The industrial era in East Central Indiana began largely due to the discovery of gas, which in turn brought in many of the industries that would sustain the area during the gas boom and those years following the end of gas supplies. This thesis documents several surviving industrial buildings from the gas boom, including their history, the industrial processes that occurred in these buildings, the general factory layout, and finally the current status of the factories. Studying the industrial buildings from this period in Indiana history helps to shed light on the important role that these industries play in the development of the cities and towns in the gas belt. In addition to this, the thesis gives a documentation of one of Indiana’s rapidly disappearing resources. / Department of Architecture

The 1980 amendments to the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act require each State Historic Preservation Office to research and document specific themes important to the history and development of the state. These statements, included in the state's comprehensive preservation plan, aid in the identification and evaluation of historic properties as potential National Register sites.Indiana has developed twelve broad themes to be used in the creation of context statements for the state's seven regions. Area Seven includes Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Pulaski, Starke, Jasper, Newton, Benton and White counties. This context statement provides essential information for defining significant historic properties related to African-American history in northwestern Indiana between 1850 and 1940. / Department of Architecture

The major purposes of this study were: (1) to outline the predominant Greek and Roman architectural examples most often imitated by subsequent architects and builders, (2) to compare five Indiana Greek Revival examples of the mid-nineteenth century with the works of Benjamin Latrobe, Robert Mills, and William Strickland, and (3) to examine the lifestyles of three Hoosier men who were involved in creating and promoting the Greek Revival style in Indiana.After an introduction, Chapter II presented a brief history of the foundations of Greek and Roman architecture with a pictorial account of the major ancient structures frequently copied by New World architect-builders. Chapter III examined the three Eastern architects and their public and private buildings in picture form. Chapter IV compared the Hoosier vernacular with the three Eastern architects. Among the factors considered were the simplicity and complexity of design, similarities and dissimilarities in building materials, and technical skill of the architect-builder. Chapter V investigated the political and financial career of Michael G. Bright who worked in a Greek Revival law office in Madison, Indiana. Chapter VI focused upon Charles L. Shrewsbury, a Hoosier entrepeneur who built an elaborate Greek Revival home in Madison. Dr. Jefferson Helm, Sr., of Rushville, Indiana was the subject of Chapter VII. The final chapter was a summary of the study and a statement of several conclusions which emerged from the research.The Hoosier Greek Revival style was simple in format. Hoosier architect-builders applied the skills of their Eastern counterparts as much as possible within the framework of their technical expertise and availability of building materials. The five sites also displayed a sense of practicality on the frontier. All five structures represent a modification of the ancient models.The three men in the study came to Indiana at a time when it was beginning to flourish and all three rose to prosperity in a few years. A Greek Revival structure was a conspicuous way to declare to their constituents that they were among the elite on the frontier. At the same time they also endorsed the democratic, educational, and societal ideals which the nation's leaders wished to promote. Indiana's nineteenth-century architecture presented a microcosm of the new nation wishing to promote a new architectural style reminiscent of the ancient world.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / On January 9, 1821, the Indiana General Assembly passed a bill authorizing the construction of the state’s first prison. Within a century, Indiana’s prison system would transform from a small structure in Jeffersonville holding less than twenty inmates into a multi-institutional network holding thousands. Within that transition, ideas concerning the treatment of criminals shifted significantly from a penology focused on punishment, hard labor, and low cost, to a one based on social science, skill-building, education, and public funding. These new ideas were not always sound, however, and often the implementation of those ideas was either distorted or incomplete. In any case, by the second decade of the twentieth century, Indiana’s prisons had developed into the large, organized, highly-regulated—yet very imperfect—system that it is today. This study focuses on the most intense period of organization and reform during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / As white settlers and pioneers moved westward in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, some of the first to settle the Indiana territory, near the Ohio border, were members of the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers). Many of these Quakers focused on social reforms, especially the anti-slavery movement, as they fled the slave-holding states like the Carolinas. Less discussed in Indiana’s history is the impact Quakerism also had in the movement for women’s rights. This case study of two of the founding members of the Indiana Woman’s Rights Association (later to be renamed the Indiana Woman’s Suffrage Association), illuminates the influences of Quakerism on women’s rights. Amanda M. Way (1828-1914) and Mary Frame (Myers) Thomas, M.D. (1816-1888) practiced skills and gained opportunities for organizing a grassroots movement through the Religious Society of Friends. They attained a strong sense of moral grounding, skills for conducting business meetings, and most importantly, developed a confidence in public speaking uncommon for women in the nineteenth century. Quakerism propelled Way and Thomas into action as they assumed early leadership roles in the women’s rights movement. As advocates for greater equality and freedom for women, Way and Thomas leveraged the skills learned from Quakerism into political opportunities, resource mobilization, and the ability to frame their arguments within other ideological contexts (such as temperance, anti-slavery, and education).

When they resided along the White River in Indiana from 1790 to 1821, the Lenape culture exhibited a blend of traits created by contact with European and other Native American groups. This has made observing the Lenape culture archaeologically problematic, especially the village of Wapicomekoke. In searching for this site, several research questions were addressed including who the Lenape were during this time period and what type of material culture would be associated with them. By compiling a brief history of the Lenape, the archaeological evidence associated with these encounters, and ethnohistoric data pertaining to the life of the Lenape at Wapicomekoke, it can be predicted that the archaeological site associated with this historic location would show evidence of log cabins, a large central longhouse, and of daily activities such as food preparation, dress, and trade goods use as well as Lenape specific items such as the “Delaware dolls.” / Theory and methods -- The Lenape history of contact -- Lenape archaeology -- Settlement patterns and material life -- The Lenape in Indiana, synthesizing the data -- Historic Lenape. / Department of Anthropology

This thesis examines the availability and use of manufactured and imported building materials in southern and central Indiana before 1850. Specifically, it seeks to identify the extent to which materials such as paint, machine-cut nails, window glass and prefabricated sash, architectural hardware, and cast iron stoves were imported into the region from both foreign and domestic sources. It examines the transition from handmade and hand-wrought to standardized, mass-produced, and prefabricated building materials and explores the impact of emerging American consumerism, changing economic policy, and advancements in technology and transportation on the built environment of the Indiana frontier. / Historical context -- Whitewash and paint -- Wrought and cut nails -- Window glass and prefabricated sash -- Architectural hardward -- Cast iron stoves. / Department of Architecture

The wane of the North American Fur Trade (ca. 1800-1850) was the result of resource depletion, military action, social unrest, increased European settlement and the increased proximity of diverse cultural groups. The effects of these occurrences upon the residents of Aussom Cabin Site have been analyzed. Both historical and archaeological analyses were utilized, offering a verified and accurate account of the demise of the fur trade and its effect upon a specific population.Attention is paid to the development of the fur trade industry, as well as to the manner in which it affected regional lifeways. The location of the Aussom Cabin, both chronologically and socially, within this process has been explicated. The chain of occupation at the site has been established, the morphology of the cabin, and the lifeways of its inhabitants have been surmised. The manner in which the cabin was razed and the depositional integrity of the Aussom Cabin have also been determined. / Department of Anthropology

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis examines how the writings of Caleb Mills impacted the development of public education in Indiana and includes an edition of two unpublished addresses by Mills, “A Lecture on Popular Education” and “Knowledge is Power.” The addresses provide a much-needed glimpse of some of Caleb Mills’ efforts other than his famous addresses as “One of the People.” The works demonstrate how the education reformer outlined his views regarding the ideals of proper education found in his much better known “One of the People” addresses and also highlight the education debate that has continued into the early twenty-first century.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)