Hoosier History Highlights, June 11 – 17

Who was Mary Stewart Carey?

1867 – The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home opened near Knightstown. The facility became home to not only disabled veterans, but also their widows and orphans. The institution is now the Indiana National Guard Hoosier Youth Challenge Academy.

1904 – Governor and Mrs. Winfield Durbin visited the Indiana building at the St. Louis World’s Fair. They were accompanied by a delegation led by J. W. Cockrum of Oakland City, the Secretary of the Indiana World’s Fair Commission. The Hoosier State had a large presence at the fair, also called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

1936 – First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was in Indianapolis to conduct a town hall meeting at the Murat Theater and to see a performance at Keith’s Theater by actors in the Federal Theater Project. She stayed overnight in the Executive Residence as the guest of Governor and Mrs. Paul V. McNutt.

1938 – Mary Stewart Carey died in Indianapolis. A civic leader and patron of the arts, she was a driving force behind many local organizations, including the Daughers of the American Revolution, Women’s Rotary, Civic Theater, and Matinee Musicale. A leader in the movement to adopt the state flag, she was also one of the founders of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and the Orchard School.

1970 – The Greentown Glass Museum opened in Howard County. On display are many styles and colors of items made in the local glass factory, which burned in 1903. Greentown glass is highly prized by collectors today.

2003 – Pop star Michael Jackson visited his hometown of Gary, Indiana, for the first time since his childhood. After a press conference at city hall, he was presented the key to the city. To the thousands who greeted him, Jackson said, “Thank you for a magical day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”