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Download Issues of the Indiana Historian

  • Purchases may be made via a visit to our office, by telephone (317-232-2535), fax (317-232-3728), or e-mail (ihb@history.in.gov). More info on purchasing here.

The Indiana Historian is a magazine on varied topics in Indiana history, which demonstrates and encourages good research techniques and the use and proper documentation of a variety of primary sources. Photographs, illustrations, maps, and interesting documents enhance each issue. Activities are suggested to help the learning process and add resources for local and state history. Complimentary copies were sent to every educational institution, library, cultural, and historical organization in the state. Publication ceased in 2003; print copies and digital downloads are available.  See below.

A single issue costs $1.00; 20 or more issues on any topics cost $.30 each (no additional discount on items with special pricing).

The Magazines are Arranged by Topic:

Indiana History Basics

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Introducing Indiana-Past and Present
Introducing Indiana-Past and Present (Entire Issue)

Information on Indiana's physical features, people, government, emblems, heritage, commerce, industry, and transportation--past and present.

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Indiana Almanac

Events in Indiana history in almanac form.

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Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory (Entire Issue)

Documents the formation of Indiana from the Northwest Territory, through various stages as Indiana Territory. Includes discussions of finances and slavery. William Henry Harrison's life and career is highlighted in the timeline.

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Indiana Statehood
Indiana Statehood (Entire Issue)

Provides details about the process, the people, and the times that led to Indiana's acceptance as the nineteenth state on December 11, 1816.

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Indiana Constitution of 1851
Indiana Constitution of 1851 (Entire Issue)

Describes the rewriting of the Constitution and why, the constitutional convention of 1851, its members, and the differences between the two Indiana Constitutions, women's rights, and African-American immigration.

Completes a set, with the two issues above, which provides a concise introduction to the early history and constitutional development of Indiana. Call for special set price.

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Lewis & Clark - Indiana Connections
Lewis & Clark (Entire Issue)

The state of Indiana has an important, recognized connection to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. That connection was reinforced with a National Signature Event in Clarksville in October 2003.

There is more to it than that, however. What many people forget is that until the party left its winter camp in May 1804, it remained in Indiana Territory, governed from Vincennes by William Henry Harrison. Harrison and Vincennes were an important juncture for contact between the party and President Thomas Jefferson.

Doing Local History

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Collecting Your History

What can you learn about your family? What will you be able to tell your children and grandchildren?

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Celebrate! Celebrate!
Celebrations are opportunities to collect the history of the past. Indiana did that as part of its centennial celebration. Contains a timeline of Indiana celebrations.

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Unlocking the Past: You Hold the Key
An introduction to research in local history with examples and checklist.

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The Heart of the Community
Public places--buildings, monuments, streets and roads, parks and open spaces--help to define a community. Shelbyville, Shelby County, is the example.

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Destination . . . the Cemetery

Cemeteries can be exciting resources for the study of local and cultural history--a historical resource.

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Marking Indiana's History
The history of Indiana's state historic markers, early accounts of travel, and a marker survey are included.

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SOS! Save Outdoor Sculpture in Indiana

The theme of 1994 National Historic Preservation Week was Save Outdoor Sculpture! Details statewide survey of outdoor sculpture.

People and the Land

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The Borden Legacy
The Borden Legacy (Entire Issue)

William W. Borden, Indiana philanthropist of New Providence, whose educational goals and scientific collections have preserved his memory.

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Girl Scouting in Indiana
Girl Scouting in Indiana (Entire Issue)

On the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Girl Scouts; focuses on the importance of studying and documenting youth organizations.

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Footprints across the Dunes

The geography, geology, and natural history of the dunes along Indiana's Lake Michigan shore; effect on state's development and public policy.

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The Heart of the Community
Public places--buildings, monuments, streets and roads, parks and open spaces--help to define a community. Shelbyville, Shelby County, is the example.

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Vroom! Speedway in May!
The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, including history and a 1910 map of Speedway, Indiana.

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Researching Radio in Indiana
Radio and its impact on Indiana.

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Dreams and Despair: The Early Years of the Great Depression in Gary, Indiana
The experiences of Gary, Indiana during the early years of the Great Depression.

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Montgomery County's Jail Machine
History of the rotary jail in Crawfordsville; timeline of jails and treatment of prisoners.

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"a marvel of ingenuity" (Entire Article)
The phenomenon of the bicycle when it was a short-lived "craze" in the 1890s, as well as its economic and social impact.

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Public Health in Indiana
Public Health in Indiana (Entire Issue)

Public health science in Indiana at the turn of the twentieth century, Dr. John N. Hurty and the Indiana State Board of Health, and Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley and the first federal Pure Food and Drugs Act in 1906.

American Indians and Prehistory

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Indiana before the Age of Dinosaurs
What was Indiana like millions of years ago? The fossils at the Falls of the Ohio are a good record.

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Archaeology: Uncovering Indiana's Past

Angel Mounds was a settlement of people in the Mississippian period. Describes life at Angel Mounds using archaeological clues.

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Archaeology in Indiana: The Early Years
Archaeology in Indiana...(Entire Issue)

Basic definitions; activities in Indiana to 1966; Indiana law; what an archaeologist does.

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Archaeology in Indiana: The Science Today
Archaeology in Indiana... (Entire Issue)

Summarizes Indiana activity since 1966; charts Indiana cultural chronology; describes phases of archaeological research.

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The Gentle Invasion
Interaction of Native American tribes with Europeans who claimed the land that is now Indiana. Focuses on French; includes a timeline 1492 to 1763.

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The Conflict Continues

British interactions with Native Americans; includes timeline.

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Past Meets Present for Native Americans
Focuses on statehood; Indian lands; Trail of Death; 1992 events and population.

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The Man in the Middle -- Chief J.B. Richardville
Principal chief of Miami tribe in mid-1800s; negotiated with U.S. at Forks of the Wabash in 1832. Contains journal of the meetings.

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Finding Our Way Home (Entire Issue)
Stories of Woodland people based on a 2001 original play to heighten awareness about Indiana's American Indian connections -- past, present, and future.

African-American History

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Black Settlers in Indiana

Focuses on settlements of free blacks; emphasis on the Roberts Settlement in early Hamilton County in central Indiana.

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Indiana's 28th Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union

This was the only black regiment organized in Indiana. Regimental Chaplain Garland H. White's letters to the Christian Recorder provided eyewitness accounts of the service of the 28th.

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Indiana in the Spanish-American War
Indiana in the Spanish-American War (Entire Issue)

The home front experience, Indiana volunteers, and the dilemma of black citizens and soldiers.

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Madam C. J. Walker, Part 1

Describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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Madam Walker-Entrepreneur, Part 2

These two magazines describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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"We don't intend to fall in anymore ...."

A history of blacks in Evansville from settlement to the 1940s.

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Indiana Emigrants to Liberia
Indiana Emigrants to Liberia (Entire Issue)

Explores black colonization and Indiana's part in the nationwide movement in the nineteenth century.

Women's History

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Madam C. J. Walker, Part 1

Describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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Madam Walker-Entrepreneur, Part 2

These two magazines describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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"...a little less flattery a little more justice."

Married women's property rights and woman suffrage in nineteenth-century Indiana.

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"This Large Army of . . . women"

Women of Indiana and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. Details Indiana women's interests, organizations, and achievements.

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Gene Stratton-Porter
Gene Stratton-Porter (Entire Article)

Porter was a self-trained writer, naturalist, and photographer. Two state historic sites memorialize her life and accomplishments.

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Girl Scouting in Indiana
Girl Scouting in Indiana (Entire Issue)

On the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Girl Scouts; focuses on the importance of studying and documenting youth organizations.

Literary and Cultural

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Gene Stratton-Porter
Gene Stratton-Porter (Entire Article)

Porter was a self-trained writer, naturalist, and photographer. Two state historic sites memorialize her life and accomplishments.

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Riley on Riley
James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier poet and a superstar of his time!

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Strike Up the Band!

Band music was everywhere in the later part of the nineteenth century; many military, town, social, ethnic, and commercial organizations formed bands.

Transportation and Commerce

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Nineteenth Century Indiana Grist Mills

Brief history of grist mills: how they work; who works them; and locations in 1860.

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Strike Up the Band!

Band music was everywhere in the later part of the nineteenth century; many military, town, social, ethnic, and commercial organizations formed bands.

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Madam C. J. Walker, Part 1

Describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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Madam Walker-Entrepreneur, Part 2

These two magazines describe the life and career of Madam Walker, a prominent black business woman in Indianapolis in the early 1900s.

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Vroom! Speedway in May!

The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, including history and a 1910 map of Speedway, Indiana.

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Researching Radio in Indiana

Radio and its impact on Indiana.

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". . . Every Hoosier is Justly Proud"

Indiana's rich and interesting automobile heritage.

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Hoosier Hogs

Origins of the hog economy in Indiana; pig history timeline.

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Little Bottle--Big Business

Early history of the soft drink industry, the Root Glass Company, Terre Haute, and the Coca-Cola bottle it designed.

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"a marvel of ingenuity"
"a marvel of ingenuity" (Entire Article)

The phenomenon of the bicycle when it was a short-lived "craze" in the 1890s, as well as its economic and social impact.

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Canal Mania in Indiana
Canal Mania in Indiana (Entire Issue)

The development and impact of the Whitewater Canal on southeastern Indiana.

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Canal Construction in Indiana
Canal Construction in Indiana (Entire Issue)

How canal building progressed and affected individuals.

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Aviation in Indiana
Aviation in Indiana (Entire Issue)

Many "firsts" of aviation in Indiana, people and communities involved over the years--from the first airmail in 1859 through Hoosier astronaut David Wolf's stay on the Russian space station Mir.

Government and Politics

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Gentlemen from Indiana--The Vice Presidents

Introduces Indiana's five vice presidents and describes a "swing state."

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Indiana Territory
Indiana Territory (Entire Issue)

Documents the formation of Indiana from the Northwest Territory, through various stages as Indiana Territory. Includes discussions of finances and slavery. William Henry Harrison's life and career is highlighted in the timeline.

Issue Cover

Indiana Statehood
Indiana Statehood (Entire Issue)

Provides details about the process, the people, and the times that led to Indiana's acceptance as the nineteenth state on December 11, 1816.

Issue Cover

Indiana Constitution of 1851
Indiana Constitution of 1851 (Entire Issue)

Describes the rewriting of the Constitution and why, the constitutional convention of 1851, its members, and the differences between the two Indiana Constitutions, women's rights, and African-American immigration.

Completes a set, with the two issues above, which provides a concise introduction to the early history and constitutional development of Indiana. Call for special set price.

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Search for a New Capital, Part 1
Search for a New Capital, Part 1 (Entire Issue)

How Indianapolis came to be the capital; Indiana's past capitals; the commission which chose the location.

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Indianapolis, the Capital, Part 2
Indianapolis, the Capital, Part 2 (Entire Issue)

The beginnings of Indianapolis and Marion County through the arrival of state government in the fall of 1824.

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"...a little less flattery a little more justice."

Married women's property rights and woman suffrage in nineteenth-century Indiana.

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Public Health in Indiana
Public Health in Indiana (Entire Issue)

Public health science in Indiana at the turn of the twentieth century, Dr. John N. Hurty and the Indiana State Board of Health, and Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley and the first federal Pure Food and Drugs Act in 1906.

Conflicts

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The Fall of Fort Sackville
The Fall of Fort Sackville (Entire Issue)

Hoosier hero George Rogers Clark's Memoir provides the basis of the story of the defeat of British troops at Fort Sackville, Vincennes by Clark and his men in February 1779. The full text of the Memoir is on the Historical Bureau Web site.

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Indiana's 28th Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union

This was the only black regiment organized in Indiana. Regimental Chaplain Garland H. White's letters to the Christian Recorder provided eyewitness accounts of the service of the 28th.

Issue Cover

Indiana in the Spanish-American War
Indiana in the Spanish-American War (Entire Issue)

The home front experience, Indiana volunteers, and the dilemma of black citizens and soldiers.