amUSIngArtifacts

ArchivesFest 2023: Passport to the Past

David L. Rice Library
6–9 minutes

Post written by Mona Meyer, Archives and Special Collections Metadata Librarian

Archives and museums the world over are treasure troves of interesting/beautiful/bizarre/fantastic/ unusual/historical/challenging (pick your adjective!) items. You never know what you might find when you open the doors to one of these places, but you are sure to be both educated and entertained.

In celebration of American Archives Month, and Indiana Governor Holcomb’s declaration of October 2023 as Indiana Archives Month, University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) is launching Passport to the Past. Participants are encouraged to travel to at least 4 participating institutions to get a special stamp on their (provided) passport.  Once you’ve gathered at least 4 stamps, you will be eligible to enter your passport in a prize drawing from the UASC.  Passports may be downloaded here or picked up at UASC.  Passports must be turned by October 31, 2023 by noon. The drawing for the winner will be held in UASC at 4 p.m. that day.

Below is a list of the participating institutions, their locations, and hours.

First is UASC in the David L. Rice Library here on the campus of the University of Southern Indiana. Located on the third floor, UASC is open 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Our other ArchivesFest Passport to the Past participants are:

411 SE Riverside Drive, Evansville, IN 47713

Hours: Wednesday-Saturday: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Sunday: 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Evansville has had a museum since 1906, with today’s location dating to the 1950s.  Today’s appearance is the result of a major update and remodel circa 2014. The Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science houses a permanent collection of more than 30,000 objects, including fine and decorative art, as well as historic, anthropological, and natural history artifacts. Over twenty temporary, regional and international exhibitions are displayed each year in four galleries.  The Koch Immersive Theater houses a 40-foot diameter domed screen with 360-degree digital projection featuring astronomy and science programming.  Evansville Museum Transportation Center (EMTRAC) featuring transportation artifacts from the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. On exhibit is a three-car train. The museum is home to a model train diorama of Evansville.

For more information on the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science, please visit https://emuseum.org/ and follow their social media accounts at:

503 State Street, Newburgh, IN 47630

Hours: Friday and Saturday, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

“The Newburgh Museum’s mission is to preserve, exhibit and educate all visitors about the history and culture of Newburgh and the surrounding area’s unique river town heritage. The permanent displays at the museum include information about the town’s founding, how it got its name, its early industry, a period of decline and how it has changed in modern times. The main exhibit at the museum is changed every few months.”

For more information on the Newburgh Museum, please visit https://www.newburghmuseum.com/ and follow their social media accounts at:

Working Men's Institute Logo, n.d.

407 Tavern Street, New Harmony, IN 47631

Hours: Sunday, 12:00 PM-4:00 PM; Tuesday-Thursday, 10:00 AM-7:00 PM; Friday-Saturday, 10:00 AM-4:30 PM

Established by philanthropist William Maclure in 1838, the Working Men’s Institute (WMI) set as its mission the dissemination of useful knowledge to those who work with their hands. After 170 years of continuous service, this goal is still at the heart of our mission. Maclure, who was a business partner with Robert Owen in the communal experiment in New Harmony from 1825-1827, was devoted to the ideal of education for the common man as a means of positive change in society. At New Harmony, The Working Men’s Institute was one manifestation of this ideal. The Working Men’s Institute in New Harmony was the first of 144 WMIs in Indiana and 16 in Illinois. It is the only one remaining. Many WMIs were absorbed by township libraries or Carnegie libraries. Yet the one in New Harmony remained. Today, the WMI is a public library, a museum and an archive. In each of these areas, the WMI tries to stay true to the original mission of William Maclure.

For more information on the Working Men’s Institute, please visit https://workingmensinstitute.org/ and follow their social media accounts at:

Willard Library.

21 First Avenue, Evansville, Indiana 47710

Hours: Monday-Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Wednesday-Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM; Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Sunday: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Willard Carpenter was born in Vermont in 1803 and came to Evansville in 1837 to continue to pursue his fortune. Desirous of leaving a lasting legacy, in 1876 he expressed his intention “to establish and endow a public library, to be located in a public park, on land owned by me, situated in the city of Evansville. I am induced to do this in the well-grounded hope that such an institution may become useful toward the improvement of the moral and intellectual culture of the inhabitants of Evansville, and collaterally to those of the State of Indiana; and also toward the enlargement and diffusion of a taste for the fine arts.” The library opened in 1885, 2 years after Carpenter’s death.

For more information on Willard Library, please visit https://willard.lib.in.us/ and follow their social media accounts at:

Evansville African American Museum

579 South Garvin Street, Evansville, IN, 47713

Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM; Saturday 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

“The mission of the Evansville African American Museum is to continually develop a resource and cultural center to collect, preserve, and educate the public on the history and traditions of African American families, organizations, and communities. Located in Evansville, Indiana as the last remaining building of Lincoln Gardens, the second Federal Housing Project created under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1938, our building serves as a permanent artifact in itself.”

For more information on the Evansville African American Museum, please visit https://evvaam.org/ and follow their social media accounts:

Historic New Harmony at the Atheneum, 401 North Arthur Street, New Harmony, IN 47631

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Sunday 12:30 PM to 5:00 PM

New Harmony was the source of two communal experiments in the 19th century: religious separatists from Germany who aspired to Christian perfection, and later, followers of Robert Owen who wanted to establish a model society of educational and social equality. “Historic New Harmony is a program of the University of Southern Indiana. By preserving its utopian legacy, Historic New Harmony inspires innovation and progressive thought through its programs & collections.” Start your tour of Historic New Harmony at the Atheneum, pictured below. There you will find exhibits on the town’s communal history and an orientation film.

For more information on Historic New Harmony, please visit https://www.usi.edu/hnh and their social media accounts:

7503 Petersburg Road, Evansville, IN 47725

Thursday to Sunday 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

“Evansville Wartime Museum is the place to visit for the surprising, interesting and world-changing story of our community’s involvement in winning WWII. The stories we tell come from home front workers and battlefront warriors — these are the people who were there. You can also explore the history of Evansville during WWI, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War in our exhibits dedicated to those times.

Evansville was a center of WWII production. Our community’s factories made the products that help our military fight the war on land, on sea and in the air. Thousands of new jobs, created virtually overnight, drew workers from Evansville and the surrounding counties in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. We show what they made, how they made it and where it helped win the war.

More than sending wartime goods, this region sent men and women to the far-flung battle fronts of that world war. We share their stories. The stories we share include a paratrooper’s D-Day landing, a pilot’s flights over the Hump, an infantryman’s march to retake Luzon and a story of a man and woman who met in Washington D.C., married and settled in Evansville.

Then there’s the stories of Evansville’s legendary Red Cross Canteen, eloquently told by the many letters and cards mailed back by troops grateful for warm hospitality, a delicious hot meal and an experience that was the next best thing to home. Also, Mom Hudson’s story, the kindly seamstress who sewed patches and mended uniforms and comforted troops passing through one of our USOs.

Have you ever dreamed of flying a plane? You can do just that with any one of our three Gleim Simulators here at the Evansville Wartime Museum. Jump in the cockpit and get a feeling of what it is like to pilot an aircraft.”

For more information on the Evansville Wartime Museum, visit https://www.evansvillewartimemuseum.org/ and its Facebook page: facebook.com/evansvillewartimemuseum

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Trending