child ended up in Canada, we may have one clue. Levi Coffin wrote in his book that he and his wife, Catharine, visited Canada West in the Windsor and Chatham area east of Detroit, Michigan…

By Joanna E. Hahn
Regardless of the exact route that Eliza Harris and her child traveled on their journey to escape slavery, there is evidence that they made it to Canada. There are several possibilities to how that happened. If Eliza continued through Indiana then…

By Joanna E. Hahn
Much of what we know today about the experiences of enslaved peoples on the Underground Railroad comes to us through oral testimonies given after the fact or passed down through the generations. One testimony describes Eliza traveling through…

By Joanna E. Hahn
The historic home of Quaker couple Levi and Catharine Coffin in Newport (now Fountain City), Indiana was connected on the Underground Railroad. The Coffins moved to Newport in 1826 from North Carolina. Growing up in a staunch anti-slavery family and…

By Joanna E. Hahn
The importance of Eliza as a cultural figure can be seen in the variety of stories that exist telling of her journey through different places. Some say that Eliza did not go towards Cincinnati, but further north of Ripley, Ohio into Fayette County.…

By Joanna E. Hahn
Eliza Harris, the Black woman who sought freedom with her child in 1838, journeyed north from the Rankin house. The further she traveled, the closer safety may have seemed. But the reality was that the Underground Railroad was threatened continually…

By Joanna E. Hahn
We know that it was at the home of Presbyterian minister John Rankin that Eliza Harris had her first moment of safety after escaping from slavery. It had not been an easy journey for Eliza leaving in winter February 1838 from Dover, Kentucky with…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Hopewell community members held grand celebrations as local men prepared to depart for duty as soldiers in the Civil War. On August 28, 1861, Hopewell families bade a sad, but boisterous, farewell to the 7th Indiana Infantry Regiment, Company F as…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Many Hoosier families sent a son or daughter to serve in the military during World War II (1939-1945). Pride in their child’s service mingled with worry about their safety. Families’ anticipation of news about the war mixed with trepidation about…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Hours after Confederate forces fired on Ft. Sumter on April 12, 1861, Johnson County residents left their fields and shops to gather at the telegraph office in Franklin for news of the insurrection. The telegraph gave few details and by 9 pm the…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Young men from Johnson County filled six infantry companies in the American Civil War. One of the most well-documented is the 7th Indiana Infantry Regiment, Company F. After the fall of Ft. Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 13th, 1861,…

By Linda S. Kilbert
An important chapter in Johnson County military history ended in 1938, when the last member of the 7th Indiana Infantry Company F passed away. Adolphus H. Smith was 96 years old when he peacefully died on June 10 in his home in Edinburgh. Prior to…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Johnson County in what would become the state of Indiana was not an active battle site during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). No troops were mustered from among the early inhabitants of the area. When the American Revolution was fought…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Historic Greenlawn Cemetery in Franklin, Indiana was established in 1845. Today it has grown from its original three acres to approximately thirty acres and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. This serene park-like setting is the final…

By Linda S. Kilbert
One grave of particular interest here in Greenlawn Cemetery is that of Civil War Captain Van Nuys who is buried in the Pine Section of the cemetery. Imagine that it is 1861 and that you are a young white man just turned 21 in Indiana. You are…

By Linda S. Kilbert
Courage in the face of danger is a trait shared by those who choose duties in the military or emergency services. They serve at home and abroad, protecting our freedoms and our lives from all kinds of destructive forces. These are the persons who go…

By Linda S. Kilbert
The courthouse square in Franklin, Indiana has been central to both commemoration and protest. For some residents, these monuments honor the many brave men and women whose lives have been cut short by the ravages of war. They testify to their…

By Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Children’s book author and illustrator Norman Bridwell was born Feb. 15, 1928, to Vern Ray, a factory worker in this predominantly automotive town, and Leona Koontz Bridwell, a homemaker. He attended McKinley Elementary School (now McKinley…

By Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
When you arrive in Kokomo, you’re greeted by the friendly, familiar face of Clifford the Big Red Dog on a sign on U.S. 931 right next to the Welcome to Kokomo sign. It’s one of many ways Kokomo has honored one of its favorite sons, Norman…

By Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Indiana University Kokomo is one of Indiana University’s regional campuses and is home to 32 Harris “Misch” Kohn’s works from 1932 to 2002, including “Bull Fight” (1949) and “Medea” (1950), both wood engravings on paper. After graduating from the…

By Kokomo-Howard County Public Library
Now known as Central Middle School , Kokomo High School was once attended by Harris “Misch” Kohn, who graduated in 1934. Kohn credited Kokomo as important to his development as an artist. His elementary and high school art teacher Bernice McKinley…