This week in Indiana’s history …
April 10, 1865 – This headline in the Evansville Daily Journal announced the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee a day earlier at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. Hoosiers celebrated the end of the Civil War, which had cost the state over 24,000 lives.
1900 – The Western Union Telegraph Company announced that Indianapolis had become a central hub for the entire nation. Wires had been installed in the local office which could carry messages to and from Chicago, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo and other large cities. The 50 Indianapolis operators were handling over 200,000 messages each month.
1925 – The national convention of the American Association of University Women was held at the Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis. Delegates from across the nation met to discuss topics related to women in higher education. The four-day seminar ended with a motorbus trip to the campus of Indiana University, where members met with IU President William Lowe Bryan and visited the studio of artist T. C. Steele.
1952 – Spokesmen for Indiana Bell Telephone Company announced an increase in the charge for the use of a pay phone. The new cost would be a dime or two nickels. The old fee of five cents had been the rate for nearly 50 years.
1968 – A natural gas leak caused an explosion in downtown Richmond, killing 41 people and injuring more than 150. Twenty buildings were condemned as a direct result of the devastation.
1990 – Over 45,000 attended the Farm Aid Concert at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Willie Nelson headlined a program, which included Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Don Henley and Elton John, who dedicated “Candle in the Wind” to Ryan White. White died the next day at Riley Hospital.