Feb 20, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus We think of driverless cars as some of today’s cutting-edge technology, but people have been experimenting with the concept for a long time. One such experiment on a Hamilton County farm in the 1930s attracted...
Jan 20, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus Stephen “Steve” Roberts was born in Roberts Settlement to Stephen and Mary Roberts. His grandfather Willis had been one of the first emigrants to the Settlement in the 1830s. Sources differ on the younger Stephen’s...
Dec 5, 2025 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Transportation of goods to market is a crucial link in any business. Today, the price of fuel has a huge impact on the price of groceries in the supermarket. However, the process now is still much simpler than it was 175...
Nov 10, 2025 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian In the past, people have said that William Conner was the first settler of Hamilton County because he established a trading post here in 1802. However, while he had a license to trade with the Native Americans, the fact is...
Oct 17, 2025 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian A version of this article originally appeared in the Aug.-Sept. 2015 issue of the Hamilton County Business Magazine. I recently wrote about Isaac Cachell, a story that went viral in the 1830s. Another example of a historic...
Sep 16, 2025 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian If you’ve read much Indiana history, you’ve heard about the attempts to build canals and the failures that resulted. One of the classic stories is that of the Central Canal which only now exists in two sections between...
