U.S. Penitentiary

The U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute was built in 1940 when President Franklin Roosevelt approved its location in 1938. One of the main reasons the penitentiary is located in Terre Haute is because the Chamber of Commerce raised $50,000 to buy the land for it to be built. The building of the penitentiary was important for Terre Haute citizens, because it would help the economy by supplying jobs. It is located at the intersection of State Road 63 and Springhill Drive on the south side of town. The prison holds only adult males. It is also the only federal prison to hold a death row. It was chosen to have a death row, because of its central location. One of the more famous prisoners to be put to death by lethal injection was Timothy McVeigh. Timothy McVeigh was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing.

Furthermore, the U.S. Penitentiary was one of the first federal prisons to emphasize rehabilitation of offenders. Psychological and psychiatric treatments are provided, and prisoners are treated more humanely. They are referred to by names, not numbers. Also, education programs are provided to the inmates. The inmates are also given jobs through places like UNICOR, so they are not just sitting around all day.

The U.S. Penitentiary still stands in Terre Haute after 72 years. It is a formidable structure, that should scare anyone who even drives past it. I know I kind of get the chills when I drive past it, knowing that there are some very dangerous people inside. It is kind of ironic that one of Terre Haute's ugliest buildings is one that remains standing after all of this time. Who knows why people would want a federal prison with some of the country's most dangerous criminals in their backyard, but who knows why people in Terre Haute want a lot of things like the destruction of its greatest treasures. But, the point is, it is here if anyone is into looking at prisons for a tourist attraction!

Condit House

The Condit House is currently located on Indiana State University's campus, and houses the current President Bradley and his wife. The house has been on campus since 1962, and it's the oldest building. Before the house became property of the university, it was the private residence of the Reverend Blackford Condit family since 1862. The Condit family purchased the home from Lucien Houriet, a local jeweler in Terre Haute at the time, who had the house built in 1860. The house is a great example of the rich history of Terre Haute, and the beauty that used to surround the town. It is actually five years older than the university, or more accurately, the Teacher's College that opened in 1865. Although, there are not many building left from the earlier years of the university, places like the Condit House make it easier to imagine what Indiana State would look like today if its past had not been erased.

The Hippodrome

The Hippodrome is America's oldest standing vaudeville theater. It was built in 1915 at the corner of 8th & Ohio Street, and was designed by the famous theater architect John Eberson in the German Renaissance-Revival style. It was designed to seat a large audience of 1,000 people. It officially opened on February 15, 1915, to a large crowd that included the governor of Indiana. The theater was constructed so that performers did not need the assistance of microphones or speakers to amplify their voices. Instead, the sounds reverberated off the stage and echoed throughout the entire theater.

The Hippodrome Theater was unique compared to the other vaudeville theaters in Terre Haute at the time. The other theaters started to show actual movies, but the Hippodrome only ever showed live performances. Over the years many famous performers (magicians, musicians, television stars, etc.) came to the theater. These performances would take place twice a day, one at 2:30 PM and the other at 8:15 PM. In the late 1920s vaudeville was starting to die, and the Hippodrome in Terre Haute closed down in 1929. From 1931-1948, the building was used as the Community Theater of Terre Haute. Since 1955, the building is known as the Scottish Rite Temple. It still stands today, and it would be easy to imagine the grandeur of it as the Hippodrome Theater. Like many other things in Terre Haute, though, it has died and may never be restored to its past splendor.

Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs was born on November 5, 1855, in Terre Haute, Indiana. He attended public schools in Terre Haute until the age of 14 when he started working as a firemen on the railroads. When Debs was not working, he was attending night classes at a local business college. After working as a firemen for four years, he went to work for the wholesale grocery store of Hulman & Cox as a billing clerk. In 1875, Debs joined the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen. He continued to work for Hulman & Cox throughout the day, and used the money from that job to help the union at night. This position in the Brotherhood would be the start of his colorful political career.

In 1879, Debs was elected to his first of two terms as the City Clerk of Terre Haute as a Democrat. Next, in 1884, he was elected as the state representative to the Indiana General Assembly as a Democrat. A year later, he married Kate Metzel. He stayed with and loved her until the day he died, but they had no children together to carry on his legacy. Together, they built a home at 451 N 8th Street in Terre Haute. The home still stands today and is a National Historic Landmark, as well as the Debs Museum.

Furthermore, in 1893 Debs organized the first industrial union in the United States, the American Railway Union. In July 1894, Debs and the American Railway Union were involved in the Pullman Boycott and Strike. This boycott consisted of about 250,000 workers refusing to run railways that had Pullman carts, because George Pullman refused to help change the low wages and long hours of the union workers. As a result of the strike, Debs and other American Railway Union leaders were jailed until November 1895.

Debs had many Socialist political ideals. Among these ideals were women having the right to vote, strict child labor laws, protecting workers rights to join unions, and workplace safety. Throughout his career, he would run for President five times (1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920). One of his most famous campaigns was in 1908 when he rode on the Red Special train. The train traveled all around the country, and he campaigned to crowds about his ideas of a better society. Although, Debs did not win any of his first four elections, he was a memorable candidate, and his ideas were said to be ahead of his time.

Moreover, Debs continued to deliver speeches. In 1918, in Canton, Ohio, Debs was giving an antiwar (WWI) speech. He was later arrested and convicted in Ohio under the espionage law. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. It was during this time that he made one of his most daring moves, he ran for President on the Socialist ticket in 1920 while he was in prison. He conducted his entire campaign from inside of the prison. In the end, he was defeated by Republican Warren Harding, but he managed to still receive around one million votes. Once Harding took office, he released Debs from prison, allowing him to return to Terre Haute.

Once Debs returned to Terre Haute, he spent the remainder of his life in poor health. He still managed to deliver speeches from time to time, and he never gave up on his dreams for a better America. In the end, though, Debs died on October 20, 1926. It is kind of interesting that his life was ending at about the same time that Tom Roznowski predicts Debs' hometown of Terre Haute is starting to die.

Country Stars Coming to Terre Haute

On Saturday, April 10, country is coming to town. Terre Haute and Indiana State University are doing their part to contribute to raising money for Haiti. The concert that will take place is the biggest concert that has taken place in Terre Haute in years. The headliner is country star Jason Aldean with his opening act, Luke Bryan. I know a lot of people are excited about the upcoming concert. It is things like this that could really start to put Terre Haute back on the map, and make people excited to come here. Everyone should come check out the show! It should be amazing, and it's for a good cause!

Ku Klux Klan

Although there were many good people in Terre Haute, who were willing to stand up for slaves and risk their own lives by participating in the Underground Railroad, there was also great evil. There were two chapters of the Ku Klux Klan in Terre Haute, Terre Haute Klan #7 and Otter Klan #91. These chapters met at the Klan Home in Klan Park that was located at 1501 N 13th Street, which was located only three blocks from the Lincoln School (all black school). Every member of the Klan had to pay $10 to join and an additional $6.50 for the white hood and robe. The Klan was not only a secret organization, but it also had tremendous influence in the community, especially in politics. A known Klan member in Terre Haute was an assistant pastor of the First United Brethren Church, Orval W. Baylor. It was not uncommon for men of the church to be members of the Ku Klux Klan at this time. The Klan was known to march up and down Wabash Avenue on Saturday nights. Supposedly, they would announce their marches and policies by posting flyers on lamp poles to warn others.

Furthermore, another Vigo County chapter Ku Klux Klan member was James A. Colescott. Colescott was a veterinarian who lived at 1032 N 4th Street. He also had his veterinary business at this address. He was a member of the local Klan chapter for about four years before he became the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan of America in 1939.

Underground Railroad in Terre Haute

Terre Haute was one of the many stops of the Underground Railroad that slaves made on their way to freedom in the North. It was estimated in the Saturday Spector that each year between 1830 and 1850 about 2,000 slaves came through the Wabash Valley on their way to other Northern states or Canada. Once the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, many slaves had to go as far as Canada because the act allowed slaves to be hunted down and taken back to their masters in Northern states. The Wabash Valley route was actually considered so dangerous that if the slaves made it to Terre Haute, they were said to be 9/10 free.

Today, there are five known stops of the Underground Railroad in Terre Haute. The first stop was the home of Nell Fillbook Steele. The two story home was located two miles south of where US 41 is today, coming from Evansville. The home was set against a hill with a short stairway that led to the secret rooms where the slaves were hid. The home was destroyed in 1939 by a fire. The second stop was the Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church which was located at the corner of what is now 1st and Crawford Street. The church had a tunnel underneath it that led to the Wabash River. The church was built in 1839 and was the only church for black in Terre Haute at the time. The church burnt down in 1913 when it was struck by lightning, but some of the pews were salvaged and placed in the current Allen Chapel on the corner of 3rd and Crawford Street.

The next stop was said to be the Preston House located at Poplar and 13 1/2 Street. It was built in 1832 by George Dewees. The house supposedly had tunnels leading from the basement. There is a legend that the house was haunted, because of a cave in inside of the tunnels that killed a group of slaves. As other sites of the Underground Railroad the Preston House is also no longer in existence.The next stop was the Anderson home on Haythore Avenue on the east side of Terre Haute. It has been said that Anderson would transport fugitives in a two horse wagon to Markle Mill. It has never been proven that Markle Mill was part of the Underground Railroad, but most places were secret so we may never know. It is a logical place to have as the last stop, because it is on the way to Parke County where the slaves would be taken next.

Markle Mill

The Markle Mill was located at the intersection of Mill Dam Road and Rosedale Road on the north side of Terre Haute. It was built in 1817 by Major Abraham Markle. When Markle came to Terre Haute, he was part of the Terre Haute Land Company. The Terre Haute Land Company bought eleven tracts of land in what is now present day Terre Haute. They are responsible not only for building the first shops, stores, and houses, but also for Vigo County and making Terre Haute the county seat. After owning the first land in the area, Markle went to work at creating the first industry for the farmers to convert their crops into marketable products. The mill was built as a gristmill, sawmill, and distillery. The original structure was thirty-six square feet and three stories high. The wood for the mill came from trees cut in the woods behind the mill. The dam was made of large wooden timbers anchored in stone. A small paddle wheel, provided the power to run the gristmill and sawmill. Markle decided to have it placed on Otter Creek, where the water flowed enough to make it possible to run the mill year round. The mill was an economic success because of its proximity to a large population in Terre Haute and to the Wabash River. In 1826, Abraham Markle fell to his death.

Furthermore, after Abraham's death his son Frederick Markle took over the mill until his death in 1866. In the time that Frederick ran the mill, he built the Markle House directly across from the mill location. After Frederick's death, his two sons ran the mill until 1888 when they sold the it to H.S. Creal. The Markle Mill ran successfully for 121 years, before it burnt down in 1938. It is known as the area's first industry. All that remains of it today are the crumbled arches that still stand in Otter Creek. This is a good representation of Terre Haute, all that remains are its crumbled beginnings. There is no doubt in my mind that if this mill had not burned down, it would have already been torn down today.

I actually went and visited the historical site at Otter Creek. It really is breathtaking. When I got out of the car, I could hear the rumble of the waterfall before I could see it. The area is beautiful and full of so much history, even the house that Frederick Markle built still stands across from the creek. It's easy to imagine the booming activity that used to take place there. Now, all you see are cars speeding by, and they probably have no clue what used to be there or that it marked the beginning of the city they live in today.