Lawrence County Historical Location Records Archive: Personal memories can be forgotten, and places of historic value can be lost. An online archive is being created to identify as many historic locations as possible. Click to see details.
“Our Ancestors” a Lawrence County Bicentennial Legacy Project. Click to see some historical families.
"Explore Lawrence County" is a museum trip through Lawrence County using innovative technology and touch screen controls. Tap your way to investigate Lawrence County’s history, places, people, industries, faith, arts, schools, sports, transportation, patriots, and mysteries. It's located near the front desk, and seats are available.
African American History: Click for Lawrence County's Indiana State Library page.
History in the making: Click to view various videos of sites in Lawrence County.
“Mapping Lawrence County —An Annotated Bibliography from 1818-1941” by David Paul Nord is available in the gift shop. It is also available online at the Indiana Historical Society.
EDWARD L. HUTTON LIBRARY
Research Family History: The research library on the second floor has a plethora of family history information. Joyce Shepherd is the librarian, and she will be glad to assist researchers in their quests.
Want to see what your parents and grandparents looked like when they were teenagers? If they attended high school in Lawrence County, find the school yearbooks in the library on the second floor.
Golf Ball Carvings—Charles Walters has been carving since 1980. Several of his whimsical artistic golf balls are on display. Fish, figures, holidays themes, animals are a few subjects carved from these dimpled round objects.
• March 9, 7 p.m.—Christine Friesel, Community Librarian, Monroe County Public Library, “What About Hannah?” Hannah McCaw was a Bedford native who moved to Bloomington and was reputedly active in the Underground Railroad. She was grandmother to prominent African-American lawyer, Willis O. Tyler. "What About Hannah?" introduces Hannah Breckenridge, native of Bedford and stepdaughter of Dive Williams, Bedford's most famous man of color. Hannah Breckenridge moved to Monroe County, where she became the ancestor of some interesting Bloomingtonians, and may have even served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Check out the Gift Shop for lots of interesting and unique items—historic photo coasters, framed reproductions of vintage photos, notecards, books by local authors, limestone souvenirs, Envision handbags, mugs, doll clothes, aprons, and lots more. Prices are reasonable and 100% of the profits go to the museum.
Book Lovers: New in the gift shop, just in time for holiday shopping, “Garvey Lane, Bedford, Indiana: An Unofficial History,” by Danny G. Taylor, includes both researched history and first-person accounts of life on the small road that became John Williams Boulevard. $25.
You can find a variety of books by local authors in the museum gift shop. To name a few: Ron Bell's book "Our Hoosier Heritage and Its Foundation, 1680-1820," The Cave's Path," a book by Shirley Williams and set in Lawrence County, "Letters Home"—Civil War letters written by Silas Mathes to his girlfriend in Bedford includes local and military pictures.
And, if you are looking for bargain books, used books of all kinds are for sale in the museum meeting room.
It is a mystery!
Do you know the history of the small chapel at Beech Grove Cemetery? Click for image.