Ghost Stories - October 21

It's coming up on Halloween, and that means it's the perfect time of year for ghost stories! Indiana has its fair share of paranormal oddities, and even Franklin Township has a few stories that just might make you shiver. Join us at Open Hours on October 21 for some chilling local legends and delightfully creepy tales from history. You can even see the infamous Black Dress, one of the stars of our collection, which has been featured on the TV shows Sightings and Unsolved Mysteries.

(Please note that this will be our final regular Open Hours of the year. You are still welcome to join us at any of the scheduled events during the off season, such as our Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration on December 16.)

Cemetery Talk September 16

Love cemeteries? Love local history? Or just want to learn about those strange symbols that mark the places of the dead? Join us September 16 at 1 p.m. for an informative tour of the Big Run Cemetery, led by our resident expert (and FTHS board member) Dana Crapo. Parking is available at the Meeting House (6510 S. Franklin Rd.); the cemetery is just across the street.

While you're there, step across the street and visit our Meeting House during Open Hours, which last from 1 to 4 p.m.

Ice Cream Social at Meeting House

Today, we bring you one of Sylvia Henricks' "Remembrances." You can read more of Sylvia's columns weekly in The Franklin Township Informer, or in her book From The Ash Grove (available directly from the FTHS, and via the web site).


The Franklin Township Historical Society celebrated the cooler weather at its Open Hours on  Sunday, August 19 with an Ice-cream Social on the grounds, and recognizing new members to the Society. The names of 27 new members and those renewing their first year memberships, were placed in an old-fashioned glass churn base, with a name to be drawn later in the afternoon. That person would receive one of the Society’s woven coverlets showing historic buildings in Franklin Township.

Twenty or so membes and guests enjoyed the frozen-yoghurt “ice-cream” with a variety of toppings, and cookies, served in the shade of the building by Program Chair, Diana Hipple and her committee. Other members and guests in the Meeting House looked at a genealogy chart for Sue Winton, including many generations, and several recent gifts to the Society. One of these was a large wooden wheel upon which the bell to the original New Bethel Baptist Church had been attached, the gift of Oren Schilling.

At the close of the afternoon the name of the lucky winner of the coverlet was drawn, new member Mary L. Lovell.

Those present were reminded of the Open Hours on Sunday, September 16, when Dana Crapo will give a Big Run Cemetery Tour. That afternoon will also include at its conclusion, a book signing session for the Societiy’s new publication, “Humble but Historic, the Surviving WPA Outhouses in Franklin Township, Marion County, Indiana”, by Sylvia. The owners of these structures, and those who helped with information will be recognized and presented with a book. The publication will then be “officially” on sale for $7.00. (Open Hours at the Meeting House are held on the first Saturday and the third Sunday of March through October, from 1 to 4 p.m.)

 Members enjoying frozen yoghurt.

Winner of drawing for the woven coverlet, Mary L. Lovell, center. On left Diana Hipple, on

right, society president John Kanouse.

Antique Postcard Exhibit

Just a reminder that there will be a special exhibit of vintage and antique postcards on display at this week's Open Hours! Join us at the Meeting House (6510 S. Franklin Rd.) between 1 and 4 p.m. on June 2. Postcard enthusiasts are invited to bring their own collections to share and discuss, and everyone is welcome to visit!

Croquet Tournament May 20

Our third Barnyard Croquet Tournament is this Sunday, May 20 at 1 p.m. Join us on the Meeting House lawn for a delightful game, with prizes to be awarded! Dress is casual. Refreshments will be served.

Vintage Toy Exhibit

Just a reminder that there will be a special exhibit of vintage toys at this Sunday's Open Hours! Join us at the Meeting House (6510 S. Franklin Rd.) between 1 and 4 p.m on April 15. Everyone is welcome!

Spring Cleaning

A group of six FTHS board members met this morning at the Meeting House to do some much-needed cleaning and maintenance on the building. In addition to preserving Franklin Township's heritage through artifact preservation and education, part of our mission is to care for the former Big Run Baptist Church, built in 1871. The building was donated to the Society when the church formally dissolved in 1977, and is now included in the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures

If you would like to be involved in future restoration, gardening or cleaning work, please contact us at franklintownshiphistory@gmail.com or via our Facebook page.

Dressed for work!

Diana H. and Alena V.A. cleaned and polished the antique wooden pews. The handmade pew cushions also received an airing-out on the sunny lawn.

Marlena L. vacuums the vintage rugs that line the walkways of the building. These rugs date to the time when the building was used as a church.

Carolyn C. cleans some of our antique kitchen items.

Open Hours today!

Today kicks off the first Open Hours of the year! The Meeting House will be open from 1 to 4 PM. Stop by for a visit and see the new items in our collection!

2012 Open Hours

Just a reminder that Open Hours will be starting soon! You can visit the Meeting House on the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month, March through October, from 1PM to 4PM. The year's first Open Hours will be Saturday, March 3.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have a lot of new artifacts on display. Come and see them!

Old Fashioned Christmas Photos

Here are a few photos taken at our Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration! We had a nice crowd of around 25 people, with plenty of cookies and carols to go around. Special thanks to our organist Nancy George, who accompanied the carolers on our historic pump organ. We hope you will all join us next year!

Santa Claus was generously played by Jim Winton. Here, he hears a wish list from our president emerita Sylvia Henricks.

John Kanouse, Dana Crapo, and our decorated tree.

FTHS member Ann Hansen visits with Santa.

Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration 2011

Join us for our annual Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration at the Meeting House (6510 S. Franklin Rd.) on Sunday, December 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be traditional caroling, storytelling and socializing. As always, refreshments including punch and homemade cookies will be provided. Bring the whole family to this delightful holiday event!

Cemetery Talk September 18

A Big Run Cemetery Talk is planned for Open Hours at the Franklin Township Historical Society Meeting House on Sunday, September 18.

Dana Crapo, the Society’s treasurer, is also its most knowledgeable person concerning burials in the Big Run Cemetery, across the road from the Society’s Meeting House at 6510 S. Franklin Road. Dana says he has long been bothered by extra names on headstones in the cemetery, not included in the cemetery records made by a locarecorder (Mrs. Leo C. Hoyt)) in the 1960s. (At that time the Big Run Church was still in operation. It became the property of the newly formed Historical Society in 1976.)

Dana, long wondering about those unrecorded names in the cemetery, now believes he may have the answer, that before the Big Run Church was built in the 1870s, there was a Willis Smither family burial plot on the site of the current Big Run Cemetery. That will be the basis for his talk at the Meeting House during Open Hours on Sunday, September.18, at 2 p.m. “I will provide maps and hand-outs,” he says, and invites all interested persons to attend.

What We Did in 2010

Every year, the president of the Franklin Township Historical Society compiles a summary of the year's events. Here is this year's wrap-up from FTHS president Diana Stevenson.

Sages say that “time flies when you’re having fun,” and Franklin Township Historical Society has been having fun for 35 years! Our members and the community continue to astound us with their interest, their support, and their contributions in keeping and documenting the history of Franklin Township. Our Meeting House has welcomed over 200 guests during 2010, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Franklin Township 4-H club members, the 1960 graduating class of Franklin Township High School, and numerous visitors during Open Hours. Special activities during Open Hours were quite successful: two croquet tournaments, a cat demonstration, a post card exchange and tours of Big Run Cemetery.

Community participation efforts included our input in the planning of an Indy Parks recreation area near the Wanamaker Post Office, providing input for a proposed Historic Michigan Road Byway and judging student projects for National History Day. Presentations informing local groups about our historical society were given to the Four Corners Home Ec Club, Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce, Perry Township Historical Society, and Marion County Home Economics group. We provided an exhibit for the Wanamaker Branch Public Library and participated in the second annual Genealogy Fair at the Indiana State Library.

The “Remembrances” weekly column continues in popularity and provides a wealth of information to readers of the Informer. Sylvia Henricks is to be applauded for this important contribution and for her encouragement in recruiting other members to provide stories of interest.

The Christmas holidays provided an opportunity for walking in the annual Christmas Parade in conjunction with “Christmas in Wanamaker,” and we held our first Old Fashioned Christmas Party at the Meeting House, where we sang carols and enjoyed cookies and hot cider.

We published a new book, A Celebration of Learning, an updated history of Franklin Township Schools, and created new note cards this year. Our publications continue to be our most valuable funding source. Old Settlers’ Day, Christmas in Wanamaker, Acton Craft Fair and a Harvest Festival at the Moravian Church allow us to showcase our publications. Since the 2009 Annual Meeting, we have accepted 3 new lifetime members and 10 new regular members. A special thanks goes out to all those who renew their membership annually.

We continue to receive inquiries via the internet and our webmaster, Alena Van Arendonk, has moved us into the 21^st century with the addition of Facebook!

We continue to send quarterly newsletters to our members, have monthly board meetings, and have nearly completed a data base of our possessions. There are some new exhibits in the display cases at the Meeting House, some newly organized and indexed scrapbooks making them more user-friendly for our visitors and many new gifts received during the year from the community and our members. This year has been another opportunity for Franklin Township Historical Society to be the recipient of an Eagle Scout project. Josh Armentrout recently completed his project, which includes a lighted sign that once served to provide information about Big Run Baptist Church. We can now post information about upcoming events on our new sign and our American flag is lighted at dark.

As the year closes, it is a perfect time to thank the Board Members of the Franklin Township Historical Society. Their faithfulness in attending meetings, participating in events, sending press releases, cleaning the Meeting House, and baking cookies is greatly appreciated! Kudos to John Kanouse, Carolyn Kanouse, Dana Crapo, , Sylvia Henricks, Nancy Van Arendonk, Diana Hipple, Ginny Compton, Larry Stevenson, David Ostheimer, Alena Van Arendonk, Marlena Linne, Jim Winton, Evelyn Tandy and Ben Schuman.

Diana Stevenson, president

November 4, 2010

Croquet Competition at FTHS Meeting House

Franklin Township Historical Society invites one and all to participate in a croquet tournament at the Meeting House (6510 South Franklin Road) on Saturday, October 2. Sign-ups will begin at 1 p.m. with play starting at 1:45 p.m. This event is free and open to all ages. Light refreshments will be available.

For more information, contact Diana Stevenson at kimgada2004@yahoo.com.

2010 Open Hours Begin!

Join us this Saturday for our first Open Hours of 2010! The Meeting House (located at 6510 S. Franklin Road) will be open for visitation from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

The Meeting House is open to the public on the first Saturday and third Sunday of the month from March through October. During open hours, visitors may tour the Meeting House and Big Run Cemetery, read and purchase FTHS publications, research their family's local history, view our collection of artifacts, period photographs, vintage clothing, township school yearbooks and athletic records, and more.