Delaware County Historical Society

06/02/2026

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By Karen Vincent, Executive Director, Delaware County Historical Society— MUNCIE, IN — Community leaders across Delaware County have come together to form a steering committee that will guide planning and ex*****on of the county’s Bicentennial Celebration in 2027. Marking 200 years since Delaw

06/01/2026

Look closely at these photos. There is something in both photos that give a clue as to the time period – other than automobiles, clothing, and the street made of bricks, of course. On January 1, 1926, the electric traffic lights that were installed on Walnut Street at intersections from Washington to Seymour Streets several months prior were finally put into operation. The Muncie Morning Star article noted that the lights “… included red for stop, yellow indicating a change, and green to go.” Initially, police officers were stationed at each intersection to make sure that both motorists and pedestrians obeyed the new signals.

It was also noted in the newspaper article that, in an emergency such as a fire, the lights could all be turned to red at police headquarters, “which will have absolute control over the signals at all times.”

Muncie was now in the modern automobile age.

Both photos are from the Delaware County Historical Society Mike Mavis Collection.

05/27/2026

The Oakville Cyclone of 1884: The worst tornado on record to have occurred in Delaware County was the Oakville tornado of April 1, 1884. The Muncie Morning News reported that “a cyclone such as was never exceeded in violence and destructive force in this section of the state, swept over the southern portion of this county leaving death and desolation in its wake.”

The worst tornado on record to have occurred in Delaware County was the Oakville tornado of April 1, 1884.

05/25/2026

For more than 150 years, Memorial (or Decoration) Day has been observed at Beech Grove Cemetery, and in 1910, the decoration of the grave of Captain W. J. Winger was a special feature of the observance. Soldiers who had been under his command during the Civil War and were members of the Farragut Post of the Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) in Lincoln, Nebraska, sent three dollars to purchase flowers for Captain Winger’s grave. Local G. A. R. Commander D. W. Sloniker coordinated the project.

Other components of the commemoration included a parade of veterans, music, and speeches. The parade formed at Main and Jefferson Streets at 1:30 p.m. Participants marched to Walnut, then Adams, Council, and Powers Streets to the main entrance of the cemetery. According to an article in the Muncie Evening Press, the soldiers “Many of them bent with age and almost too infirm to walk, though with that grim determination to show their patriotism, one hundred twenty seven of the great civil war turned out … and marched in the annual memorial day parade … to Beech Grove cemetery where fitting ceremonies over the graves of their dead comrades were held.”

Once in the cemetery, the order of the day included a speech by L. R. Naftzger, music by the Muncie Conservatory of Music band, the call to order by Mayor Edward Tuhey, a song by the local boys’ chorus, a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address by Civil War veteran Dr. G. W. H. Kemper, and a service by the Women’s Relief Corp for the unknown dead, and more. The commemoration ended with the playing of “Taps” by J. W. Carson and a benediction by H. C. Marsh.

Today’s observance at Beech Grove Cemetery starts at 11 a.m. with a musical prelude at 10:45 a.m.

05/18/2026

Eugene Mumaw (1930-2006), probably best known for the posters he created for Muncie Civic Theatre productions, took art correspondence courses from the Famous Artists School in the early 1950s. The Famous Artists School was founded in 1948 by members of the New York Society of Illustrators including Norman Rockwell. The original course included illustration and design, and lessons in painting and cartooning were added later.

Each of Mumaw’s completed assignments were critiqued by the instructors, and detailed comments were made. The drawings were also assigned a letter grade. Mumaw’s grades on the drawings at DCHS were mostly in the B+ to B- range with an occasional C grade. One instructor noted that “… I feel that they (the drawings) are still too much on the cartoony side….” While Mumaw’s drawings may have been too “cartoony” for the instructor, they certainly weren’t for fans of his Muncie Civic Theatre posters. In the critique of Mumaw’s final assignment, the instructor said “… you show a real design bent and a fine flair for this particular field of illustration.”

Gerry and Linda Lee found Eugene Mumaw's drawings and letters when they cleaned out her parents' home in Muncie. They donated the items to DCHS in 2018. In 2021, Muncie Civic Theatre donated a collection of Mumaw’s posters, including both finished posters and preliminary drawings. You can see more of Mumaw’s posters and drawings at https://delawarecountyhistory.catalogaccess.com/objects?search=mumaw&page=1&size=50&withImages=false. There are more to come, so check back often.

05/13/2026

1893 was a wild year in Muncie with a smallpox epidemic, economic depression, political turmoil, technological upheaval, depleting natural gas and a wedding that would reshape Muncie for all time.

Photo: Lakeview Hotel in West Muncie. The Buck Creek was dammed to create a little resort, just south of Yorktown. It opened in 1892 and closed a year later.

Perhaps there’s some comfort in knowing our ancestors lived through similar chaotic times. They may have emerged but no less determined to build a better future.

05/11/2026

Thomas Sperry and Shelley Byron Hutchinson started a phenomenon in 1896 when they started selling their S & H Green Stamps to retailers who then gave their customers ten stamps for every dollar spent. So, what was the point? Retail customers glued these little green stamps into a special book. When enough of these books were filled, the customer could redeem them for merchandise either through a mail order catalog or at a redemption center.

In the first half of the 20th century in Muncie, a number of local retailers gave Green Stamps to their patrons. Retailers included the W. A. McNaughton Company, Bake-Rite bakery, C. Cree Furniture store, and Bayless Art Store. You could even get Green Stamps with the purchase of a 1929 Chrysler Brougham at the Walnut Motor Car Company!

In addition to giving Green Stamps, McNaughton’s hosted the S & H premium station on the store’s mezzanine. After McNaughton’s closed in 1934, the redemption center was located in several different places including storefronts on South Walnut and East Main Streets. Later, the store moved to the Northgate Shopping Center and then to the Southway Plaza.

The S & H Green Stamp booklet and the postcard are part of the Delaware County Historical Society collection. Check out the collection at https://delawarecountyhistory.catalogaccess.com/random-images.

05/04/2026

According to the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Kirby Historic District, Thomas Kirby built this large Greek Revival-style house on what is now East Jackson Street in 1839. The house, probably the oldest still standing in Muncie, was home to Kirby’s family of seven. It was also used as an inn for livestock drivers passing through Muncie. The drivers spent the night in the house while their livestock rested in a nearby open field. In addition to running the inn, Kirby ran a general store and was a farmer and real estate developer. He eventually left the general store business and opened the Kirby House Hotel in downtown Muncie.

Rollin Warner and his wife Mary Viola Cecil Warner moved to Muncie from New Castle in 1889 when Mr. Warner set up his law practice here. They soon purchased the Kirby home and raised their six children there. At the time of his death in 1941 at age 85, Warner was still practicing law with his son and grandson.

In 2025, Warner family descendant Mary Nash LeFevre donated more than 100 photos of her family to Delaware County Historical Society. It’s a wonderful collection documenting local history, and the best part is that almost all of the people and places depicted in the photos are identified.

To become a member of Delaware County Historical Society and receive The Society Quarterly: The Magazine of Delaware County History, visit https://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/membership.

04/29/2026

Muncie's first sanitary sewer was built under High Street in the 1880s. It was known by naysayers as the "Great Municipal Pizrectum" and the "Cloaca Magna."

When the sewer opened, it dumped directly into the old Gilbert and Wysor mill race, which in turn emptied directly into the White River behind the High Street Dam.

Like most municipalities, sanitation was generally bad in Muncie between the 1870s and 1930s. Outhouses just added to the nastiness.

04/27/2026

“Everything is all ready for the greatest chapter in Muncie’s basketball history which already contains so many thrilling episodes,” according to an article in the Muncie Evening Press of December 18, 1924. The Indiana State Normal School Hoosieroons were set to play the Franklin College Baptists the next day in the inaugural game at the brand new Ball Gymnasium. The Franklin College basketballers were in their fifth season of playing together, first as three times Indiana state basketball champions and then as the premier college team in the state. The Hoosieroons weren’t given, according to a Muncie Morning Star sportswriter, one chance in a thousand to defeat Franklin College, and they lived up to that expectation. Even though the Hoosieroons scored the first six points of the game, they couldn’t compete with the superior skills of the Baptists, eventually losing 40 to 19.

The odds of the Hoosieroons winning their next game weren’t great, either. Their opponent was Butler College, winner of the 1923 AAU National Basketball Championship. Even though Butler didn’t play well, the team managed to pull out a 27 to 13 win over the Indiana State Normal School Hoosieroons.

The one saving grace for local basketball played that first week in the new gymnasium was the Muncie High School Bearcat victory over Elwood High School on December 20, 1924. According to a Muncie Sunday Star sportswriter, the Bearcats exhibited “the poorest brand of basketball they have played this season,” but they still won 24 to 17.

The postcard is from the Delaware County Historical Society Milt Masing Collection.