1920-1929 Timeline of Allen County, Indiana

1921 - 1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929

1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s various newspaper articles include a Timeline from the Fort Wayne History Stories about time periods in the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1920’S: WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO GROW UP A CENTURY AGO? posted January 17, 2020 by Camille Garrison at The Waynedale News.com from their Waynedale History collection.

Episode 130: 2020 Trends by Granite Ridge Builders January 13, 2020 on YouTube discusses current 2020 trends versus living in the 1920s.
It’s a new decade! Between the Studs travels back to the trends of the Roaring Twenties and unearths the new trends to come in 2020. Modern styles and farmhouse designs are in, and large open gathering spaces are something everyone will love to have in their home.

1920

  1. Fort Wayne's two breweries -- Centlivre Brewing and Berghoff Brewing -- try to stay afloat by making low-alcohol "near beer."
  2. Fort Wayne's Bill Wambsganss completes unassisted triple play in World Series for Cleveland Indians. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from theFort Wayne History Stories About Time Periods in I Remember History online tour of Summit City history from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1920s - City native's triple play put decade on sports map by Blake Sebring in 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1920s - toothbrushes become more common. Toothbrushes were available to the wealthy as early as 1808 as shown in many photos on Opening up the Tooth Fairy File: Exploring our dental history collection on the February 15, 2013 Smithsonian National Museum American History blog.

1920s - the Ku Klux Klan grip on big cities and small towns alike led to its near-domination of Indiana state politics in the 1920s. See links to newspaper articles in the November 30, 2016 post by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook.

1920s - Read all about the bob haircut and the issues it caused in the 1920s in Indiana. Indiana’s bobbed menaceposted November 10, 2022 on November 14, 2022 post by Indiana State Library on Facebook.

1920s -

March 14, 2023 post by The History Center on Facebook:

One of the most popular objects on display in the second-floor hallway at the History Center is our permanent wave machine. Women began waving their hair and cutting it into a short bob in the 1920s. Allen County followed the trend. This fashion movement was not only a political statement, but a practical one as women began taking on more and more factory jobs. In the early twentieth century, hairdressers discovered that by applying chemicals and heat to a woman’s hair, they could create waves and curls that would last for days, weeks, or months. Because these machines were in salons, not in homes, going to the “Beauty Parlor” became a social event. Women would sit underneath this permanent wave machine while their hair was attached to the various curler attachments. #sociallyhistory

1920, January 2 - Nettie M. Smith, the census enumerator, started recording the 14th U.S. Federal Census in Wayne Township.

1920, January 16 - Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote. After Hoosier suffragists convinced two-thirds of both chambers to debate the issue, Governor James P. Goodrich called a special session, during which legislators approved women's suffrage in Indiana. Learn more about Women in Indiana politics here: A Woman’s Place: Women of the Indiana General Assembly, Past and Present by Nicholas Flores published May 31, 2010 on IN.gov.

January 16, 2018 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

ON THIS DAY // On January 16, 1920, Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote. After Hoosier suffragists convinced two-thirds of both chambers to debate the issue, Governor James P. Goodrich called a special session, during which legislators approved women's suffrage in Indiana. Learn more about the long journey to passing the 19th Amendment here: 19th Amendment on Crusade for the vote.com.

January 16, 2019 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook.

On January 16, 1920, Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. After Hoosier suffragists convinced two-thirds of both chambers to debate the issue, Governor James P. Goodrich called a special session, during which legislators approved women's suffrage in Indiana.

Learn more about Women in Indiana politics here: A Woman’s Place: Women of the Indiana General Assembly, Past and Present

The image below shows suffragists in Hebron, Indiana circa 1919, courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society.

January 16, 2022 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

On January 16, 1920, Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. After Hoosier suffragists convinced two-thirds of both chambers to debate the issue, Governor James P. Goodrich called a special session, during which legislators approved women's suffrage in Indiana.

While the 19th Amendment afforded millions of women the right to vote, the fight for equal suffrage continued. The voting rights of people of color were heavily restricted in much of the country until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and voter suppression techniques continue to be used today.

Learn more about the road to women’s suffrage in Indiana here: Indiana Women’s Suffrage: The New Day Comes Slowly

The image below, showing Governor Goodrich signing the amendment, is courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society.

Indiana formally ratified the 19th Am. on Jan 16, 1920 & it was ratified by Congress on August 18, 1920. Among the many heroes of women's suffrage, Hoosiers such as Amanda Way, May Wright Sewall, & Grace Julian Clarke fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Copied from a March 8, 2019 post by the Indiana Archives on Twitter.

October 21, 2023 post by the League of Women Voters of Fort Wayne on Facebook:

Such an important message, Kieran’s letter was declared the best in September & appears again today! Congrats 🎉

September 2023 Golden Pen Award by The Journal Gazette newspaper for Herstory about the 19th amendment and the right for women to vote.

January 16, 2024 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1920, Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. After Hoosier suffragists convinced two-thirds of both chambers to debate the issue, Governor James P. Goodrich called a special session, during which legislators approved women's suffrage in Indiana. To celebrate, the Woman’s Franchise League held a ratification opera in Indianapolis, which included suffrage anthems like “For I’ve Struggled Long in the Cause, Mother.”

Read more about Indiana and the 19th amendment with our blog posts: https://blog.history.in.gov/tag/womens-suffrage/

Picture of Indianapolis suffragists on June 15, 1916, courtesy of the Indianapolis News File Photo.

January 16, 2024 post by the League of Women Voters of Indiana on Facebook:

Indiana was one of the 36 original states to ratify the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. The 19th Amendment is the only constitutional amendment that guarantees women any rights.

#lwvindiana #indiana #19thamendment #empoweredanddefending

White suffragists were fascinated by matriarchal power within tribes, but quickly forgot them by 1920. “The Indian woman...

Posted by Native American Indians on Sunday, March 24, 2024

Sunday, March 24, 2024 post by Native American Indians on Facebook:

White suffragists were fascinated by matriarchal power within tribes, but quickly forgot them by 1920. “The Indian woman rejoices with you,” one woman told Alice Paul, but she was quick to remind too that the fight was far from over. The 19th Amendment didn’t grant voting rights to Native women— at that point, they weren't even considered US citizens. [ See our Indians page ]

That woman who reminded Alice Paul was Zitkala-Ša (“Red Bird”), who spent her entire life straddling two cultures. Born and raised on a reservation in South Dakota, she was **taken by Quaker missionaries** to attend boarding school. Later, she wrote on her struggles with identity, the inner conflict she felt between the culture she came from, and the culture she was educated in— the joy of learning to read, write and play music, but also the pain of losing her heritage.

While studying at Earlham College and the New England Conservatory of Music, she began recording Native American oral histories and translating them into English. It was her belief that because many Indigenous customs were passed orally through music, opera would be a powerful way to share her cultural values with a new audience. So in 1913, she wrote the libretto and songs for the first Native American opera— composed in the romantic style, and based on a sacred Sioux dance deemed illegal by the US Government.

She argued that as the original people of America, indigenous people had a right to be citizens and be represented in government with the right to vote. Her relentless work in promoting a pan-Indian movement across all tribes for the cause of citizenship rights led to the passage of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. In 1926, she co-founded the National Council of American Indians, lobbying for Native suffrage rights. Her later books were amongst the first to bring traditional Native American stories to white audiences.

On International Women’s Day, it’s important to remember Zitkala-Ša’s call to remember Native women, and the full range of their political and cultural experiences.

1920, January 16 - Prohibition took effect nationally Jan. 16, 1920, after ratification of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But Indiana's General Assembly, mindful of the temperance movement's strong support here, had made the state "dry" almost two years earlier on April 2, 1918. Copied from Dry and dangerous Prohibition of alcohol set the tone for a modern age of change in the decade after World War I. By Kevin Kilbane published in 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s by The News-Sentinel newspaper. Prohibition would end December 5, 1933 when the passage of the 21st Amendment was ratified. The 21st Amendment repealed the18th Amendment ending the increasingly unpopular nationwide prohibition of alcohol.

January 16, 2024 post by the U.S. Census Bureau on Facebook:

On January 16, 1920, in accordance with the 18th Amendment, the National Prohibition Act made it illegal to produce, import, transport, and sell alcoholic beverages in the United States.

Learn more about this 13-year period known as #Prohibition using #CensusData and records: U.S. Census Bureau History: Prohibition

#CensusHistory #OTD #OnThisDay #OnThisDayInHistory

1920, March 28

March 28, 2019 post by The History Center on Facebook:

As warmer weather approaches, the threat of severe storms and tornadoes are commonplace to the citizens of Allen County. One of the strongest and deadliest tornadoes to strike our county took place, exactly 99 years ago today, on Palm Sunday, March 28, 1920. On that fateful Sunday, throughout the day there were signs that a big storm was approaching. These included high humidity, warm temperatures, and strong winds. At approximately 5 PM the fury reached Allen County and left destruction in its wake. The strongest hit communities were Townley and Edgerton, located in Jackson Township. All of the schools, churches, businesses and residences in both towns were either damaged or destroyed. The community of Townley was never rebuilt and is today almost forgotten. In total 12 Allen County residents, ranging from 3 to 73 years of age, died from injuries sustained during the tornado. Today we remember the events of Palm Sunday of 1920 and celebrate the resilience of the people of Allen County. #sociallyhistory

One of northeast Indiana's deadliest tornadoes tore across northeast Wells County, northwest Adams County, and southeast Allen County killing 13 people as it smashed through the community of Townley. Edgerton, [Jackson Township, Allen County,] Indiana was badly damaged. From National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office Northern Indiana On Mar 28 in weather history... The village of Townley, Jackson Township was completely wrecked and four residents were killed. It was never rebuilt.

1920, June 13 - the U.S. Post Office Department rules that children may not be sent by parcel post which started January 1, 1913. From On-This-Day.com and the National Postal Department and the Smithsonian.

1920, August - NFL football started with 14 teams

1920 August 18 - the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified giving women the right to vote as a result of the Women's Suffrage Movement at Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Indiana was the 26th state to ratify it on January 16, 1920. Some additional information is on the Charters of Freedom page at the The National Archives. On March 8, 1884, Susan B. Anthony addressed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. Not until June 4, 1919, did Congress approve what was nicknamed the Anthony Amendment. 1920 was therefore the first election where women could vote. See 1915 Woman Suffrage Postcard at The National Museum of American History.

November 6, 2012 post by The History Center on Facebook:

Have you voted yet? Here's a tidbit of history about Election Day from our popular source, Writer's Almanac:

"Today is Election Day. Millions of people across the country will be going to the polls today to elect new legislators, judges, sheriffs, school board members, and of course, the president.

The first federal election under the U.S. Constitution was held in 1788, and it had the lowest turnout in the history of American elections. Only 11 percent of eligible voters voted. To be eligible to vote at the time, you had to be a white male property owner. But different states had trouble defining what a property owner was.

"In Pennsylvania, you just had to prove that you paid taxes. In New York, you had to prove that your estate was worth a certain amount of money. If your estate was greater than 20 pounds, you could vote for state assembly, but your estate had to be worth more than 100 pounds to vote for senator or governor. In Connecticut, you had to be a white male property owner 'of a quiet and peaceable behavior and civil conversation.'

"In order to vote in that first election, voters had to travel many miles to the nearest polling place, which was often a tavern. There they met the candidates for their district's seat on the state assembly. In many precincts, there were no ballots. Voters announced their votes to the sheriff in loud, clear voices, and then stood by the candidate they had voted for, who usually offered them something to drink.

"It wasn't until 1820 that American voters in every state were able to vote in the presidential election. Before that, many states simply let the state legislators choose presidential electors who cast votes for president. Even after voters began choosing presidential electors themselves, different states held Election Day on different dates. The first uniform Election Day took place on November 4, 1845.

"For the first 50 years of American elections, only 15 percent of the adult population was eligible to vote. Thomas Dorr was one of the first politicians to argue that poor people should be given voting rights. As a member of the Rhode Island legislature, Dorr argued that all white adult men should have the vote, regardless of their wealth. He incited a riot to protest the governor's election of 1842 and went to prison for treason, but most states began to let poor white men vote soon after. Women won the right to vote in 1920, and many African-Americans were prevented from voting throughout the South until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

"John Quincy Adams said: 'Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.'

"Rosa Luxemburg said: 'Without general elections, without unrestrained freedom of the press and assembly, without a free struggle of opinion, life dies out in every public institution.'

Mark Twain said: 'If there is any valuable difference between a monarchist and an American, it lies in the theory that the American can decide for himself what is patriotic and what isn't. I claim that difference. I am the only person in the 60 millions that is privileged to dictate my patriotism.'"

[BRIA 8 1 b Who Voted in Early America? at CRF-USA.org]

August 18, 2023 post by US National Archives on Facebook:

On August 18th, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, legally guaranteeing American women the right to vote.

The fight for the right to vote began in the 1800s when women organized, petitioned, and picketed. They worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. A women's suffrage amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment. On June 4, 1919, Congress approved the women’s suffrage amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, changing the face of the American electorate forever.

The National Archives holds numerous records related to the 19th Amendment. Here are a few links to our online resources and exhibits:

Milestone Documents: 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920).

19th Amendment online exhibit: The 19th Amendment

Rightfully Hers: American women and the vote: https://ow.ly/WvRv50PAEH8

Image: Suffrage Parade, New York City, 1912.

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/593556

#19thAmendment

August 18, 2023 post by U.S. Government Publishing Office on Facebook:

Today marks the 103rd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment that granted women the right to vote.

GPO produced the amendment. See the historic document on GPO's GovInfo. WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE RIGHTS - NINETEENTH AMENDMENT

August 18, 2023 post by the League of Women Voters of Fort Wayne on Facebook:

Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. As American Women - it's the ONLY right we have!

TODAY we CELEBRATE the 103 Anniversary of the 19th Amendment! REGISTER those who aren't - and VOTE on November 7th.

August 18, 2023 post by League of Women Voters of Indiana on Facebook:

#LWVIN #Suffrage #19thAmendment #VOTE #VOTE411

August 18, 2023 post by the Museum of the American Revolution on Facebook:

On this day in 1920 millions of women were granted the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. But did you know that more than 100 years earlier from 1776-1807 women and free people of color legally held the vote in New Jersey?

In 2018, the Museum discovered polling records that document for the first time a large number of women voters in Federal Era New Jersey. To date, we have discovered 163 women voters on nine poll lists who cast ballots across the state from 1800 to 1807. These lists introduce new stories of the first women voters in the United States and reveal the inclusive nature of the electoral system in New Jersey in the first few decades following American independence.

Take a look at the polling lists as part of our When Women Lost the Vote online exhibit: When Women Lost the Vote A Revolutionary Story, 1776 – 1807

August 18, 2023 post by the National Museum of American History on Facebook:

On August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified.

Originally a bakery or milk delivery wagon, tradition says that Lucy Stone used it at speaking engagements and to distribute the Woman's Journal. Around 1912 suffragists found the wagon in a barn on Stone's property. They painted it with slogans and continued to use it to sell the Woman's Journal as well as for rallies and publicity.

Lucy Stone, one of the so-called “19th century triumvirate” of woman’s suffrage and feminism, along with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was one of the organizers of the first National Women’s Rights Convention in 1850. In 1869 she founded American Woman Suffrage Association. More moderate than Susan B. Anthony's National Woman Suffrage Association, it admitted men as well as women and was committed to passage of the 15th amendment. In 1870 Lucy Stone founded the Woman's Journal to disseminate information about women’s rights topics.

1920, August 22 - dedication of the Lincoln Cabin replica in Foster Park from page 16 in Fort Wayne Monuments Plaques and Markers in City Parks.

August 20, 2023 post by the Lincoln Collection on Facebook:

On August 22, 1920, this crowd gathered for the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial Cabin (center back) in Foster Park, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The cabin, a replica of the Kentucky cabin in which Lincoln was born, had been constructed in 1917 by the Lincoln Life Insurance Company, but the dedication was delayed by World War I. A flag-draped stage, visible in the distance on the right, was constructed for the dedication. The program included music by the Elks Band and a men’s quartet, a keynote address by author Frederick Landis, and finally the presentation of the cabin to the city of Fort Wayne by Lincoln Life Insurance Company President Samuel M. Foster and the city’s acceptance of the gift by Park Commissioner D.N. Foster. In his remarks, Samuel Foster expressed the hope that the cabin would bring the people of Fort Wayne “into a closer and more constant association with the memory of the greatest product of American democracy,” Abraham Lincoln. More photographs of the cabin dedication can be viewed at Foster Park 1920 search.

1920, August 28

August 28, 2023 post by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1920, the first women to serve on an Indiana jury deliberated on the Robertson v. Sachs case. According to researcher D.M. Testa, the replevin suit for the recovery of a Victrola took place in the Indianapolis court of T. Ernest Maholm. Although the trial was scheduled to start at nine o’clock, Mary E. Boatwick, the first Hoosier woman to be served with a jury summons, had to be excused due to pressing matters related to her work for the Indianapolis Star. A half hour later, twelve women were sworn into a courtroom, which was decorated with a “bank of flowers” arranged around dusty law books in honor of the occasion. The women represented a variety of religions, professions, and races, and included African American suffragist and actuary Daneva Donnell. The defense’s strategy, noted by the Indianapolis Star, was unique: “Louis Dulberger, in a snappy gray suit and white suede shoes, smilingly told the jury how he had ‘long awaited to see the time when women could sit on the jury in the court, and, now that the time has come, insisted that only women serve on the jury in this case.’” His platitudes did little to sway the jurors, who reached a verdict within five minutes—in favor of the plaintiff. As they filed out of the courtroom, the women were each given a white chrysanthemum as a memento from the historic day, which had been made possible by the ratification of the 19th Amendment that year.

Learn more at our Indiana history blog: Challenging the “Double Standard of Morality:” Indiana’s First Women Lawyers

Image courtesy of the August 28, 1920, issue of the Indianapolis News.

1920, September 11

September 11, 2022 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

On September 11, 1920 at the Indiana State Fair, first prizes were awarded in the Better Baby Contest, which was overseen by the Board of Health and managed by Dr. Ada Schweitzer. Rather than being judged on their temperament and personalities, babies were meticulously scored based on health and hygiene criteria. Judges deducted points for “physical defects,” such as scaly skin, delayed teething, and abnormal ear size.

On the surface, Dr. Schweitzer and the Indiana State Board of Health had admirable goals: to “lower infant and maternal death rates and to convince Indianans of the importance of scientific motherhood and child rearing.” However, Dr. Schweitzer’s hope to “breed” a better generation of Hoosiers came directly from the eugenics movement, which was popular across America in the early 20th century. The exclusion of Black and immigrant babies from the contests furthered the widespread nativist and xenophobic ideas of the time.

The assumption that socioeconomic standing was determined by genetics, and not environment, was central to sterilization laws implemented in the state. While Better Baby Contests ended in 1933, the eugenics movement persisted in the state for decades and Indiana’s last compulsory sterilization law was not repealed until 1974.

Learn more here: Making Better Babies: Public Health and Race Betterment in Indiana, 1920–1935 by Alexandra Minna Stern, PhD posted in Am J Public Health. 2002 May; 92(5): 742–752 at the National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information.

For more on eugenics on our site, see March 9, 1907, 1915, September 11, 1920, February 13, 1974, and Indiana at 200 (72): Sadly, Indiana Pioneered Eugenics posted March 7, 2016.

See the Indiana School for Feeble Minded Youth on our Places page.

1920

Promo | THE EUGENICS CRUSADE | American Experience PBS

Discover the shocking history of the early 20th-century campaign to breed a “better” American race. Watch THE EUGENICS CRUSADE, now streaming on YouTube and the @PBS App → https://youtu.be/vmRb-0v5xfI

Posted by American Experience | PBS on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024 post by American Experience | PBS on Facebook:

Discover the shocking history of the early 20th-century campaign to breed a “better” American race.

Watch THE EUGENICS CRUSADE, now streaming on YouTube and the @PBS App → The Eugenics Crusade | Full Documentary | American Experience | PBS

Nearly 2 hour video The Eugenics Crusade | Full Documentary | American Experience | PBS March 5, 2024 on YouTube

Uncover the shocking history of the early 20th-century campaign to breed a “better” American race.

THE EUGENICS CRUSADE tells the story of the unlikely—and largely unknown—project to breed a better American race, tracing the rise of a movement that turned a scientific theory of heredity into a powerful instrument of social control. Populated by figures both celebrated and obscure, it is an often revelatory portrait of an America at once strange and eerily familiar.

Populated by figures both celebrated and obscure, THE EUGENICS CRUSADE is a revelatory portrait of an America at once strange and eerily familiar.

1920, October 1 - Scientific American reported that the rapidly developing medium of radio would soon be used to broadcast music. Tweeted October 1, 2014 by Indiana State Museum on Twitter.

1920, October 5 - most people did not have electricity as shown in an ad from the New York Tribune on People Had To Be Convinced of the Usefulness of Electricity by Rose Eveleth published August 1, 2013 at smithsonianmagazine.com.

1920, November 22 - Thanksgiving

November 22, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

A Turkey-less Thanksgiving?! 🦃😳 For Thanksgiving 1920, turkeys were scarce in Fort Wayne. "A Thanksgiving without turkey would indeed be a calamity were it not for the plentiful supplies of chickens, ducks, and geese." Along with this, cranberries were selling at almost double the price!

Check out our newspaper databases: https://www.genealogy.acpl.lib.in.us/research-resources

(1920, November 22). Thanksgiving Bird Absent. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel, 1.

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1921

Trees of Indiana (1921) Archive.org by Charles C. Deam, Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of Forestry, Fort Wayne Printing Company. This giant sycamore tree near Worthington, Indiana was the largest broadleaf tree in the U.S. There is a man standing to the left side of the tree. At five feet above ground it was 42 feet 3 inches in circumference, or roughly 13.5 feet in diameter. Sycamores are the tallest trees in Indiana discussed on page 170-171. On page 159 are tulip trees the second tallest Indiana trees. Tulip trees were found up to 120 feet tall, 38 feet in circumference, or 12 feet in diameter. These trees give some idea how big trees were when our pioneer ancestors came to Indiana and cut down the primeval forest. Trees of Indiana is a good read for what Indiana native trees were here when the pioneers started clearing the forests for settlement. There may also be clues about areas before 1921 that were still in pristine native conditions. Other Books on Indiana Native Plants are on the INPAWS - Indiana Native Plant And Wildflower Society web site.

1921 - Fort Wayne's Carole Lombard, the queen of screwball comedy, makes her film debut as a tomboy in "A Perfect Crime."
William Hosey is elected to his third term as Fort Wayne mayor. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1921, January 10 - a fire in the basement of the U.S. Department of Commerce building in Washington, DC, destroyed or severely damaged most of the 1890 Census records. See our 1890 Census page.

January 21, 2016 post by the U.S. Census Bureau on Facebook:

On January 10, 1921, a fire in the basement of the U.S. Department of Commerce building in Washington, DC, destroyed or severely damaged most of the 1890 Census records.

Some 1890 records survive, including parts of counties in 10 states and portions of Washington, DC. Additionally, some records from the 1890 Veterans Census are available at the National Archives and Records Administration. The 1890 Veterans Census collected additional data from Union veterans and widows.

1921, February 12

November 1, 2022 post by The History Center on Facebook:

On 12 February 1921 the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society was founded by 141 community leaders and history enthusiasts. Before that time, the first objects in the Historical Society’s artifact collection were assembled beginning in 1901 by the Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Artifacts from the early historical collection were on display in the county’s first museum, the “Relic Room” at the Allen County Courthouse from 1902 to 1926. In 1927, the museum was opened in the Old Swinney Homestead and remained there until 1980 when the Historical Society relocated to the Old City Hall Historical Museum, which was renamed the History Center in 2002. The History Center continues its dedication to teaching others about the history of our community and preserving the multitude of stories and artifacts that make Fort Wayne and Allen County fascinating places. The museum’s historical collection, which now includes over 28,000 artifacts, 20,000 photographs and over 750 linear feet of archival material, is one of the largest anthologies of locally relevant historic materials in the Midwest and reflects our heritage from the glacial period to the early twenty-first century. More important than merely collecting, these symbols of the past are shared with the public through exhibits, programs and publications. Storytelling is mankind’s oldest art form and, as the leading historical agency in northeast Indiana, the History Center is one of the state’s foremost storytellers. Every artifact, image and document in the museum’s collection has a history and preserving those stories is as critical as preserving the objects themselves. This Accession Register book, from the tenure of Curator Frances Rawles (1947-1956), includes information about all of the donations and loans made to the Historical Society between 1947 and 1955. A sampling of objects from its first few pages illustrates the array of topics from the organization’s early efforts to collect, preserve and share our community’s unique history and vibrant heritage. #sociallyhistory.

See our History Center page.

1921, February 15 - Waynedale is founded when Abner Elzey purchased the land for Waynedale.

February 15, 2015post by The Waynedale News on Facebook.

Waynedale is founded on this day!

It was on this day, February 15, 1921 that Abner Elzey made his purchase-Waynedale. Waynedale represented the dream of Elzey for a community in which anyone could build and raise a family.

The original boundary of Waynedale was McArthur Drive on the south, Old Trail Road on the east, Lower Huntington Road on the north and Beaty Avenue on the west. The only residence was the Cunnison farm. This was located where Umber's Do It Best is today.

1921, May 19 - Emergency Quota Act added two new features to American immigration law: numerical limits on immigration and the use of a quota system for establishing those limits from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

1921, June 30 - President Harding appoints former-President Taft Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He is the only U.S. President to hold this position. 

1921, July 15 - the Indiana legislature created the Indiana Motor Vehicle Police that evolved into the Indiana State Police. Read How We Began for more information on IN.gov.

1921, August 21 - The Journal Gazette newspaper had a newspaper article Four Gas Filling Stations are Being Erected Here This Summer City Now has Total of Thirteen in Operation With Distribution of About 1,000 Gallons Daily - Public Attitude Has Changed--Considered Asset to Residential Section. The article states: Five or six years ago, the first gasoline filling station was erected in Fort Wayne, in the face of more or less opposition on the part of the people of the city who are understood to have feared that the location of these stations in a neighborhood would detract from the value of nearby property.

1921, September 1 - construction began on South Side High School which opened to the first students on September 11, 1922.

1921, October 22 - Fort Wayne erected a bronze statue dedicated to General Lawton in Lakeside Park South.

1921, November 9 - after the Indiana General Assembly ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in January 1920, which granted women the right to vote." Catherine Dinklage was elected to the Fort Wayne City Council, becoming the 1st woman elected to ANY office in Indiana! See front page of the November 9, 1921 The Journal Gazette newspaper. Discussed November 9, 2018 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook. See Winning the Vote in Fort Wayne, Indiana: The Long, Cautious Journey in a German American City by Peggy Seigel in the Indiana Magazine of History journal in the archives at Indiana University ScholarworksVol. 102, No. 3 (SEPTEMBER 2006), pages 220-257. See timeline 1922-1923 Our 175th Year - 1833-2008 at The News-Sentinel newspaperand TIMELINE OF WOMEN'S "FIRSTS" at IN.gov.

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1922

South Side High School is built.

Construction starts in Fort Wayne for a truck factory for the International Harvester Company. Truck production begins the next year. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1922, February 27 - the Supreme Court upholds the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing the right of women to vote.

1922, May 14 - The bronze sculpture of David N. Foster at Swinney Park was dedicated. It stands at the West Washington Boulevard entrance to Swinney Park. The statue, designed by Chicago sculptor Frederick Hibbard, was unveiled to a crowd of several thousand people.

1922, June 22 - Designer Bill Blass is born in Fort Wayne. See his 1938 sketch of a summer evening dress at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and 1972 Dress, 2-Piece on theSmithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

1922, July 4 - a photo of Elwood Haynes, who was the inventor of America's first car, is shown standing with the car in Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, where a historical marker was erected on July 4, 1922. July 24, 2022 post by Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Facebook.

1922, September 11 - the first students attended South Side High School.

1922, September 22 - Public Law 67-346: An Act Relative to the Naturalization and Citizenship of Married Women ("Cable Act"), 9/22/1922. Under this Act, American women who married foreign citizens were no longer required to take the nationality of their husbands. Copied from a longer post September 22, 2022 by Today's Document on Facebook.

1922, October 11 - The Ft. Wayne Union Railway is incorporated to serve the International Harvester plant on the east side of Ft. Wayne. It is jointly owned by the Nickel Plate, New York Central, Pennsylvania, and Wabash railroads, each with a 25% share in the new company. Copied from October 11 in NYC History and October 11 in RR History a Google.io group.

1923

1923, part 1 photocopy of the original

1923, part 2 is the second half of a photocopy of the original

1923, part 3 photocopy of the original

1923, February 5 - egg prices demonstrate advertised low prices in the past are relative to what people were earning at that time.

February 5, 2023 post by Newspapers.com on Facebook:

The price of eggs 100 years ago! 44 cents would equate to about $7.77 today, while 39 cents would be about $6.89.

Then as now, egg prices varied depending on variety of egg, geographic location, time of year, more! This newspaper ad comes from Pennsylvania.

See the ad in the Wilkes-Barre Record on our site: Price of eggs in February 1923 (Pennsylvania) The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Monday, Feb 5, 1923, Page 20

1923, 2nd and 3rd of May - John Arthur Macready and Oakley G. Kelly flew non-stop from New York to San Diego in California, becoming the first people to fly across the United States without stopping. See photos on earlyaviators.com.

1923, June 14 - the words of the 1892 Pledge of Allegience were changed from my flag to the Flag of the United States of America.

  1. See our September 8, 1892 Pledge of Allegience timeline.
  2. on June 14, 1923, the first National Flag Conference was held in Washington, D.C., to establish a set of rules for civilian flag use. The U.S. Flag Code, first published in 1923 and adopted by Congress in 1942, is based on the belief that the American flag “represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.” It proscribes any use of the flag that could be construed as disrespectful, including using it for advertising and to decorate clothing and other goods. While the U.S. Supreme Court struck down flag-protection laws as violations of free speech in 1989, the Flag Code is still maintained as a code of etiquette, enforced not by law but by tradition. Copied from Flag Rules and Rituals at Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
  3. The U.S. Flag Code set forth prohibitions on what were deemed disrespectful uses of the flag and included official rules on proper conduct during flag ceremonies, flag display, and flag maintenance. Copied from Pointers from the Flag Code, just in time for Flag Day published June 10, 2014 in The National Museum of American History blog.
  4. Page 13 shows the Pledge of Allegiance with the words my flag changed to the Flag of the United States of America in The code of the flag / as adopted by the National Flag Conference, Washington, D.C. June 14-15, 1923 published in 1913 at Yale University Library Digital Collections . Interesting to note the title page of the booklet on page 1 says of the booklet states: Women of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. Supreme Headquarters, Little Rock, Ark. This could use some explanation if anyone knows. The Code of the Flag as Adopted by the National Flag Conference, Washington, D.C., June 14-15, 1923 (Parke-Harper Pub. Co., Little Rock), ca 1923-1929 at University Libraries ArchivesSpace at the University of Arkansas Collections Subjects Names may have some explanation?
  5. The pledge is on page 5 of The Flag Code. Adopted at the National Flag Conference Washington, D.C., June 14-15, 1923 as revised and endorsed at The Second National Flag Conference Washington, May 15, 1924 Published by National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, 1924 at AbeBooks.com.
  6. Page 27 of the Official Bulletin of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Volume 18, Issues 1-2, 1923has some information.

1923, September 3 - Labor Day

September 4, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

100 years ago...

For Labor Day 1923, local factories closed and "a large number of Fort Wayne people were spending the weekend on motor trips and to many of the lakes in northern Indiana, while others enjoyed the day in the city."

What are your plans for Labor Day? ⛵

(1923, September 3). Industries Closed. The Fort Wayne News Sentinel, p. 2.

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1924

Bob Juday of Fort Wayne competes in Paris Olympics as a high jumper.
WHBJ -- which later became WGL -- is the first radio station in Fort Wayne. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1924 - National Origins Act of 1924, barred Asian immigrants, limited Latin American immigrants, and established rigid immigration quotas for European countries. See Fifty Year Later: A Brief History of the Immigration Act of 1965 by Jessie Kratz post September 17, 2015 on The National Archives Prologue: Pieces of History blog. The quotas were abolished on October 3, 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Immigration Act of 1965.

1924, May 26 - Immigration Act of 1924 limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States as of the 1890 census, down from the 3% cap set by the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, which used the Census of 1910. From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

1924, June 2 - President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law after Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act. However, this did not confirm the right to vote, which was up to states. Some states barred Native Americans from voting until 1957.

June 2, 2019 post by American Experience | PBS on Facebook.

President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law on June 2, 1924. It granted national citizenship to all indigenous people living in the United States — an estimated 125,000 to 300,000 people who had not previously been recognized as citizens. (Photo: The Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-111409).

[President Calvin Coolidge posed with Natives, possibly from the Plateau area in the Northwestern United States, near the south lawn of the White House]

The right to vote, however, was governed by state law; until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting. Copied from Indian Citizenship Act on Library of Congress American Memory Today In History blog. The act authorized the Secretary of the Interior to issue certificates of citizenship to Indians from Featured Story: Late In Coming from The National Archives Documented rights on the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. See a copy at Today's Document at the The National Archives. What is the Snyder Act of 1924 gives citizenship to Native Americans? In 1927, North Side High School was formed with their school mascot called Redskins. In 2014 the Washington Redskins professional football team was being pressured to change their name. An opinion newspaper article Make Miami connection more meaningful 'Redskin' debate offers a unique opportunity to also educate by Doug Peconge, a Miami Indian from the Meshingomesia band, was published August 24, 2014 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1924, October 10 - No longer to be feared in this New York Times article about Adolf Hitler's release from prison. From Historical Pictures on Twitter.

1924, November 11 - a World War I Memorial was installed at GE (General Electric) plant on the west side of Broadway. November 24, 2013 it was moved to McCulloch Park, a World War I Memorial installed on the grounds of General Electric had been located behind a fence for the last 89 years [2013]. It has hundreds of names on it, all GE employees who served in World War I. Included are the names of six GE employees who died in the war. Copied from City honors World War I monument May 25, 2013 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

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1925

Paul Baer Field (today's Smith Field), named after the World War I ace, opens.
WOWO begins radio broadcasts in Fort Wayne.
William Geake is elected mayor of Fort Wayne. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1925 - the National Geographic Society called Indianapolis the Crossroads of America.

1925

A recent acquisition of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division has proved a charming read. “The Diary of Margaret...

Posted by Indiana State Library on Monday, March 4, 2024

March 4, 2024 post by the Indiana State Library on Facebook:

A recent acquisition of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division has proved a charming read. “The Diary of Margaret Elliott" was written by a sophomore at Purdue University in 1925. Read about her life in Indiana almost 100 years ago here: ‘Hands off!’ The diary of Margaret Elliott #Purdue #Indiana #diary

1927, April 27

April 27, 2023 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1925, at 10:06 p.m. an earthquake shook midwestern states, including Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky. The Indianapolis Star reported that it rattled windows, jostled furniture, and cracked the walls of a house. The newspaper noted the "quake was felt in practically every part of the city and many thought at first the disturbance was caused by an explosion or by heavy trucks being driven over the streets."

Read the Indianapolis Times’s coverage of the event: https://bit.ly/3LgvYGy

The headline below is from the April 27, 1925, issue of the Indianapolis Star.

1925, July 10 - William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow clashed over the teaching of evolution in Dayton, Tennessee, the Scopes trial was depicted in newspapers across the country as a titanic struggle. From Evolution on Trial Eighty years after a Dayton, Tennessee, jury found John Scopes guilty of teaching evolution, the citizens of "Monkeytown" still say Darwin's for the birds. on the Smithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

1925, July 21 - the Scopes Trial concludes with high school biology teacher John T. Scopes found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100. The Scopes Trial Redefined Science Journalism and Shaped It to What It Is Today by Kimbra Cutlip posted July 10, 2015 on Smithsonian.com.

1925, November 14 - D. C. Stephenson head of the Indiana KKK was sent to prison to serve 25 years for rape and murder. David Curtis Stephenson was the most powerful man in Indiana. He owned politicians, up to and including the governor. He could send hundreds of hooded klansmen marching through the streets. He could have a man beaten up or make him disappear. He raped women and got away with it. Read his story RetroIndy: D.C. Stephenson KKK leader was the most powerful man in Indiana, but went to prison for murder by Michael Jesse published October 28, 2013 in the Indy Star newspaper. See 1910 photo of Madge Oberholtzer a white girl in her 20s savagely beaten by D. C. Stephenson posted October 16, 2014 by Indiana Historical Societyon Facebook. See our Ku Klux Klan section.

1925, December 11 - Indiana General Assembly provided for the designation of December 11 as Indiana Day to commemorate the admission of Indiana to the Union in 1816 as the nineteenth state. By law (Indiana Code 1-1-10) The governor shall issue a proclamation annually designating the eleventh day of December as Indiana Day and citizens are urged to celebrate in appropriate and patriotic observance of the anniversary of the admission of the state of Indiana into the Union. From Indiana Statehood in the September 1999 The Indiana Historian periodical. See Special Days of Celebration by the Indiana Historical Bureau.

1926

Fort Wayne residents are told to boil tap water because of the threat of typhoid fever.

Fort Wayne aviation pioneer Art Smith is killed in a plane crash while delivering airmail. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

Cecil Afred Johnson Average American

1926, January 15 - the #IndianapolisTimes featured the "Average American", Cecil Alfred Johnson, from White Hall, Indiana. These specifications were based on the @uscensusbureau stated averages for America, and located near the center of the American population at the time. Copied from a January 15, 2019 Tweet by Hoosier State Chronicles Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Programon Twitter.

1926, March 10 - 36 year old police officer Matthew Gebhardt was killed by gunfire while attempting an arrest during his second year of service, the first police office killed while serving with the Fort Wayne police department. From Officer Matthew C. Gebhardt on the Officer Down Memoriall Page. He is on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

1926, July 2 - the U.S. Army Air Corps is created, forerunner to U.S. Air Force.

1926, October 26 - Babe Ruth was in Fort Wayne on October 26, 1926 and May 6, 1927 at League Park.

October 26, 2023 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1926, legendary baseball player George "Babe" Ruth visited Fort Wayne where he joined the Fort Wayne Lincoln Lifers a semiprofessional team sponsored by Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., in a game against the Kips [at League Park]. During the game, Ruth demonstrated his versatility by playing every position except catcher. He topped the game off by hitting two balls out of the park. With the Bambino’s talent on their side, the Lifers won 11 to 1. Learn more about Babe Ruth in Fort Wayne with the Babe Ruth: A Big Hit in Fort Wayne by Tom Castaldi, local historianpublished August 24, 2016 on the Indiana Historical Bureau blog.

The image shows Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in their barnstorming uniforms courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

 

Similar posts with different photos: August 24, 2016, October 26, 2017, October 26, 2018, October 26, 2019, and October 26, 2020.

1926, November

November 23, 2023 post by The Library of Congress on Facebook:

Here's a Thanksgiving tale we like to share each year for our new followers. In 1926, President Coolidge supporters in Mississippi sent him a raccoon for him to kill and serve for Thanksgiving dinner. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Instead, the Coolidges adopted her and named her Rebecca. When Rebecca the Raccoon Ruled the White House

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1927

North Side High School is built.

1927 - Fort Wayne Sport Club was founded by a group of soccer players who had come to Fort Wayne, Indiana from Germany. Their goal was “The Promotion of Soccer Football and German Culture.” It has since established itself as one of the most successful Soccer Clubs in the Midwest. Read more on their About page.

1927, February 10 - the first telephone call made between Fort Wayne, Indiana, and London, England, by means of wire land lines and radio over the Atlantic ocean (sic). The call was made by Mr. Frank E. Bohn, Vice President and General Manager of The Home Telephone and Telegraph Company of Fort Wayne, who talked with Sir Alexander Roger, Chairman of the Telephone Development Association of Great Britain. Read more in Calling London in the February 27, 2012 History Center Notes & Queries blogby Nancy McCammon-Hansen.

1927, April 7 - The first city-to-city television broadcast when Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover was in a studio in Washington, D.C., and an audience sat in an auditorium in New York City. 

1927, May 6 - baseball legend Babe Ruth and his New York Yankees played an exhibition game in Fort Wayne against the city's Lifers at League Park (now Headwaters Park). He was also in Fort Wayne on October 26, 1926.

May 6, 2023 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1927, baseball legend Babe Ruth and his New York Yankees played an exhibition game in Fort Wayne against the city's Lifers at League Park (now Headwaters Park). The teams played the regulation nine innings. The Lifers held the Yankees to a 3–3 tie in the 10th, with two outs and a runner on first when “The Sultan of Swat" came to the plate. He took two strikes and then in classic style belted the next pitch over the center field wall, landing on the roof of one of the city utility barns across Clinton Street. The hit enabled the Yankees to defeat the Lifers 5-3. Learn more at: https://blog.history.in.gov/babe-ruth-a-big-hit-in-fort.../

The image below is courtesy of Wikipedia.

Similar posts May 6, 2018, May 6, 2020, May 6, 2021, and May 6, 2022with different photos.

1927, May 21 - Charles Lindbergh landed his plane in Paris after completing the first solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean. See British Newspaper Archive blog.

1927, July 11 - the Indianapolis Times began publishing exact copies of papers that proved the Ku Klux Klan’s ties to Indiana politicians. They began by printing a check from Grand Dragon D.C. Stephenson to Governor Ed Jackson before the latter became governor. For the remainder of July and August, the Times filled its pages with reprints of letters and checks from Stephenson's papers, detailing how much money had been spent to help get Jackson elected. On July 21, the Times revealed that Indianapolis Mayor John Duvall had also reportedly sought Stephenson's aid when he was a candidate for Republican nomination for mayor in 1924. The Times wrote on July 27, that it had turned over Stephenson's documents to the Marion County grand jury for examination. According to a May 1928 Times article, Mayor Duval was eventually convicted of violation of the Corrupt Practices Act and forced to resign. The newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in Journalism in 1928 "for its work in exposing political corruption in Indiana, prosecuting the guilty and bringing about a more wholesome state of affairs in civil government." Learn more about the Times' crusade against the Klan on Talking Hoosier HistoryTalking Hoosier History S01 E05: The KKK, Political Corruption, and the Indianapolis Times . Copied from a July 11, 2018 post by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook. From our 1930 timeline: 1930, August 7 - two young African-American men Abram Smith and Thomas Shipp were lynched in Marion, Indiana when a white mob somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people took them from their jail cells. Read more on August 7, 2017 on Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook. See photo on Strange Fruit: Anniversary Of A Lynching published August 6, 2010 on NPR.org. See our Ku Klux Klan section.

1927, August 10 - Charles Lindbergh the famous pilot flew over Fort Wayne since There were way too many air planes in the air and he didn’t think it would be a safe landing. For more see April 6, 2016 Facebook post by The History Center. See also The History Center’s April exhibit focuses on transportation: Here's a special look at a letter from American Aviator Charles Lindbergh that he dropped in the Summit City in 1927 by the Associated Press published April 2, 2016 on CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15. On Aug. 10, 1927, Charles Lindbergh circled downtown Fort Wayne in his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane and dropped a greeting to the city before heading off toward Detroit without landing. Read the origininal newspaper article and more in Aug. 10, 1927: Charles Lindbergh flies over city by Corey McMaken published January 23, 2020 in The Journal Gazette newspaper.

1927, September 18 - WOWO radio became one of the pioneer stations for CBS in 1925. It remains one of the dominant IN broadcasters. From Indiana 2016 September 18, 2014 on Twitter.

1928

Homer Capehart starts the Capehart Company in Fort Wayne to build phonographs.

Fort Wayne's first luxury apartment building, Fairfield Manor, is constructed. Copied from 1920-1929: THE ROARING 20s Timeline from 1920 to 1929: Roaring 20s from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper.

1928 - rose gardens at Lakeside Park become part of national rose garden trial gardens.

1928 - Bob Hope made his first appearance as an emcee at the Emboyd Theatre known now as the Embassy, from 90 Fun Facts at The History Center.

1928

Indiana Bat

October 24, 2023 post by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on Facebook:

Did you know Indiana is the only state with a bat named after it? The Indiana bat, myotis sodalis was discovered in Wyandotte Cave in Harrison County in 1928. The Indiana bat is a highly social bat, throughout the year, Indiana bats will group in large clusters in caves. The large groups of bats bring many benefits, including keeping them warm throughout the winter and giving more security to the bats in terms of intruders in the cave. More information about our state’s bats can be found at Indiana Bat.

If you are more interested in all the bats that can be found in Indiana, see the complete list at Bats of Indiana.

1928

October 12, 2018 Tweet by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Twitter.

The American Soybean Association recognized Adrian A. Parsons as the pioneer of all soybean growers in Indiana. Parsons started growing soybeans in the 1890s and demonstrated Asian soybean use as a practical crop for the average farmer. Soybeans were not widely grown in U.S. agriculture until the 1930s. When Parsons died in 1929, Indiana farmers planted 326,000 acres of soybeans. By 1939, over 1.3 million acres were planted, ranking Indiana second in nation.

On June 10, 2017 the Indiana Historical Bureau and Town of Avon installed the ADRIAN A. PARSONS, 1846-1929 / INDIANA’S SOYBEAN PIONEER marker in Avon, Hendricks County, Indiana.

For more information on the the Quaker Civil War veteran see page 3255 in the book History of U.S. Federal and State Governments' Work with Soybeans (1862-2017) at soyinfocenter.com.

March 16, 2023 post by USDA Agricultural Research Service on Facebook: The health benefits of #soybeans are crucial to both animal and human health. Unfortunately, some of the sugar compounds that make up the carbohydrates in soybeans can be difficult to digest. Learn how ARS scientists are making soybeans healthier and more digestible. Building a Better Bean How ARS Scientists are Making Soybeans Healthier and More Digestible.

1928, May 8

May 8, 2023 post by Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

#OTD in 1928, the Indianapolis Times won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its "work in exposing political corruption to Indiana, prosecuting the guilty and bringing about a more wholesome state of affairs in civil government." The Valparaiso Vidette-Messager dubbed the Times the "'conspicuous champion' of the independent press." It praised the paper’s effort to combat the Ku Klux Klan and corruption in state government and contended that it represented "the new spirit of public service that [was] moving the newspapers of the nation to new ideals."

See our Ku Klux Klan section.

1928, July 7

July 7, 2022 post by Newspapers.com on Facebook:

"The idea of sliced bread may be startling to some people," according to this newspaper article published the day before pre-sliced bread was sold to the American public for the first time on July 7, 1928. The article promoting the new product by the Chillicothe Baking Company described the "power-driven" slicing process and how the sliced loaves would be held together by pins. It then answered pressing questions like "Will the loaf remain fresh?" "How thick are the slices?" and "Does this sound the death knell of the bread knife?"

Read the full article in the Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune on our site: page 1 in the Chillicothe Constitution Trubune (Missouri) of the first effective bread-slicing machine invented by Iowa-born Otto Frederick Rohwedder for the Chillicothe (Missouri) Baking Company.

The best loan since sliced bread published August 22, 2013 on Smithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

How the Phrase 'The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread' Originated by Art Molella published February 8, 2012 on TheAtlantic.com.

In 1928, a machine to slice a full loaf of bread first became widely available to companies, thus giving everyone afterwards a handy thing to compare all other new and awesome things to! We love this ad we just ran across from 1929. It’s the best thing since.... posted with newspaper image March 15, 2019 on  Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center  on Facebook.

1928, May 14 - see opening day crowd photo on Facebook at the Emboyd Theatre, now the Embassy Theatre. See also CinemaTreasures.org.

1928, June 17 - Amelia Earhart began her transatlantic flight. Watch A Final Takeoff video on the Smithsonian National Museum of American History blog.

1928, August 13 - dedication of the Art Smith aviation pioneer monument at Memorial Park.

1928, September 1 - photo showing Boy Scouts placing a 1928 [Lincoln Highway] concrete marker in Allen County, Indiana. Likely somewhere between Besancon and the Ohio state line was shared March 4, 2022 by Mike Weigler on Lincoln Highway on Facebook then discussed March 5, 2022 on Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana , March 5, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook on Facebook. A dedication of a 1928 marker was placed downtown one of around 3,000 markers that were placed along the highway with only about a dozen still known from the video shown on the October 30, 2022 Timeline. The Lincoln Highway opened September 10, 1913 and was celebrated October 31, 1913 in Fort Wayne newspapers and dedicated June 22, 1915 in Fort Wayne.

September 1, 2023 post by Lincoln Highway Experience on Facebook:

On this day 95 years ago, Boy Scouts across the country permanently marked the Lincoln Highway with concrete posts, placing them into holes dug prior by other troops. At the time, it was noted "this will be one of the most important pieces of service undertaken by the Boy Scouts of America." Some of the iconic posts still remain, almost a hundred years later! The closet post to the museum is located in Youngstown at the intersection of Arnold Palmer Drive and Club Manor Road. The post is located on private property so please be respectful when viewing or taking photos. Picture courtesy of Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames, Iowa. #TBT #BoyScouts #LincolnHighwayMarkers

March 5, 2022 post by Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana on Facebook:

Does anyone know if this is the same 1928 Lincoln Highway marker in front of Visit Fort Wayne? It is doubtful, but who knows? The original post says they placed 3,000 of these markers on the same day. See comments.

1928, November 1 - World War I Memorial Dedication in Memorial Park lists 106 names. 80 Years Ago This Week… on Around Fort Wayne 2.0 blog.

1929

1929 - paper currency was made 30% smaller. Under 1929 Federal Reserve Note Standardized Design: The first sweeping change to affect the appearance of all paper money occurs in 1929. In an effort to lower manufacturing costs, all Federal Reserve notes are made about 30 percent smaller. The reduced size enables BEP to convert from eight to 12 notes per sheet. In addition, standardized designs are instituted for each denomination across all classes of currency, decreasing the number of different designs in circulation. This standardization makes it easier for the public to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes. Copied from Currency History at The Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

1929 - first Indiana drivers license issued

April 13, 2023 post by Wabash County Historian on Facebook:

Much to my wife's chagrin, I collect a lot of stuff. But I can't just pass up Wabash/Indiana history pieces and the stories they tell. This is my latest find. Pictured here is part of a collection of OPERATERS LICENSES issued by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Indiana began issuing Operators Licenses in 1929, the 20th state to do so. License exams also began in that year. Massachusetts and Missouri were the first two states to issue them. The first one is from 1935. The middle one is from 1930 and has the original holder it was issued in. Note that the license was in two parts License on the right and a detachable coupon on the left. This coupon was removed on conviction of a traffic violation and sent by the judge to the state. From July of 1929 to October 1930 the state reported the following license infractions 1,180 drunken driving, 1,141 violation of motor vehicle laws, 15 underage driving, 8 making false statements, 2 driving while licenses revoked, 10 physically unable to drive, 11 petit larceny, 22 surrendered license without hearing for a total of 2,389 violations for the state. Genealogists look at all the information the drivers license can include name, address, race, age, weight, color of hair, color of eyes, height and sex. Compare that to todays license and the information it contains.

1929, January

February 6, 2023 post by Genealogy Center on Facebook:

Check out this map of Fort Wayne's central business district in 1929! 📜 Do you recognize any of these businesses? View our digital map collection here: https://www.genealogycenter.info/fwacdb.php This map showing ground floor occupancy was prepared by Hilgeman and Schaaf Realtors, January 1929.

1929, January

It's #waybackwednesday! 2000 women packed the large auditorium of the Catholic Community Center to attend the Journal...

Posted by Genealogy Center on Wednesday, March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024 post by Genealogy Center on Facebook:

It's #waybackwednesday! 2000 women packed the large auditorium of the Catholic Community Center to attend the Journal Gazette's Home Maker's School in January, 1929! Mrs. Katherine Delaney was the speaker.

Check out this photo and more in our Community Album: http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/

1929, March 29 - President Herbert Hoover had the first telephone installed in the Oval Office. Telephones had been used in the White House since 1878, but as this newspaper clipping points out, this was the "first time in history a telephone has been placed on the President's desk in the executive offices." Prior to this, the president had to leave his office to talk on the phone. Read a newspaper article President Herbert Hoover puts a telephone in the Oval Office, 1929 published in The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Daily Notes, 29 March 1929, Friday on page 13, from a March 29, 2019 post by Newspapers.com on Facebook.

1929, March 31 - WOWO radio began broadcasting.

1929, April - second Friday in April declared Arbor Day in Indiana. Originally, April 11, 1884 was declared the first Arbor Day in Indiana. Between 1884 and 1912, Arbor Day was observed on various dates at the discretion of the governor. The most common date was the last Friday of October. It is not known why a fall date was chosen over a spring day. On March 10, 1913, the Indiana legislature passed a bill setting the third Friday of April as Arbor Day. In 1929, an amendment was passed in the legislature changing the date to the second Friday in April. Due to frequent conflicts with school spring vacations and the fact that Arbor Day occasionally fell on Good Friday, the date was again changed in 1991 to the last Friday of April, corresponding to the official date of the National Arbor Day. Copied from Learn more about Indiana Arbor Day on the Indiana DNR - Indiana Department of Natural Resources web site.

1929, July 4 - the building housing WOWO and WGL caught fire. No casualties were reported, and operations were moved to a nearby location; amazingly enough, the station's large pipe organ, a familiar sound on the station, was not damaged in the blaze.[7-6-1929 JG article] Operations were resumed the following day, [7-5-1929 JG article] and the WOWO pipe organ was later relocated to Gospel Temple in Fort Wayne copied from WOWO on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

1929, October - Construction of the Lincoln Tower began and was completed in November 1930. At 22 stories and 312 feet tall, it was Indiana’s tallest building for many years.

1929, October 24 - Crash of 1929, Black Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 11%, starting the stock-market crash that signaled the Great Depression.

1929, October 29 - panicked investors sold over 16 million shares of stock on the New York Stock Exchange, causing stock prices to collapse later known as Black Tuesday. The Great Depression of the 1930s begins. For more information see Timeline: A Selected Wall Street Chronology on American Experience | PBS .

Fort Wayne and the Great Depression: The Early Years, 1929–1933 by Iwan Morgan published June 2, 1984, in Volume 8 Issue 2, in Indiana Magazine of History at Indiana University on IU.edu.

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