Hettie and May Talbot, family of Civil War Captain H.H. Talbot

Hettie (Hester) Evans lived in Southwest Montgomery County with her cousin, T.C. Steele (prominent Indiana artist) and attended the Waveland Academy.  Later, she married Henry (H.H.) Talbot, a Civil War Veteran who had been wounded twice during his service.  The Talbots owned the land west of what is now Barr Street and between Wayne Avenue and the Country Club Road.  Captain Talbot started the McPherson's Post No. 7 of the Grand Army of the Republic.  Hettie Talbot was the first president of Women's Relief Corps No. 74 (and was the last remaining charter member after 61 years at the age of 97).

May Talbot (teacher), daughter of Henry and Hettie, 3rd grade class in 1923 at the Old Mills School. May lived to be 93.

View these Talbot-related documents in the CDPL Local History collection:
Captain H.H. Talbot    Captain Talbot was less than a week away from his 90th birthday.
McPherson Post Anniversary Party
Grand Army of the Republic
T.C. Steele

Crawfordsville Culverts ... Ingenuity and Entrepreneurship

Crawfordsville was blessed with two men -- Stanley Simpson (town engineer) and James H. Watson (sheet metal worker) who invented and engineered corrugated metal culverts in 1896.  Previous culverts were bulky, expensive and dangerous.  Recently, the local history department acquired a postcard of men installing one of these culverts in front of Central School (later CHS).  Unfortunately, the year on the postmark is illegible but it is believed to be between 1906-1910.   No one in this photograph is identified.

Far right, notice the culvert ready to be installed.

First Corrugated Culvert Factory in Crawfordsville, 1898 

Central School has had changes through the years, here it is similar to the postcard.   Central High School in this photo shows different architecture and stairs (which could be due to fire).

Crawfordsville MCMXXVIII

Ever wondered what Crawfordsville was like in 1928 ...

Slogan:           "The Athens of America."

Population:      11,680
Financial:         3 banks and 1 trust company with total resources of $5,100,000
Churches:        15
Industry:          30 employing 900 men and 200 women

City Statistics: 17 miles of total street mileage - 15 of those are paved and 14 miles under construction.  Capacity of water works is 1,000,000 gallons.  The Fire department employs 13 men with 2 autos, 2 engines and 2 hook and ladder trucks in 2 station houses.  The Police department has 7 men with 1 station.

First Hook and Ladder Truck.  O.H. Hill is the driver (the only identified fireman)

This photo and many more can be located by searching the library Image Database.

Hot Weather Don'ts from 1913

Hot weather brings many issues, and  the July 1913 edition of the Crawfordsville Daily Journal offered advice on what to do with food during the summer months. Of course, Crawfordsville citizens were not without ice boxes (even then called "refrigerators") to keep food from spoiling quicker than usual (see our blog entry Crawfordsville Keeps It Cool), but housewives were still warned to "use their eyes and noses on everything they cook before feeding it to the family."

 

Ptomaine poisoning was once a serious concern in Montgomery County during the summertime.