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Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies. It describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller".
It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, in The Canal and White River State Park Cultural District, neighboring the Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art. In 2019, the center hosted 112,732 visitors. The Indiana Historical Society is the oldest state historical society west of the Allegheny Mountains.
A private, nonprofit membership organization founded in 1830, the IHS maintains a research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest. The IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups, publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult, and family programming, including Indiana's participation in the National History Day Competition series. Finally, it is responsible for appointing and training the state's 92 county historians. The Indiana Historical Society opened a new 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) headquarters in downtown Indianapolis in July 1999, built on the site of the prior Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Indianapolis.
The Indiana Historical Society was started on December 11, 1830, which was the fourteenth anniversary of the statehood of Indiana (December 11, 1816). A group of Indianapolis-area leaders sought to obtain objects relating to Indiana's history. Its purpose was to hold a "collection of all materials calculated to shed light on the natural, civil, and political history of Indiana, the promotion of useful knowledge and the friendly and profitable intercourse of such citizens of the state as are disposed to promote the aforesaid objects". The headquarters of the Indiana Historical Society has remained in Indianapolis.
In 1831, the Indiana General Assembly granted the IHS a charter. In the years following, two of the IHS's prevalent backers died, and between its founding in 1830 and 1886, only twelve annual meetings were held to promote the organization. Its collections were located in the old Indiana State Bank and old Indiana State Capitol. The IHS of those days was described by a historian as "a small private club for publishing local history".
In 1886, the IHS was reorganized under the direction of Jacob Piatt Dunn. With trusted associates, Dunn started the policy of annual meetings of the society that continue to this day. Dunn was able to enthuse Hoosiers of various occupations to gather resources for the society, focusing on editors, professional historians, lawyers, librarians, and writers. However, Dunn's attempt to allow women to join the society failed in 1888; it would not be until 1906 that a woman, editor Eliza Browning, would be admitted. Also thanks to Dunn, the Indiana Historical Society had an office at the state capitol building from 1888 to 1914.
The Indiana Historical Society continued to affect and be affected by the activities of the Indiana Historical Bureau (originally the Indiana Historical Commission), the Indiana State Museum, and the Indiana State Library. The IHS's executive secretaries also acted as directors of the Historical Bureau for over fifty years, from 1924 to 1976. This connection allowed the Indiana History Bulletin, controlled by the Historical Bureau, to be distributed to the members of the society. Members of the time also received a publication of Indiana University entitled Indiana Magazine of History.
The bequest of philanthropist Delavan Smith in 1922 of a large sum of money and a sizable collection of books allowed the IHS to start its William Henry Smith Memorial Library. During the 1940s, Howard Henry Peckham was the director of the IHS and established many professional standards in the field of public history.
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Indiana Historical Society
The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies. It describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller".
It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, in The Canal and White River State Park Cultural District, neighboring the Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art. In 2019, the center hosted 112,732 visitors. The Indiana Historical Society is the oldest state historical society west of the Allegheny Mountains.
A private, nonprofit membership organization founded in 1830, the IHS maintains a research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest. The IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups, publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult, and family programming, including Indiana's participation in the National History Day Competition series. Finally, it is responsible for appointing and training the state's 92 county historians. The Indiana Historical Society opened a new 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) headquarters in downtown Indianapolis in July 1999, built on the site of the prior Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Indianapolis.
The Indiana Historical Society was started on December 11, 1830, which was the fourteenth anniversary of the statehood of Indiana (December 11, 1816). A group of Indianapolis-area leaders sought to obtain objects relating to Indiana's history. Its purpose was to hold a "collection of all materials calculated to shed light on the natural, civil, and political history of Indiana, the promotion of useful knowledge and the friendly and profitable intercourse of such citizens of the state as are disposed to promote the aforesaid objects". The headquarters of the Indiana Historical Society has remained in Indianapolis.
In 1831, the Indiana General Assembly granted the IHS a charter. In the years following, two of the IHS's prevalent backers died, and between its founding in 1830 and 1886, only twelve annual meetings were held to promote the organization. Its collections were located in the old Indiana State Bank and old Indiana State Capitol. The IHS of those days was described by a historian as "a small private club for publishing local history".
In 1886, the IHS was reorganized under the direction of Jacob Piatt Dunn. With trusted associates, Dunn started the policy of annual meetings of the society that continue to this day. Dunn was able to enthuse Hoosiers of various occupations to gather resources for the society, focusing on editors, professional historians, lawyers, librarians, and writers. However, Dunn's attempt to allow women to join the society failed in 1888; it would not be until 1906 that a woman, editor Eliza Browning, would be admitted. Also thanks to Dunn, the Indiana Historical Society had an office at the state capitol building from 1888 to 1914.
The Indiana Historical Society continued to affect and be affected by the activities of the Indiana Historical Bureau (originally the Indiana Historical Commission), the Indiana State Museum, and the Indiana State Library. The IHS's executive secretaries also acted as directors of the Historical Bureau for over fifty years, from 1924 to 1976. This connection allowed the Indiana History Bulletin, controlled by the Historical Bureau, to be distributed to the members of the society. Members of the time also received a publication of Indiana University entitled Indiana Magazine of History.
The bequest of philanthropist Delavan Smith in 1922 of a large sum of money and a sizable collection of books allowed the IHS to start its William Henry Smith Memorial Library. During the 1940s, Howard Henry Peckham was the director of the IHS and established many professional standards in the field of public history.
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