Carmel Clay Historical Society

09/30/2022

Joan Therese Blessington Wischmeyer

Carmel Clay Historical Society was saddened to learn of the passing of longtime volunteer, Joan Wischmeyer. Joan led a team of CCHS volunteers to mail our newsletter for several years. These volunteers were welcomed at Joan’s beautiful home and enjoyed working together as they sampled some of Joan’s delicious treats and tea. This team fondly remembers those days.

Our deepest sympathy is sent to the entire Wischmeyer family. CCHS is appreciative of Joan’s selfless work on our behalf as well as her request to earmark memorial donations to the historical society.

Joan’s calling is 9-10:30a.m. and funeral services will begin at 10:30a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church on Friday, September 30.

You can find her obituary at the link below.

09/29/2022

As you may know, the Depot was temporarily moved last week so construction could begin on the museum. It is fitting that it has been in the news lately, as the Depot turns 140 next week! This aerial was taken from atop the Foster-Kendall Grain Elevator in the early 1960s. The depot sat across from the old gristmill built over several years (1882-1885). The lumberyard was just to the south, and the sawmill was further south and can’t be seen in this image. Notice the water tower on the right side of the picture. That used to stand (1929-1967) about where the Evan Lurie building is now on West Main Street.

09/23/2022

Our eNewsletter for the 3rd quarter of 2022 is linked below! Inside you'll find an update on our new museum building, information about our Annual Meeting, and a review of the Squirrel Stampede fun run!

http://www.carmelclayhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CCHS2202_v1.pdf

09/22/2022

Today our beloved Depot left on vacation. It will return when the time is just right. The company that moved the Depot, did an amazing job and gave great care to our precious building. Everyone along the route seemed to enjoy being there for the history. They also enjoyed seeing a large building driving down the street. It's not something that you see every day! Thank you to the City for the help with planning and ex*****on and to our wonderful Carmel Police officers who led our parade.

09/21/2022

The Depot has grown wheels and it ready to take off! (It seems like maybe the Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station between Platform 4 and 5.) The station will return when the time is right!

09/21/2022

The telegraph was a marvelous invention. It sent the original text messages across great distances. Samuel Morse established the first telegraph system in Washington, D.C., in 1843. At that time, pioneers were still clearing the wilderness in parts of Carmel. The telegraph did not come to town for another four decades. In November 1882, the Chicago & Indianapolis Air-Line ran telegraph lines along the rail line in Carmel. Our tiny town of less than 100 people was now connected to towns and cities along the route. You can see the old telegraph pole in this picture.

Neil Schmeltekop was the station agent in Carmel 1956-1969. He told the Indianapolis News that back in the day, “The agents could hear the signals as they went across the wire. It was not unusual to see a large group of people standing around the depot waiting for reports from the agent who could hear the newspaper wires telling of boxing matches and baseball games.”

09/18/2022

In honor of the Bicentennial Celebration of Hamilton County, we offered a commemoration of the year that the farmers cut down the trees and the squirrels stampeded in their fields and ate their corn in revenge. That moment was 200 years ago, in 1822. Today, a very squirrely group assembled to run or walk a 1K or 3K race.

09/14/2022

Franklin Booth: Silent Symphony — Flesk

Last year, Alice Carter, the foremost expert on Franklin Booth, flew in from the Pacific Northwest to view documents in our archive relevant to the artist for a book she was working on. We enjoyed learning more than we ever knew about Booth and have anticipated the release of this book for months! We also enjoyed jumping into a car with Carter and showing her where Booth grew up, where he went to church and school, where his studio was and where he was buried.

We are happy to announce that Carter's book about Booth is finished! You can order it from the website below.

Franklin Booth: Silent Symphony is an all new 304 page book celebrating the life and art of Franklin Booth! Extensive essay and over 400 images and photographs included!

09/13/2022

Finally we see progress! Our Historical Depot is being prepared to move to its resting place while we build our new building. The building will return to the corner incorporated into our new Museum. It is SO exciting to see the process begin!

09/10/2022

Thank you to sponsors of The Great Squirrel Stampede, Sept. 17th! Generous partners such as these are helping our organization and community thrive!

09/07/2022

In 1927, Elbert Day, proprietor of Day Creamery, got the exclusive rights to sell a new chocolate milk drink called Krim-Ko in 10 counties in the state. Day needed a dairy to supply the milk for the drink, so he purchased the Poplar Ridge Dairy Co. in West Carmel and expanded his creamery located along 1st Avenue NW. That year, he installed machinery to fill and cap 36 bottles per minute! By December 1928, he was bottling eleven different drinks, including the following flavors: lemon sour, grape, ginger ale and orange. Unfortunately, Day was not able to ramp things up quickly enough and found his company in the red by 1929.

Though the operation was short-lived, perhaps we’ll find an old Krim-Ko bottle in an antique store that was packaged here in Carmel! That would be a neat artifact to exhibit in the new museum. Until then, enjoy these pictures of Day Creamery and an old advertisement for Krim-Ko.

08/31/2022

Squirrel Stampede 2022

It's not just CCHS...The Great Squirrel Stampede is being celebrated all over the county! Check out what our neighbors in Westfield are doing this Thurs, Sept. 1. Westfield Welcome Visit Hamilton County, Indiana

08/24/2022

The Great Squirrel Stampede: 200 Years!

I can’t wait for the Squirrel 5k sponsored by the CCHS!

http://www.carmelclayhistory.org/the-great-squirrel-stampede

Learn about the destruction caused by the Great Squirrel Stampede that happened in 1822. Plus, find special events & offers for Hamilton County's bicentennial.

08/24/2022

Here's an old timey photo of two Carmel sisters, Hazel (Hodgin) Butterworth and Blanche (Hodgin) Harvey, with good senses of humor! Both girls were Carmel grads in the 1910s.

Telephone lines were installed in Carmel in September 1901. It would be many decades before anyone in Carmel had a wireless phone!

08/23/2022

The Great Squirrel Stampede: 200 Years!

Check out other squirrel-related activities around Hamilton County!

Learn about the destruction caused by the Great Squirrel Stampede that happened in 1822. Plus, find special events & offers for Hamilton County's bicentennial.

08/18/2022

The Kinzers are one of Carmel's most important pioneer families. The log cabin built by John Kinzer in 1828 pictured here still stands! We invite you to see our new exhibit about the Kinzer family on display at the World's Smallest Children's Art Gallery on West Main Street. The exhibit runs now through the end of August. Gallery hours are Fridays and Saturdays 5-7, Sunday 2-4.

08/17/2022

This house was built by John West in 1838, but it is more often referred to as the Elijah King home. It was almost as old as the town of Bethlehem, now Carmel, which was platted in 1837. The house stood on the northwest corner of Main and Range Line from until it burned down in the Great Fire of 1913 along with a block of West Main Street and a block of North Range Line. Elijah King was a Quaker and one of Carmel’s most successful merchants. He ran a general store on the opposite corner (southeast corner) of Main and Range Line from 1846 to about 1876.

In 1875, the Noblesville Ledger printed the following: "Elijah King [is] one of the oldest merchants of the county, who started in a little log cabin long years ago near the place his store now stands; and through the many shifting scenes of business he has held steadily on, 'going slow and certain' was his motto, and success has been his reward. He has seen the younger dashing, eager aspirants for fame and fortune appear upon the scene, and for a short time play their brief part upon the business stage. Still the old man holds the helm of steady progress."

08/13/2022

https://squirrelstampede.eventbrite.com to register! T-shirts, a squirrely scavenger hunt, free Rose & Lois cold coffee drinks and shaved ice.

08/12/2022

https://squirrelstampede.eventbrite.com to register! T-shirts, a squirrely scavenger hunt, free Rose & Lois cold coffee drinks and shaved ice.

08/10/2022

The Great Squirrel Stampede - Hamilton East Public Library Website

This fall marks the 200th anniversary of the Great Squirrel Stampede of 1822! Hamilton County Tourism will be celebrating the historic invasion…and The Carmel Clay Historical Society is joining the fun with a nutty race for all ages. Proceeds will help fund the new Carmel Clay History Museum, scheduled to break ground near Midtown this year. The race is on September 17. You can find more information on our events page.

If you would like to learn more about the original stampede, Hamilton County Historian David Heighway wrote an article that is quite fascinating! You can find it here at the link below.

The Great Squirrel Stampede By: David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian For being such a small and innocuous animal, the common squirrel has aroused a great deal of animosity through the years. Its cleverness and persistence in getting food has naturally antagonized anyone who might want to...

08/03/2022

This aerial is a portion of the Lynnwood Farm. Charles Lynn began purchasing land on Carmel’s east side in 1934. He purchased four farms in the area for a combined 623 acres. The farm pictured here was near the intersection of East Main Street and Hazel Dell Parkway. The farmhouse in this picture was that of George Nickel whose family managed the farm for many years. Today this land is the Plum Creek golf course. You can learn more about the Lynnwood Farm in the video from OMNI Centre for Public Media linked below. https://vimeo.com/213709237

08/01/2022

More info: https://squirrelstampede.eventbrite.com. Help celebrate the 200th Anniv. of the Great Squirrel Stampede with this low-key 1K/3K! T-shirts, free Rose & Lois cold coffee drinks, shaved ice, & a nutty scavenger hunt with prizes.

07/27/2022

Here is a typical scene from the West Clay area a century ago. This house was located on a large farm on the southeast quadrant of West Main Street and Towne Road. It was the first home of a young married couple, Edward and Elsie Hopkins. Elsie is the woman in the photo taken in 1907. You can see the summer kitchen behind the house.

07/18/2022

Hamilton County's bicentennial is next year! There will be lots of events, exhibits, programs, etc. offered throughout the county to celebrate. The bicentennial commission is also publishing a history book on the county. The deadline to pre-order the book is August 5. After that, the price goes up. You can find information on ordering the book at the link below. Stay tuned for information on upcoming bicentennial events!
https://www.hamcoturns200.com/our-book

07/13/2022

Thanks to the Lazzara Family for hosting our gathering to update our donors on the progress of our new building. Wine and Rind is fantastic! It will be opening soon, but we were privileged to get a preview. Carmel…you are going to love this. It’s delicious and just what we need along the trail! This has to be the east side of the trail G.O.A.T.

07/13/2022

Look at what we just got! This is a postcard from 1911. I’m not exactly sure where this bridge was located, but I think it might be a little north of Main Street. In the nineteenth century, Main Street did a little zigzag over the creek and a mill race. The bridge might have been located near the Cool Creek North subdivision just west of Red Oak Lane. It will take some further investigation, but that’s my best initial guess.

These old postcards are invaluable! We know of some others that exist that we don’t have in our collection. If you have any of these from the early 1900s, would you let us scan them? Old pictures like this are gold!

07/06/2022

On this day 116 years ago, the Carmel Baseball Club faced off against a very tough opponent—the Nebraska Indians. The Indians were a barnstorming team composed of mostly Native American players. In 1906, they won 151 of 184 games against amateur, semi-professional and university clubs.

The odds were against Carmel, but manager Henry A. Roberts had a strong lineup of hometown players. Team captain Fred Johnson (2b, rf) and Bill Roeder (1b) were the team’s best hitters. The lineup also included Wallie Jeffries (3b), Fred Jeffries (2b, rf), Frank Stanton (cf), and Ray Johnson (lf). Carmel’s star pitcher, Curtis Bales, and catcher Charles Quick were the best battery in the county. The team signed Pat O’Brien to play shortstop and hit leadoff against the Indians. It was a solid lineup. Five of these players signed with minor league teams at some point in their career.

On Friday afternoon, July 6, over one thousand spectators crowded through the gates of the ballpark, which was located near where Midtown Plaza is today. The game that ensued was well worth the price of admission. Bales pitched a masterful shutout. He struck out a quarter of the batters he faced and only allowed four men to reach first base on three hits and one walk. Meanwhile, Carmel’s batters hit the ball deep throughout the game. Fred Johnson’s homerun was a highlight, as was O’Brien’s pair of triples. The team also hit four doubles and a single and won the game 4-0.

The team received high praise from the Indians’ manager, who said Carmel was possibly the “best baseball town of its size in the country.” He was so impressed by Bales’s performance that he signed him to a generous contract for the rest of the Indians’ tour.

The victory over the Indians made Carmel a dark horse contender for the independent state championship. In a bid to chase the title, the team scheduled a game against the front-runner, the semi-professional team from Bluffton. The Blufftonites came into the game with a record of 35-6. The game lasted 12 innings, but Carmel captured the victory on Fred Johnson’s deep double to right field, which scored two runs.

News of Carmel’s upset victory spread across the state. A newspaper in Fort Wayne quipped, “Carmel, Ind., a town about as big as a Panama hat, supports a first-class ball club. Bluffton played there recently and the villagers cleaned up the Blufftonites.” A picture of the team was published in the Indianapolis News two days after the game under the headline “Claim the State Semi-Professional Championship.”

Carmel did not ultimately capture the state title, but Bales and Fred Johnson both got contracts with the Indianapolis Browns (now the Indianapolis Indians), and the baseball club gained a reputation as one of the best small-town teams in the state.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our book “Curtis Bales and the Carmel Baseball Club.” http://www.carmelclayhistory.org/carmel-books

Back Row: Henry Roberts, Bill Roeder, Frank Stanton, Ray Johnson, Fred Jeffries, Ferd West, Kirk Thomas.
Front Row: Wallie Jeffries, Fred Johnson, Curt Bales, Charles Quick.

06/28/2022

The Maples is one of the most unique houses in Carmel. It is located off of Smokey Row. It was built by Benjamin Chappell in the 1840s. One of the first things you would have noticed years ago was the long lane up to the house lined with forty maple trees that Chappell planted. The house underwent a dramatic transformation after it was purchased by Kearsley Urich in 1948. The Urichs heard that the old Alpha Tau Omega house at Depauw University was being torn down and purchased four white pillars. They set them up at the Maples and built a concrete porch around them and a roof over them. They also repurposed bricks from the original Shortridge High School building for a walk leading to their patio. They built a screened porch onto the back of the house, and inside, they filled the house with antiques from pre-Revolutionary doors to old kerosene lamps. They modified the closets that were too shallow to fit modern hangers, opened the two parlor rooms, and installed a marble fireplace in the living room. Those are just a few of the many interesting features of the house, but there were so many more. Today, a new subdivision is going up around the Maples, but the house still stands in all its glory.

The old photo shows the house before the pillars were added. The rest of the photos show the Maples during the Urich-era.

06/21/2022

Our eNewsletter for the 2nd quarter of 2022 is linked below! Inside you'll find an update on our new museum building, information about an upcoming Hamilton County Bicentennial event, reviews of our recent Spring Tea and Garden Tours, and more!

http://www.carmelclayhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CCHS2202_v1.pdf

06/15/2022

On January 27, 1904, Rhoda Roberts initiated a discussion regarding the need for a public library in Carmel at a meeting of the Wednesday Social Club. All twenty-five members agreed to donate one dollar to start a library fund. A committee composed of Rhoda Roberts, Hattie Carey and Medora Collins was formed to investigate how to best proceed. Two months later, a library board was established, and the effort to acquire space for a library began.

In June, 1905, Edward Collins, founder of the Carmel Mutual Telephone Co., arranged for the library to rent space in the front room of the telephone exchange building located near the southeast corner of Main Street and Range Line Road. Mabel Wells was the first librarian.

The library’s space was inadequate, and in 1911, the community sought the help of Andrew Carnegie to build a new library. Carnegie’s only conditions were that the town supply the site and levy an annual tax equal to ten percent of the original donation to operate the library and maintain the building. At the time, Range Line Road was the border between Clay and Delaware Township. Despite strong support for the project, residents of both townships struggled to reach consensus on either condition.

On June 6, 1914, the new library, pictured here, was finally dedicated. It was designed by a Carmel resident, Austin Bond. Sarah Follett was the librarian and Bess Welborn was her assistant.

The Wednesday Social Club that spurred the library movement in Carmel changed its name to the Wednesday Literary Club in 1907 and continues to meet today. The group celebrated its one hundred twenty-fifth anniversary in 2021. The old Carnegie Library is still standing and is a restaurant today.

Soon the Carmel Clay Public Library will move back into its building on East Main Street. We are excited to see the newest stage in the evolution of this beloved institution!

If you'd like to know more about the history of the library, you can find it in our book "Stories from the Boom Years." http://www.carmelclayhistory.org/carmel-books