George E. Thornburg: Lifelong Depot Agent
Burr Oak Depot, undated. The information below comes from the Indianapolis Star Magazine, November 18, 1956, and the Culver Citizen of September 18 and 25, 1957.George Edgar Thornburg was born at Stillwell, IN on April 3, 1891, one of four children of William Henry...
The Firemen’s Ball
Wide Awake Fire Company, Plymouth Fire Department, Dec. 12, 1920. Starting in 1921, Marshall County residents looked forward to the very successful Firemen’s Ball hosted by the Wide Awake Fire Company. Records show the social event hosted upwards of 850 guests in...
Christian Seiler of Bremen
Christian Seiler and his wife, Mary Ann. The history of Christian Seiler, Jr., of Bremen is a fascinating example of how Marshall County grew and prospered during the 1800s. Some of the beautiful descriptive phrases used by the original writer have been left in...
John R. Jacoby’s Meat Preservation Technique
Food planning and preparation books. Meat preservation involves methods to retain the taste, texture and safety of meats. Artificial refrigeration began in the 1750s, and developed more fully in the early 1800s, but it wasn't until the 1930s that refrigerators...
Grandma Hollett’s Educational Firsts
Emmett School roster 1914-1915. The following is an article written by avid genealogist and former resident of Plymouth, Mary Jo Jacob, who now lives in California. She recounts the history of her grandmother, Tillie Scott Hollett, whose determination resulted in...
The Bloomer Costume
Ehrhart, S. D. (1895) The bicycle - the great dress reformer of the nineteenth century! / Ehrhart. , 1895. N.Y.: Published by Keppler & Schwarzmann, August 7. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2012648650/. This...
The Famous Fairs of Bourbon
Feature Image. Undated birds-eye-view of fair.The Town of Bourbon 1872 fair was the first one established in the county. It took place in a schoolhouse 1½ miles east of Bourbon. The fair was discontinued for a few years and started again in 1891, as an 1892 ticket...
Remembering the Argos Boy Scouts: A 1950s Story
Feature Image. Argos Explorer Scouts two weeks before their canoe trip in Wisconsin, ca 1954. First Row (Sitting L-R):Mark Dunlap, Gene Good, Jim Free, Robert Kepler, Eugene Snyder, Maurice Hagan, Steve Gonce, Art Redinger, Larry Gordon. Second Row (Kneeling L-R):...
One-Room Jail in the Fire House
Feature Image. Old Marshall County Jail and sheriff's residence, postmarked 1911.A “calaboose” was usually a one-room jail used to house transients and drunks overnight, before sending them on their way. The following un-edited articles were found in a couple of...
Plymouth Was a Bicycle Manufacturing Hub
Feature Image. Rialto line to see Smiley Burnette, ca 1952.By Dennis Gibson During the 1890s, the U.S. was in the midst of its first bicycle craze. Bikes helped bridge the gap between horses and automobiles. The boom awakened an interest in good roads, furthered...
Funded in part by a grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation.