Victory Field, built in 1996 as home to the Indianapolis Indians, is considered by many today as the best minor league ballpark in the nation. But baseball has deeper roots in the Circle City, as fans of the Tribe will discover in the pages of Baseball in Indianapolis, which tells the story of the American pastime in the state capitol from the post-Civil War era up to the present day. Legends like Rube Marquard, Oscar Charleston and Roger Maris are all a part of Indianapolis' baseball heri...

Indianapolis' Crown Hill Cemetery is noted for its unique beauty and historic significance. Dedicated on June 1, 1864, the cemetery, at more than 555 acres, is the final resting-place to over 185,000 citizens and is one of the most historically significant areas in the city. Many of the country's great leaders, soldiers, entrepreneurs, and artists are buried within the cemetery's confines including: President Benjamin Harrison, Col. Eli Lilly, and the infamous John Dillinger, to name just ...

In the late 1800s, postcards of Indianapolis began appearing in mailboxes throughout the country. Since that time, the many prominent monuments, buildings, and parks of the Hoosier capital have been featured on countless cards.Using an impressive collection of these images, author W.C. Madden takes the reader on an historic journey through Indianapolis from 1890 to 1950, providing a visual history of the development of the city. Indianapolis experienced great growth during the first half o...

Inaugurated as the state capital in 1825, Indianapolis was patterned after the nation's capital and laid out on a mile-square grid with Monument Circle at its center. As the city grew and experienced the tumult of the Civil War, legislators decided to erect a monument to the war's fallen servicemen. In 1902, one of the world's most outstanding memorials was completed-the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Surrounding Monument Circle, "The Circle City" gets its nickname from the prominence and ...

The rotary jail was a very unusual architectural design. In response to a need for better control over prisoners, 18 of the revolving, escape-proof structures were erected in the United States from 1882 through 1889.There were problems. There were mechanical difficulties due to the extreme weight of the components. Unwary prisoners lost digits or limbs when carousels were rotated without warning--one lost his life. Because inmates could only be let out of their cells one at a time,...

White County has been acquainted with loss since its very beginning. First formed in 1834, the county saw its first citizens, the Potawatomi, removed to Kansas in September 1838. As time went by, communities like Wyoming never developed, and others like Headlee died out. Numerous high schools, including Buffalo, Idaville, Round Grove, Wolcott and six others, disappeared with consolidation in the 1960s. Longtime businesses like Bartlett Ford, Ben Franklin Dime Store, Miller's Department Sto...

Boilermakers Beware: There's a dark and secret side to Lafayette's history that is sure to send shivers down the spine. From storied specters and urban legends, like Amelia Earhart's tragic figure haunting hangar number one at Purdue University Airport and sightings of the ever-elusive Bigfoot, to haunted houses and battlefi elds, with a guillotine suicide in the Lahr Hotel and the Trail of Death, authors Dorothy Salvo Davis and W.C. Madden leave no stone unturned as they examine the tragi...

Founded as a "River Town" in 1825, Lafayette grew quickly and became a city in 1853. It was named after the famous French general Marquis de Lafayette, who helped America win its independence from England. In its more than 150 years in existence, Lafayette has come a long way. After the city celebrated its centennial, its growth remained stagnant from the 1960s through the 1990s. However, the addition of a Subaru plant and Wabash National changed this and started a movement that has turned...

Since 1950, Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium (formerly Municipal Stadium) has hosted the nation's top college baseball programs in the College World Series. Baseball fans from every corner of the country have taken the annual "Road to Omaha" and packed the seats to see championship baseball at its best. In 1954 thousands saw Jim Ehrler of Texas toss the tourney's first no-hitter en route to the Longhorns winning back-to-back CWS championships. Fans at the 1970 tournament saw Southern Cal defeat ...

North Central Indiana is rich in farmlands, wind turbines, and small towns. It is also thick with ghosts.Ghastly apparitions roam the town of Battle Ground, where the infamous Battle of Tippecanoe occurred. A woman trying to put her life back together soon found herself disturbed by inexplicable events in a Fountain County apartment. Roads in Newton, Clinton, and Grant counties are but a few such roads where strange things suddenly appear--and often just as quickly...

Residents of and visitors to Broward County might not realize how many haunting tales are connected to the many popular beaches, roadways and destinations here. What really happened to six aircraft that went missing in what might be one corner of the Devil's Triangle? Does a shape-shifting panther man lurk in the wild places off the Dixie Highway? Just how many startling specters have appeared over the years at the county's restaurants, inns and buildings? Authors Dorothy Salvo Davis and W...

The 1950s and early 1960s are considered by many to be the Golden Era of Racing at the Indianapolis 500, and photographer Ben Lawrence was on hand taking photos of the Greatest Spectacle for the Indianapolis Times. During that era, Ben captured many images of the race and race events that surrounded the Indy 500. He was there when Bill Vukovich met his fate in 1955. He photographed the first Indianapolis 500 Parade, which has become an annual event. He captured A.J. Foyt winning his first ...