This podcast explores the final flight and death of Karl Schoen, an Indianapolis native who flew fighter aircraft over the Western Front during World War I.

Class900Indy blog post about Karl Schoen: Armistice Day Connection: Karl Schoen of the Army Air Service.

This is not the first time Karl Schoen has appeared in a Class900Indy blog post, This post details a 522-mile bike ride he and two friends took while they were still in school, 7 years before his fateful flight described in this podcast: Nine Days and 522 Miles: A Bike Tour from Indianapolis and Back Again

Walking Tour of Old Indianapolis Zoo Site at Washington Park: Trek & Talk: Indianapolis Zoo History at Washington Park - Indiana Humanities

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory. Venmo can also be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

In this episode of Yesterday's Indianapolis, I am joined by local historian DeeDee Davis to discuss an exhibit at the Irvington Historical Society which explores the photography of Indianapolis resident Osbert Sumner. The glass negatives for the photos were discovered under a stairway in a basement at Sumner's former home in Irvington and depict hundreds of scenes from around Indianapolis at the turn of the 20th century.

DeeDee, a historian with the Indianapolis City-County Archives and board member at the Irvington Historical Society, assisted with the identification and organization of these amazing images.

Irvington Historical Society Website: https://www.irvingtonhistory.org/

Support the Irvington Historical Society: https://www.irvingtonhistory.org/support/

There is no companion blog post for this episode, but please check out Class 900: Indianapolis History to explore Indianapolis history.

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory. Venmo can also be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

More than anything, Indianapolis sprang forth from the stroke of a pen versus being an already established population center or crossroads. This podcast explores the efforts of a state mandated commission to select of the state's new seat of government, which would later become Indianapolis.

Note: While I refer to Indianapolis throughout the podcast, that name was not selected by the General Assembly until 1821, after the events detailed in this podcast. Other names were also considered for the city, including Tecumseh, a nod to the Shawnee warrior chief who resided in Indiana.

Companion Blog Post: Selecting the Seat of Government: The Expedition to Locate the Site of Indianapolis

Native Americans around Indianapolis Post: The Native American Presence at the Founding of Indianapolis

Changing the Route of Fall Creek: Changing Course: The Diversion of Fall Creek

Sources for this podcast are listed in the blog posts above.

I refer to Chief Anderson, a prominent Lenape chief who resided in a Lenape town on the site of present-day Anderson, Indiana, several times in this podcast. Anderson's father was of Swedish descent and had married a Lenape woman, thus the "Anderson" name. Anderson's Lenape name was Kikthawenund.

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory. Venmo can also be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

Exploring the history of the 1934 strike at the Real Silk hosiery mills in downtown Indianapolis. Note: I realized I was speaking a bit faster for this episode, so you may need to slow things down to .75x speed.

Companion Blog Post: Silk and Explosives: The Real Silk Strike of 1934

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory.

Venmo can be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

Exploring the May 18, 1927, tornado which swept through the heart of downtown Indianapolis and caused serious damage on the near eastside.

Companion Blog Post: "Like the Roar and Hum of a Fast Speeding Railway Locomotive" - The Eastside Tornado of 1927

Note: All sources listed in the above blog post. Most images are the Indiana Historical Society's Bass Photo Collection. The full collection can be accessed at this link: Indiana Historical Society Digital Images - Indiana Historical Society Digital Images.

Fire Tower Blog Post: Eye in the Sky: The Last Indianapolis Fire Tower

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory.

Venmo can be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

This episode explores a proposal in the early 1920s to construct a dam on the White River at present day 38th Street in Indianapolis in order to create a large lake in the river valley north of that point, The proposed lake would have flooded the town of Rocky Ripple and made Butler University a lakeside campus.

This podcast is based on one of the first blogposts I published on Class900Indy.com back in 2018. An updated version of this blog may be found here: https://www.class900indy.com/post/a-river-runs-through-it-but-we-d-rather-have-a-lake-the-fairview-park-reservoir

Sources for the podcast may be found at the bottom of the blog post above.

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory.

Venmo can be accessed here: https://venmo.com/u/ejfujawa

Yesterday’s Indianapolis

Episode 3: “A Veritable Fire Trap”: The National Surgical Institute Fire of 1892

Companion Blog Post: https://www.class900indy.com/post/a-veritable-fire-trap-the-national-surgical-institute-fire-of-1892

As a heads up, this episode contains some graphic descriptions of fire victims. Also, some of the quoted sources use outdated and offensive language when referring to the patients of the Surgical Institute.

Want to help offset the hosting costs for the blog and podcast? Leave a donation here: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory

Yesterday’s Indianapolis

Episode 2: The Minister and the Klan: The Resignation of Earl N. Griggs of Butler-Tarkington

Class900Indy Companion Blogpost (which was published in 2024, not 2023 as stated in the podcast): https://www.class900indy.com/post/an-indianapolis-pastor-his-church-and-the-klan-the-resignation-of-earl-n-griggs-of-butler-tarkin

"Exposure of 12,208 Ku Klux in Marion County, Indiana" Tolerance Newspaper, Indiana State Library: https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16066coll69/id/700do

The Hooded Order in the Pulpit: Klan Membership in 1920’s Indianapolis Churches (authored by the late Prof. Paul Mullins): https://paulmullins.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/the-hooded-order-in-the-pulpit-klan-membership-in-1920s-indianapolis-churches/

If you want to support my historical research (and help cover web and podcast hosting fees and archive subscriptions)), please feel free to leave a donation at the following link: https://ko-fi.com/class900indyhistory

Check out https://www.class900indy.com/ for the companion blog post for this episode.

This podcast references the book 'Murder in Their Hearts: The Fall Creek Massacre' which is available from the Indiana Historical Society at this link: https://shop.indianahistory.org/products/murder-in-their-hearts

This is the inaugural episode of 'Yesterday's Indianapolis' so some things may be a little rough. Tune in to future episodes as the quality of the podcast will (hopefully) improve as I get a hang of this new format for exploring the history of Indianapolis and central Indiana.