CONTACT:    North Manchester Center for History

TEL.:   260-982-0672              EMAIL:  nmhistory@cinergymetro.net

EXHIBIT EXAMINES INDIANA’S CENTENNIAL

North Manchester – The pageantry and spectacle surrounding Indiana’s 1916 statehood centennial is examined in the Indiana Historical Society exhibition, The Hoosier Centennial: A Look Back at the 1916 Celebration, opening July 13 through August 18, at The North Manchester Center for History, 122 E. Main Street, North Manchester.  The exhibit was brought here as part of North Manchester’s celebration of Indiana’s 2016 Bicentennial.

The exhibition was part of the Indiana Historical Society’s effort to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Hoosier statehood, which was celebrated in 1991. Indiana became the 19th state on December 11, 1816. The statewide centennial celebration in 1916 would prove to have a lasting effect on Indiana, including the establishment of the first state parks, the production of lavish historical pageants and steps toward an improved road system.

The agency responsible for coordinating the centennial celebration was the Indiana Historical Commission. Backed by a $25,000 appropriation from the General Assembly – the first significant state funds in support of Indiana history – the nine-member commission went on to produce an array of programs to mark the state’s 100th birthday, including:

• Producing a seven-reel film titled “Indiana.” The film featured James Whitcomb Riley relating the story of the state’s development.
• Issuing and selling to the public a special centennial medal designed by Terre Haute artist Janet Scudder.
• Helping coordinate a series of community-sponsored historical pageants in 45 Indiana counties. These performances were seen by an estimated 250,000 people.
• Inviting President Woodrow Wilson to appear in Indianapolis as part of activities for Centennial Highway Day. Wilson reviewed an automobile parade on Monument Circle before delivering a speech on the need for good roads before 10,000 people at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

The Historical Commission’s crowning achievement in the centennial celebration was the development of Indiana’s first state parks. Through the efforts of Richard Lieber, who chaired the IHC’s parks committee, the state was able to purchase the property that would become Indiana’s first two state parks – McCormick’s Creek in Owen County and Turkey Run in Parke County.

            The North Manchester Center for History hosts two traveling exhibits from the Indiana Historical Society every year.  The Center for History is happy to be a resource to bring these interesting and informative exhibits to our community.  The Center has 9,000 square feet of newly renovated and expanded exhibit space. Its 28,000-item collection features 1,200 items of farm equipment collected by 4 generations of one family, a rare 1910 opera house curtain, and a significant collection of prehistoric Native American tools and weapons.  The Center for History is open week days from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by arrangement for group tours.  Visit the NMHS website at www.nmanchesterhistory.org or contact them at 260-982-0672 or at nmhistory@cinergymetro.net.

            Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller™, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing the state's history. A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation’s premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor experiences called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups; publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; produces and hosts art exhibitions, museum theater and outside performance groups; and provides youth, adult and family programs. The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, home of the IHS, is located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. (www.indianahistory.org)

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