This week in Indiana’s history …
1878 – The dome of the old Statehouse in Indianapolis was reduced to a pile of bricks and hauled away. The building, completed in 1835, had suffered serious deterioration, and officials deemed it prudent to replace it with a larger, sturdier structure. The current Statehouse, on the same site, was finished in 1888.
1901 – Former President Benjamin Harrison died of pneumonia at his home on Delaware Street in Indianapolis. Thousands of mourners passed by his casket in the rotunda of the Indiana Statehouse, after which President William McKinley attended funeral services at the Presbyterian Church. Burial was at Crown Hill Cemetery.
1911 – Margaret, Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary Frances Overbeck began making pottery at their home in Cambridge City. Their ceramics became known for their exquisite beauty and high quality, winning awards at international exhibitions. The pottery closed when the last sister died in 1955. Overbeck pottery is highly desired by collectors today.
1920 – Franklin High School won the first of three consecutive state basketball championships. The team, called the “Wonder Five,” went on to play for Franklin College where they scored 50 consecutive victories, defeating much larger schools like Notre Dame, Purdue, Illinois and Wisconsin.
1939 – The Monarch Motor Company advertised a brand new 1939 Buick for $894. The dealer praised the “ride that’s like a lullaby” and the “power of the eight eager Dynaflash cylinders.” Included in the price was the new “Flash-Way Directional Signal,” the first turn signal system offered by a major car maker.
2017 – Author Mari Evans died in Indianapolis at the age of 95. A creator of poetry, short stories and children’s books, she was a major influence in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. She is honored by a 30-foot mural on Massachusetts Avenue, painted by local artist Michael Alkemi Jordan.