Carmel Clay History Museum

10/24/2026

Join us next week for Halloween fun!

Costume parade starts at 11am and we'll have treats throughout the day in the lobby!

10/13/2026

Meet Bethany, our new Executive Director!

Bethany has dove in to learn the ins and outs of the museum, and she is excited to hear more about what our community loves about the museum.

Comment what you would love to see next (or more of) from the museum - or stop in and tell Bethany yourself!

For the last 15 years, Bethany Hrachovec has been honing her professional skills through various roles at several central Indiana museums. She believes that experience has set her up well to lead the Carmel Clay History Museum as its new executive director, a role she began Sept. 23. “I’d be

10/05/2026

Check out our article in the Current to learn how the Blue School transformed from a livestock barn to a residence in the 1950s. You’ll also see some rare pictures of the interior!

After serving as a school and later as a barn, the brick building at the corner of 106th Street and Haverstick Road in Carmel became a family home for several decades.

More: https://youarecurrent.com/2026/10/04/at-home-in-carmels-blue-school/

09/21/2026

We are excited to host an exhibit for the Hamilton County Artists’ Association! Come see their display Sept 23 - Oct 3!

HCAA Juried & Emeritus artists are on display at the Carmel Clay History Museum September 23rd to October 3rd! The exhibit is located on the 2nd floor of the museum which is located at 211 1st St SW in Carmel, IN.

09/17/2026

When we were researching how Carmel got its name, we found that Levi Haines (the person credited with suggesting the name) grew up in Columbiana County, Ohio. We looked at what Quaker meeting (Quakers called their churches meetings) his family would have attended, and we found there was a meeting called Carmel near his home. We don’t rely on assumptions—we needed proof his family belonged to that church. The Carmel Monthly Meeting minutes are lost prior to 1828, and the Haines family transferred to a different meeting, the Marlborough Monthly Meeting, in April 1829. That only gave us a one-year window to find their names in the meeting minutes.

When Quakers transfer from one meeting to another, a record is produced in both the meeting they left and the meeting they joined. So we first looked in the Carmel Monthly Meeting minutes for the transfer, and struck out. For some reason, it wasn’t recorded. In August, we contacted the archivist at Malone University and asked her to search the Marlborough Meeting minutes. BINGO! In the women’s meeting minutes, there was an entry accepting the Haines’ transfer from the Carmel Monthly Meeting to Marlborough.

This document was the missing piece of the puzzle. At the top of this image, you’ll see it’s the Marlborough Monthly Meeting of Women Friends, 4th Month, 28th [day], 1829. The paragraph at the bottom accepts the transfer of Sarah Haines, her husband and their children from the Carmel Meeting to the Marlborough Meeting.

09/16/2026

Looking for Carmel gear for your little ones?! We've got you covered!

Celebrate Homecoming with these Toddler (2T, 3T, 4T) and Youth (YS, YM, YL) Shirts!

1990s alum might recognize the font from CHS gym shirts!

09/14/2026

The old Blue School on Carmel's east side has garnered a lot of attention lately. About twenty years after the school closed, it became a barn on one of the county's most productive farms. That story is in this week's edition of Current In Carmel. And stay tuned for an article in the coming weeks about when the building was renovated for a residence!

Commentary by Andrew Wright The old schoolhouse along 106th Street known as the Blue School has garnered a lot of attention as of late, but most of the focus has been on its years as a school.

09/10/2026

A huge thank you to Shepherd Insurance for joining us as a supporting sponsor for our upcoming Golf Outing! ⛳️

We are thrilled to partner with a company that does so much to support our local community. Their generous contribution plays a massive role in making this event a success!

Show them some love in the comments below, and be sure to check out their page to learn more about the incredible work they do!

09/02/2026

Our new exhibit is in Current in Carmel! Check out the article to learn about how Carmel was named and then stop by the museum to see the display!

For decades, two competing narratives have attempted to explain how Carmel got its name. Some credit Elizabeth Peelle, a weaver who suggested to her husband the town be named after Mt. Carmel, a

09/02/2026

We will be closed for Labor Day on Sunday, September 6th.