Boone County Historical Society
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 BCHS Quilt wins a Blue Ribbon at the 2023 Boone County 4-H fair!

The Boone County Historical Society is the proud owner of the Cragun Quilt Collection.
This collection of 30+ quilts was all hand pieced and quilted by the Booher sisters.
When Adelaide Booher Cragun moved into the current Cragun house (1893) at 404 West Main Street in Lebanon, the upstairs turret room became the sewing room.
Her sisters, Emma, Margaret, Minnie and Martha, often came to this room and quilted.
There were still newspaper pattern pieces and cotton fabric pieces in the room,
ready for quilting, when BCHS received the home.

This particular quilt, Drunkard’s Path, is a difficult pattern to piece and quilt due to the curved path. This quilt was done in the colors of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, blue and white. These quilts were completed by women to show support for the cause and were often auctioned to raise funds. In the words of the 4-H judge, “ Quilt is in remarkable condition, although there is a lot of fading. The circular stitching is well done. Quilting stitches are even and very well done. The scalloped edge is complementary and well exacted. I wish the teal fabric had not faded, but this quilt has been well maintained.”
The quilt features the path in blue and grey. The three borders are white and blue with the outer border being white with a scalloped edge. The outer binding is blue. Even with fading, the exquisiteness of this hand pieced quilt, over a hundred years old, is evident. Amazingly it lives in the exact location where it was made, and stitched by the owner of the home. It is special indeed, well deserving of the champion ribbon in the
antique quilt division at the Boone County Extension Homemakers’ Open Show, 2023

Make an appointment today to view the incredible collection of antique quilts housed at the Cragun House.

Call the message line at 765-483-9414 or email: cragunhouse@mymetronet.net


***  Did you see the Downtown display in September, 2021? ***
Here's a refresher!
LEBANON'S SQUARE - through the years

Washington and Lebanon St Boone County Hardware, c. 1960’s
Washington St – Castle Hall Building – Chinese Garden; Lebanon Dental Center; Indiana Gas, c. 1983
Corner of Washington St & Meridian St – Boone County Jail, c. 1916-1920
Corner of Washington St & Meridian St – Boone County Jail, c. 1905-1910
Lebanon St - Cowan Drugs, c. 1983
Lebanon St – Parade for 1912 LHS basketball state champions, c. 1912
Boone County Courthouse c. 1910's
Meridian St heading north – Boone Title & Guaranty, c. 1908
Lebanon St, west side of square, c. 1907
Lebanon St heading South – a Circus Parade, c. 1900
Courthouse retaining wall - always a great place to gather.
Corner of Meridian St & Main St – Farmers State Bank (now Presbyterian Park)
Main St (l/r) – Red Apple Shoes; Sherwin Williams; Leonards; Sweets Unlimited, c. 1976
Main St (l/r) – Heflin Bldg; Red Apple Shoes; L&W Menswear; Wolf; Brunt; Jones & Benigar; Walgreen; Boone County State Bank, c. 1964
Corner of Main St & Meridian St – Phil Adler & Co, c. 1910
Main St & Meridian St, NE corner - City Drug Store, c. 1910's


Boone County historical hallmarks.


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Herman B. Wells Historical Marker dedicated August 1, 2020

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Boone County Historical Society; Eric Spall, Boone County Historian; and the many community supporters of the project; Boone County native Herman B. Wells was honored
on Saturday, August 1, 2020 with the dedication of an Indiana Historical Bureau State marker.
The state historical marker can be found on West Main Street, Jamestown, IN. 


The dedication ceremony began with opening remarks from Eric Spall about Wells’ connection
to Boone County.  Casey Pfeiffer, manager of the state historical marker program at the
Indiana Historical Bureau, talked about the state marker program and then Justin Clark also of IHB,
spoke of Wells historical significance.  After the unveiling, the Jackson Township Historical Society
invited those present into their museum for an open house.
Herman B. Wells was born in Jamestown, IN and was the only son of Joseph Granville Wells.
Wells died at the age of 98 and is buried in his boyhood home of Jamestown.
He started his career in banking.  In the 1930s he oversaw research into the state of Indiana's banks
that was used to enact banking reforms during the Great Depression.  


Wells is probably most well known for his tenure as president of Indiana University (1938-1962).
He is generally credited with having transformed IU from a small state school into an
internationally renowned university.  He oversaw many building projects on the Bloomington campus,
and was influential in setting the tone for the campus's appearance and atmosphere.
He also worked hard to spread IU regional campuses around Indiana.

Wells was a strong advocate for academic freedom, making sure that
professors at IU could pursue their research free from interference from public opinion.
He remained steadfast in his support of IU’s faculty and students,
especially in the areas of academic freedom and civil rights.

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Marker can be found at W. Main St., Jamestown, IN in front of Main St. park, next to the Tri-Area Library.

Gov. Samuel M. Ralston Historical Marker Installed August 2020

Although several years in the making, we are proud to announce the installation of the Gov. Samuel M. Ralston state historical marker.  The required work towards gaining the marker in honor of Gov. Ralston began in 2017, one of the first projects of Boone County historian, Eric Spall. The marker was funded by the Boone County Bar Association (of which Ralston was a charter member).  Installation on the south side of the courthouse lawn was approved by the County Commissioners and was to be put up in 2018, but the courthouse square renovation project and the construction of the new courthouse entrance ramp delayed installation until August, 2020.  The marker was dedicated at a small public ceremony in July 2019.

Samuel Moffett Ralston was born in Ohio in 1857 and moved to Indiana at an early age.  He graduated in law from Central Normal College in Danville, IN and became a lawyer.  He opened a law office in Lebanon, IN in 1886 and became active in the Democratic Party at that time.  He served a term as Lebanon’s
school board president, the only elected position he held until he was elected Indiana governor in 1912.  He occupied the office of governor from 1913-1917.  


In 1913, he oversaw Indiana's emergency response to the Great Flood of 1913. That same year he intervened in the tense Indianapolis Streetcar Strike, bringing about a peaceful settlement.  In the leadup to Indiana's centennial celebration in 1916, Ralston helped organize the Indiana State Historical Commission (now the State Historical Bureau), which coordinated the state's centennial commemoration.
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One of the most enduring legacies of this effort was the creation of Indiana's state park system.  


In 1922, he was elected US senator from Indiana.  1924 brought strong support at the Democratic National Convention for the nomination for US President.
He later; however, withdrew from the race citing his declining health.  He died a year after on October 14, 1925 and is buried in Lebanon's Oak Hill Cemetery.
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