Vanderburgh County Historical Society

04/16/2026

Due to impending weather conditions on Saturday, the Historic Downtown Hotels & Theaters walking tour is postponed until Tuesday, April 21 at 5:30 pm.

This lively and informative walking tour will explore downtown theaters and hotels from Evansville’s past. Join this tour to learn more about the early entertainment venues of our city and places where visitors spent the night.

Your guides are retired educator and film historian Terry Hughes and the Evansville Museum's chief curator & curator of history Tom Lonnberg.

Tour Duration: Approximately Two Hours
Presented in Partnership with the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science

12/23/2025

Fascinating read about the Old Courthouse and its bell

A familiar sound has returned to Downtown Evansville: the chime of the Old Vanderburgh County Courthouse bell.

11/30/2025

Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology

This week, the Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology is highlighting post offices found throughout the state.
Built over the course of three years between 1876 and 1879, the Evansville Post Office and Customs House in Vanderburgh County is the last of the multi-use federal buildings built before 1900 in Indiana still standing. Throughout its time as a government building, it hosted a United States Post Office, the United States District Court for the District of Indiana, United States Customs Service, United States Weather Bureau, and other administrative functions. However, it has not hosted any of these since its sale in 1968. Today it operates as an office and event space. The Evansville Post Office is listed in the National Register of Historic Places - NPS (NR-2016).
To learn more, visit the Indiana State Historic and Architectural Research Database (SHAARD): on.IN.gov/SHAARD.

This week, the Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology is highlighting post offices found throughout the state.

Built over the course of three years between 1876 and 1879, the Evansville Post Office and Customs House in Vanderburgh County is the last of the multi-use federal buildings built before 1900 in Indiana still standing. Throughout its time as a government building, it hosted a United States Post Office, the United States District Court for the District of Indiana, United States Customs Service, United States Weather Bureau, and other administrative functions. However, it has not hosted any of these since its sale in 1968. Today it operates as an office and event space. The Evansville Post Office is listed in the National Register of Historic Places - NPS (NR-2016).

To learn more, visit the Indiana State Historic and Architectural Research Database (SHAARD): on.IN.gov/SHAARD.

11/01/2025

In the first-ever local history symposium at the Evansville Museum on Saturday, November 8, a series of four talks will recall various aspects of the city’s past.

This will include talks by University of Southern Indiana history professor Denise Lynn; retired educator Terry Hughes; Vanderburgh County Historian Stan Schmitt; and the Evansville Museum’s chief curator/curator of history Tom Lonnberg.

- 10:00 – 11:00 am: Denise Lynn, Albion Fellows Bacon
- 11:15 am – 12:15 pm: Terry Hughes, The Golden Years of the Victory Theatre
- 12:15 – 1:30 pm: Lunch Break on Your Own
- 1:30 – 2:30 pm: Stan Schmitt, Evansville’s Early Transportation History
- 2:45 – 3:45 pm: Tom Lonnberg, Key Moments in Evansville’s History

Presented in Partnership with the Vanderburgh County Historical Society

10/16/2025

On Friday, November 14 at 6:30 PM, in the Wheeler Concert Hall on the University of Evansville campus, the VCHS will present an evening of reflection with local news legends Brad Byrd and David James. The event will be hosted by the UE Department of History, Politics, and Social Change, and the event will be moderated by UE history professor Dr. James MacLeod. Both Brad and David have witnessed numerous events of great significance in the history of Vanderburgh County during their long and distinguished careers in local media. Their reflections on their careers in news are sure to be both fascinating and instructive.

The Vanderburgh County Historical Society will hold its annual business meeting and election of officers and board members at 6 pm. All VCHS members are invited to participate in this meeting.

08/21/2025

We made ESPN's home page

An interview snub and a stray comment about Prague led to a parking lot protest of the Queen of Pop.

07/24/2025

With Evansville's ties to the Peters-Margedant house and vis-a-vis Frank Lloyd Wright, this is a pretty cool read.
Friends of the Peters-Margedant House

Roland Reisley is the last original client of Frank Lloyd Wright, still living in the Usonian home designed by the famed architect. Even after 73 years, he told NPR, he still marvels at the beauty of the home.

05/02/2025

A reminder that the Randall and Amy Shephard 2025 lecture by author and teacher Derrick Lindow based on his book "We Shall Conquer or Die: Partisan Warfare in 1862 Western Kentucky" is this coming Tuesday, May 6, at 6 pm at Willard Public Library at 21 N First Avenue in Evansville. Lindow will discuss this deadly and expensive war within a war which was waged behind the lines, often out of the major headlines, and that impacted Evansville as events neared the city. The fighting took hundreds of lives, destroyed or captured millions of dollars of equipment, and siphoned away thousands of men from the Union war effort.

Derrick Lindow is a United States history teacher in Owensboro, Kentucky. He is the 2015 Dr. Tom and Betty Lawrence National History Teacher Award recipient from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the 2019 James Madison Fellow for the state of Kentucky. He is the creator and co-administrator of the Western Theater in the Civil War website, which brings together authors and historians to write about that crucial area of the war.

04/30/2025

May is National Historic Preservation Month! 🏛️
We’ve teamed up with other local institutions and the Evansville Historic Preservation Office to bring you a full calendar of exciting events happening all month long.
From tours and talks to hands-on activities, there’s something for everyone to enjoy—while celebrating the rich history that makes Evansville unique.
🗓️ Check out the calendar and plan your family's historic adventure!
Let’s come together to support the people and places working hard to preserve our city’s story.

04/27/2025

Indiana Historical Bureau

in 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt inspected the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt factory in Evansville on a “secret visit” during his twenty-state war inspection tour. Accompanied by Republic President Ralph S. Damon and Indiana Governor Henry S. Schricker, FDR inspected the plant facilities and watched a company-produced airshow showcasing the P-47s 400 mph speeds and 50-caliber guns. After the airshow, FDR presented four miniatures of P-47s to Republic employees including Erma Drain, whose son was currently being held as a prisoner of war in Germany. FDR personally comforted Drain stating, “I think he’ll be all right there.”

After talking to Republic workers, FDR departed Evansville. According to the Indianapolis News the President ended his tour by watching the U.S. army’s armored division show off their offensive power with tanks, artillery, and planes before returning to Washington D.C.

Read more about the Republic Aviation Thunderbolt Factory in Evansville via our blog : https://bit.ly/3TD71sy
Pictured is FDR shaking hands with Erma Drain. Courtesy of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library.

in 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt inspected the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt factory in Evansville on a “secret visit” during his twenty-state war inspection tour. Accompanied by Republic President Ralph S. Damon and Indiana Governor Henry S. Schricker, FDR inspected the plant facilities and watched a company-produced airshow showcasing the P-47s 400 mph speeds and 50-caliber guns. After the airshow, FDR presented four miniatures of P-47s to Republic employees including Erma Drain, whose son was currently being held as a prisoner of war in Germany. FDR personally comforted Drain stating, “I think he’ll be all right there.”

After talking to Republic workers, FDR departed Evansville. According to the Indianapolis News the President ended his tour by watching the U.S. army’s armored division show off their offensive power with tanks, artillery, and planes before returning to Washington D.C.

Read more about the Republic Aviation Thunderbolt Factory in Evansville via our blog : https://bit.ly/3TD71sy
Pictured is FDR shaking hands with Erma Drain. Courtesy of the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library.