Jul 27, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus Carl G. Fisher (1874-1939) was a man who knew how to get his name in front of the public. He was one of the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the leader in the creation of the Lincoln Highway,...
Jun 12, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
As part of my blog posts about Juneteenth, I’ve mentioned the African American soldiers listed on the monument at Crownland Cemetery. It raised the question “Is this the oldest Civil War monument in the United States that includes African American soldiers?” We don’t...
May 19, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
This is another part of Hamilton County’s history with steamboats. Many people probably remember the various excursion boats on Morse Reservoir – the “Morse Queen” in 1965, and the “Waterfront Queen” / ”Star of Cicero” which ran in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Hamilton...
Apr 20, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus When you look at the history of inventors in Hamilton County, occasionally a long-forgotten figure will emerge. One such person was R. Walter Wilson, known as Walter or just R.W. He was born in 1873 to a Quaker...
Mar 20, 2026 | Crossroads Discovery Center, Highlights in History
By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian Emeritus America has a long tradition of citizen soldiers who would organize to protect the community. This goes back to the Pilgrims at Plymouth and the Revolutionary War Minutemen at Lexington and Concord. It became...
