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Indiana Room at PGTPL

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Indiana Room at PGTPL

The Indiana Room at PGTPL is the perfect place for historians, researchers, and curious minds. The Indiana Room has a wealth of knowledge ready to be explored!

Our staff is here to help you find the materials you need to start and complete your research.

05/28/2026

Throwback Thursday: South East Street Office Building

From the "Friday Caller" newspaper, June 21, 1956. The new office building on South East Street in Plainfield, Indiana, is ready for business!

The building, located at 14 South East Street, was built by Paul Hardin and one of the first occupants was Dr. Leon Turner's dental practice. Dr. Turner's office eventually relocated to a similar building near the old Galyan's Trading Post, leaving this trio of offices available for other tenants, including (pictured below in 2012) Buzz's Pizza.

Today you will recognize it as the location of Clark's Barber Shop and C.J.'s Pizza.

05/21/2026

Throwback Thursday: Indianapolis 500

Race day approaches! To celebrate, we're sharing images of the first Indianapolis 500 race, taken by Amo, Indiana resident, Fred Shirley. The copies of the originals were donated to the library's collection by Fred's wife, Elnora Hadley Shirley, in the 1970s.

Lots of changes in 115 years. Enjoy!

Photo 1: The beginning of the race
Photo 2: View from the south end of the track
Photo 3: A driver stops for repairs
Photo 4: The foot bridge over the track
Photo 5: The Red Cross hospital quarters and ambulance in the infield
Photo 6: Fred and Elnora Shirley (no date)

05/14/2026

Throwback Thursday: Rabbit Hunters

We recently came across this gem of a picture in the Photograph Collection of the Indiana Room. Five Plainfield, Indiana, men pose with their catch from a day of hunting.

While not everyone is identified, it's clear they all are (mostly) enjoying posing for the picture. It looks cold, based on the guy in the back. The picture is undated, but around 1905.

Pictured are (l-r): Dr. Ernest Cooper, unidentified, J. Dot Bly, unidentified, unidentified.

The men are standing in front of the homes along South Center Street, Plainfield, Indiana. The first home would have been at 119 South Center Street, but it is no longer there. (It stood where the south part of the parking lot behind the Masonic Building is currently located.) The second brick home is at 125 South Center, and the third home in the distance is at 133 South Center. Dr. Cooper, a local physician, lived in the middle home at 125 South Center Street. J. Dot Bly was part of a sibling duo "Bly Bros" who owned a dry goods store along Main Street.

--The picture of downtown Plainfield with Bly Bros. store in the center is from around 1904.
--Dr. Cooper's wedding portrait is from June 1900.

05/07/2026

Throwback Thursday: PHS Victory Bell

When the current Plainfield High School opened in 2008 in Plainfield, Indiana, the Plainfield Community Schools Legacy Foundation erected a Tower of Honor with a new 700-pound bell, ready to be rung for school achievements. That bell is the latest iteration of a clapper that goes back to the early 1900s.

The original PHS bell hung in the belfry of Plainfield’s Central Academy, a secondary school operated by the Society of Friends and located on the grounds where Central Elementary is today. Central Academy was sold to Guilford Township in 1920 and was used as a high school. When the Academy building was replaced, its bell was mounted on a cut down Ford chassis and named the Victory Bell, rung to celebrate Plainfield accomplishments.

The bell lived through a world of adventures, from being found in a ditch on a street on the East Hill, to being pulled ringing down Main Street at the end of World War II, to being taken and returned in several student pranks. It disappeared for good in May 1970 and was replaced by a new bell in 1972, which was cherished until the new high school was built.

1. The original Victory Bell as seen in the 1952 Plainfield High School yearbook.
2. Cheerleaders Sherry Dees, Jayne Lentz, and Sue Badanek ring the Victory Bell after a Quaker win, 1976.
3. Cheerleaders Patti Drury, Colleen Costello, Annette West, and Della Rogers with the bell, 1981.
4. The Tower of Honor at the Victory Plaza at the 2008 Plainfield High School.

04/30/2026

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield’s Carnegie Library (part 2) Celebrating the library’s 125th year!

This week, we’ll look at the Carnegie Library in the 1920s and 1930s. Circulation and library users were growing at exponential rates, but money was becoming scarce.

In 1924, operating expenses of the auto bookwagon were outstripping the budget, so the book-truck services were discontinued. When all of the books from the wagon were returned to the library building, the influx created serious space problems. More books were relegated to the downstairs overflow area. The 1924 annual report showed 7965 books on the shelves, even with weeding some of the materials. For many years to follow, the library would be hampered by the lack of funds to provide needed service to patrons. Along with one part-time assistant, Librarian Frances Jones, conducted programs, welcomed school class visits, and instituted annual cleaning programs.

Interestingly, Miss Jones informed the Board in 1926, “We now have much competition in the form of radio sets, cross word puzzles and moving pictures.” Even then, the library was competing with the popular amusements of the day — just as libraries now contend with television and movies, the internet, and social media.

In May of 1934, the library was forced to close indefinitely, except on Saturdays, as there was no money left to pay the bills. It wasn’t until October of that year that the library was again open full time. By this time, Miss Jones was on her own, single-handedly running the show from noon-5:30 pm and 6:30-8:00 pm six days a week. Contributions from local organizations like the Civics Club, Kappa Kappa Kappa, the Woman’s Club, and the Three Arts club provided much-needed support for general upkeep of the library during this time.

By the end of 1939, the library had a book stock of 9970, there had been 26,833 circulations, 11,850 patrons had used the library, and the Assembly Room had accommodated 236 meetings. The book collection had grown vastly beyond space capabilities, money was still tight, and war was looming.

Stay tuned for the last chapter of “The Carnegie Years.”

Photo 1: The Carnegie Library in 1929
Photo 2: Plainfield in 1930 - Library is circled

04/27/2026

We’re grateful to our sponsors for making the 2026 Plainfield Home Tour possible. Join us this Sunday, May 3, 2026, as we showcase five historic homes and building sites throughout Plainfield, Indiana—an event made possible through their generous support.

Thank you HomeBank, Julia Berberich with ReMax Centerstone, Curb Appeal Realty, and CrestPoint Real Estate!

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at: https://givebutter.com/2026-home-tour

The tour will be this Sunday, May 3 from 1-5pm, rain or shine.

04/23/2026

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield’s New Water Tower

It’s probably something you frequently drive by, but rarely consider its origin. However, the Plainfield water tower, located on North Carr Road, was a very welcome sight to residents of Plainfield, Indiana in 1951!

According to the July 26, 1951 Friday Caller newspaper the new tower “looms up bright and shiny with its alumni paint on it and for miles can be seen. It is a big affair with a capacity of 500,000 gallons of water.”

The new tower provided the needed pressure to flush out the rust that kept appearing in residents’ bathtubs and laundry.

The water tower, currently painted white, was originally painted a glossy silver color.

04/17/2026

Don’t you love vintage libraries? (We do!)

If so, then join us for the 2026 Plainfield Home Tour--Sunday, May 3, 2026 from 1-5pm.

Don't miss this great opportunity to tour 5 historic Plainfield homes and buildings. This self-guided tour includes: a public building, a doctor's home and office, a mid-century house, a historic church, and a 1940 business owner's home.

Tickets are $20 per person and may be purchased at https://pgtpl.net/HomeTour2026 or, in person at the library. Proceeds benefit the PGTPL Indiana Room for future local history and genealogy programs.

You may begin the tour at any of the 5 locations. The tour will happen rain or shine. Shoe covers will be available at each location. Addresses for the locations will be emailed to ticket holders 48 hours before the tour.

Have questions? Call the Indiana Room (317-839-6602 x2114)

04/16/2026

Throwback Thursday: First Stoplight at Dan Jones and US 40

Can you imagine navigating the intersection of Dan Jones Road and US 40 in Plainfield, Indiana, without a stoplight?

We recently came across this photo in the September 23, 1974 issue of the Plainfield Messenger newspaper showing the installation of the first signal at that intersection. Check out the old cars! We’ve accompanied it with an aerial photo of the area from a couple of years later, in July 1976.

Things looked a bit different back then!

04/13/2026

We’re grateful to our sponsors for making the 2026 Plainfield Home Tour possible. Join us on Sunday, May 3, 2026, as we showcase five historic homes and building sites throughout Plainfield, Indiana—an event made possible through their generous support.

Thank you HomeBank, Julia Berberich with ReMax Centerstone, Curb Appeal Realty, and CrestPoint Real Estate!

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at: https://givebutter.com/2026-home-tour

The tour will be Sunday, May 3 from 1-5pm, rain or shine.

Address

1120 Stafford Road
Plainfield, IN
46168

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 8pm
Tuesday	9am - 8pm
Wednesday	9am - 8pm
Thursday	9am - 8pm
Friday	9am - 6pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+13178396602

Website

http://plainfieldlibrary.net/

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