Local History at the Library

Indiana Memory Project

Indiana Memory is a web site created by the Indiana State Library to bring together original source documents of the history of Indiana. Beginning in 2007, Charlestown Clark County Library began digitizing a collection of World War II letters in order to make them accessible to more people by providing images on the internet. Those letters which are described below can be seen on Indiana Memory.

Currently, this library is working on digitizing a wide range of items that the library owns. There are hundreds of items of Clark County history which include Civil War letter, store ledgers from the 1800s, judge docket ledgers from 1890-1920s, Korean War letters, hotel ledgers, photographs, and much more. As work on these items is completed, they will be added to Indiana Memory web site. Currently available items can be seen via the links below.

Indiana Memory home page
Clark County Collection home page
Jesse G. Dorsey WWII Correspondence (originals located in the Indiana Room at Sellersburg library)

Individual Collections in the Clark County Collection Available for Viewing Online
(information in parentheses indicates library location of original document)

● A.E. Burkhardt & Co. Furs and Raw Skins Receipt c1870 (Charlestown, special collections)
● About A Town In Southern Indiana, Theodore Eitel Photography (Charlestown, special collections)
● Barnett Academy Collection 1864-65 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Bolly Flour Mill, Charlestown, Indiana, c1880 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Charlestown Cemetery Plat Book, Charlestown, Indiana 1903 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Charlestown Community Chautauqua, Charlestown, Indiana 19-23 Aug 1917 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Charlestown High School Commencement Programs 1928, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1950 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Charlestown House Ledger, Charlestown, Indiana 1953-1963 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Charlestown Sesquicentennial Program, Charlestown, Indiana 8-13 Jul 1958 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Chautauqua, Sellersburg, Indiana 1916 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room, Sellersburg files)
● Clark County Central Agricultural Association 1887 (Charlestown, special collections)
● The Crowning of The Gypsy Queen Program, Charlestown, Indiana 27 Apr 1906 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Daughters of Pocahontas, No 259, Charlestown, Indiana 1907-1909 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Earthquake of 1811 Poem (Sellersburg, Indiana Room, Hiestand collection)
● Ernest Schleicher Civil War Letters (Charlestown, special collections)
● Frank A. & Dorothy Smith Collection of World War II Letters (Charlestown, special collections)
● Grange #1089 Letter to Fletcher Bottorff, New Washington, IN 12 Dec 1874 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Greetings From Home Christmas 1943, Sellersburg, Indiana
● Guernsey Family Collection (Charlestown, special collections)
● Guernsey Store Ledger, Henryville, Indiana 1863-1872 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Handy House, Charlestown, Indiana, c1940 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Hiestand Family Collection (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Hiestand - Speed Hotel Ledger 1900-1904 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Hiestand Autograph Album 1884 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● History of Charlestown Indiana and Program for Charlestown Police Benefit Jamboree, 1942 (Charlestown, Indiana Room, Charlestown history)
● Holly & Mistletoe Waltz by Ella M. Guernsey, Henryville, Indiana c1880 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Horse Breeding Postcard, New Washington, Indiana 1885 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Indiana Ordnance Works - B&O Railroad - Eligah Strong Property Acquisition, Charlestown, Indiana 1945 (Charlestown, INAAP special collections)
● Indiana Ordnance Works Real Estate Acquisition 1941, Charlestown, Indiana (Charlestown, INAAP special collections)
● Indiana Ordnance Works Real Estate Acquisition Plant 2, 1945, Charlestown, Indiana (Charlestown, INAAP special collections)
● Jennie E Green Photograph Album, c1860
● Jesse G. Dorsey Korean War Correspondence (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Joe H. Graves Autograph Book, Charlestown, Indiana 1891 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Judge Certificate to Ward H. Watson 26 Nov 1906 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Karnes House Ledger, Charlestown, Indiana 1897-1902 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Knights of Pythias Ledger, No 498, Bethlehem, Indiana 1902-1928 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Letter from Court Clerk, Shepherdsville, KY to Justice of Peace Clark County, Indiana Territory 28 Apr 1818 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Louisville & Northern Railway & Lighting Company Train Ticket Booklet 1914 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● McGee Family Letters, Charlestown, Indiana 1822, 1831 & 1832 (Charlestown, special collections)
● McGee Letter from Civil War Soldier to Belle McGee 29 Jul 1862 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Merchant of Venice Opera Leaflet, Charlestown, Indiana 22 Feb 1900 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Middle Road Toll Gate Ledger, Charlestown, Indiana 1867-1890 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Monroe Township Auditor Ledger, Clark County, Indiana 1884-1900 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Monroe Township Court Docket Ledger, Clark County, Indiana 1896-1905 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Monroe Township Election Poll Books for 1863, 1865 & 1867, Henryville, Indiana (Charlestown, special collections)
● New Washington High School Commencement Program, New Washington, Indiana 1912 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Poor Farm Ledger, Clark County, Indiana 1923-1941 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Recorder's Office Letter to Margaret Bower, Clark County, Indiana 17 Aug 1887 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Recorder's Office Pages, Clark County, Indiana Territory 1816 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Rose Island 14 Miles Above Louisville on the Beautiful Ohio, c1930 (Charlestown, Indiana Room, Rose Island file)
● Sarah Jane Todd Harris Family Collection (Charlestown, special collections)
● Sellersburg and Speed Schools Commencement Program, Sellersburg, Indiana 1898 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Sellersburg, Indiana Criminal Docket Ledger 1900-1927 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Sellersburg, Indiana Photo Album, 1890s (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Sharpe Fabric and Clothing Store Ledger, Charlestown, Indiana 1850-1851 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Silver Creek Canning Stock, Sellersburg, Indiana 1894 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● Silver Creek Township & Sellersburg Schools Commencement Program, Sellersburg, IN 1893 (Sellersburg, Indiana Room)
● The Speed Way 1957-1968 - Newsletter of the Louisville Cement Company, Speed, Indiana (Sellersburg, Indiana Room, Speed files) (The library now owns a complete set minus 2 of this newsletter. They will be scanned and added to the collection as soon as possible.)
● The Speedometer 1928, 1929, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1952, 1954, & 1955 - Newsletter of the Louisville Cement Company, Speed, Indiana (Sellersburg, Indiana Room, Speed files) (The library has a large collection of these newsletter and is currently working on getting all of them on Indiana Memory.)
● Tulip Tree Festival Program, Charlestown, Indiana 1942 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Turner Family Collection, Charlestown, Indiana 1833-1911 (Charlestown, special collections)
● Twas Only Those Bright Eyes of Blue by Hamilton & Guernsey, Henryville, IN 1883 (Charlestown, special collections)
● The Warning Star 1937 - Newsletter of the Louisville Cement Company, Speed, Indiana (Sellersburg, Indiana Room, Speed files)

Charlestown-Clark County Public Library is continually interested in collecting original source documents that tell the history of Clark County, Indiana.

Jesse G. Dorsey Collection of World War II Correspondence

In July 2007 and July 2008, Charlestown-Clark County Public Library received LSTA grants for the purpose of digitizing the Jesse Dorsey Collection of World War II Correspondence. This correspondence is from 348 service members and their families which consists of 1606 letters and postcards.

The digital images are now accessible on the Indiana Memory website.
The full digital collection can be seen at Jesse G. Dorsey WWII Correspondence.

An additional item to the collection is a book created by the Speed community as a Christmas present to the soldiers. It contains pictures of local landmarks. In the letters in this collection, you can read about how thankful the soldiers were to receive the books. It can be seen at Greetings From Home Christmas 1943, Sellersburg, Indiana.

To read more about this project visit the Jesse G. Dorsey page.

The KET program Louisville Life featured a story about this collection on Thursday, October 25, 2007 on KET2.  The program is available for streaming online at Louisville Life.
 

To find resources for the history of Clark County and the surrounding communities here in the Ohio Valley click on this link:
      Regional Genealogy and Local History Resources
 

Indiana Room Collections

A wide range of genealogy and local history resources are available at each of the five branches. The following list includes a portion of the materials available. Inquiries can be made through the Ask A Librarian link or by calling the branch library.

Charlestown Library Indiana Room:

• BOOKS - List of Family and Local History Books

• CEMETERY RECORDS – listings for all Clark County Townships; cemetery index for New Washington Christian Church & Crown Hill; Clark Co. Cemetery and Church Records

• BIRTH RECORDS – index to Birth Records, Clark County, Indiana 1882-1920

• MARRIAGES – index to Marriages Clark County, Indiana 1905-1920; Marriage Records 1807-1824

• DEATH RECORDS – index to Death Records Clark County, Indiana 1882-1920

• Charlestown Marriages Divorces Deaths 1920’s-1940’s

• WILLS – Clark County, Indiana Abstracts of Wills and Executors’ Records 1801-1833

• Obituary Scrapbook

• Civil Order Book 1824-1828

• Clark County Estray Book 1801-1817 and Clark County Marriages 1807-1829

• CENSUS – Census of Indiana Territory for 1807; 1820 Federal Census for IN; Indiana 1830 Census Index; 1850 Federal Census for Indiana; (all census records available online from Ancestry.com which free to use at all branch libraries)

• NEWSLETTERS AND MAGAZINES – Hoosier Journal of Ancestry; Washington County, IN Historical Society Newsletter; Lexington Historical Society; Scott County Genealogical Society; Southern Indiana Genealogical Society Quarterly 1980-81, 1993-current; Out Door Indiana most 1958-current

• An Index to Biographical & Historical Souvenir for the Counties of Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Floyd, Jefferson, Jennings, Scott and Washington Indiana

• Special Publications for Clark and Surrounding County

• General Information Files (county and state)

• Family History Files (9 file drawers)

• MICROFILM – Census, Early Newspapers, Diaries/Journals/Ledgers, Church Records, Newspapers (recent back issues)

• MANUSCRIPTS – Ledgers/Account Books, Letters, Docket Books, Scrapbooks, Documents

• PHOTOGRAPHS – Early Citizens, Schools, Buildings, Historic Sites, Dwellings

• CITY DIRECTORY – Indiana Caron’s New Albany-Jeffersonville 1947; 1953; 1955; 1956; 1958-1980; 1982-1991; Polk’s New Albany-Jeffersonville 1993; 1996-2008; Polk’s Clark County Indiana 2001-2003; Polk’s Clark, Floyd, Harrison Counties Indiana 2004-2009

• SPECIAL FILES AND COLLECTIONS – Jonathan Jennings, One Room Schools, Tunnel Mill/John Work, Rose Island, 1937 Flood, Charlestown History, Indiana Army Ammunition Plant

• YEAR BOOKS - Charlestown High School Yearbooks 1941, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1952-1969, 1972-2008; Charlestown Middle School Yearbooks 1988, 1990-1994, 1996, 1999, 2008, 2009; 1973 Charlestown Jr. High Yearbook; 1938 50th Reunion Book for Charlestown High School

Sellersburg Library Indiana Room:

• Books - Family History and Local History Books

• History and Genealogy Magazines

• CEMETERY RECORDS – All Clark County Township listings; Garr Funeral Home Records 1930-1985; Clark County, Indiana Cemeteries Index Project by Lois Mauk; Clark County, IN Cemetery Index (few small cemeteries not listed); Cemetery Records Scott County, IN; Scottsburg Cemetery Records 1986; Floyd County Cemeteries; New Albany National Cemetery; Floyd County, Indiana Wolf Cemetery

• Family History Files

• BIRTH RECORDS - Clark County, Indiana Index 1882-1920 vol. I A-J, vol. II K-Z; Floyd County, Indiana Index 1882-1920 vol. I A-L and vol. II M-Z; Harrison County, Indiana Index 1882-1920 A-Z and Index 1921-1941

• Marriage and Will Records Clark County, Indiana 1807-1834

• WILLS - Will and Bond Record 'B', March, 1853-Sept, 1864 Floyd County, Indiana

• MARRIAGE RECORDS - Clark County, Indiana Index 1905-1920 vol. I A-C, vol. II D-G, vol. III H-L, vol. IV Mc-P, vol. V Q-S, vol. VI T-Z; Floyd County, Indiana Marriage Records 1837-1845; Scott County, Indiana Marriages 1820-1850; Harrison County, Indiana Index 1881-1920 vol. I A-K, vol. II L-Z, 1882-1920 Supplemental Records

• DEATH RECORDS - Clark County, Indiana Index 1882-1920 vol. I A-Z; Floyd County, Indiana Index 1882-1920 A-Z

• DAR - Bible Records for Clark County Families (DAR 1956); DAR Patriot Index 1966; DAR Patriot Index Vol. II 1976

• Church Histories and Records

• Louisville Cement Company – Speed History Files (2 file drawers); Jesse G. Dorsey Collection of World War II Correspondence (letters have been digitized and are available for viewing online); WWII letter writers; Korean War letter writers; Speedometers; 3-ring Binders: Louisville Cement Company Thirty Year Banquet 1950-1961 (8 binders); Highlights of Charles Ridenour's Speed and Cement Industry History; Cementing the Past; Louisville Cement Company; Louisville Cement Company Pictures Employees; Louisville Cement Company Area Pictures; many other documents

• Military (area Soldiers)

• Sellersburg History Files; Sellersburg/Speed 3-ring binders

• Clark County History Files

• Indiana History Files

• NEWSPAPERS - Sellersburg News 1961-1963, 1965-1974

• CENSUS - Sellersburg 1990

• MANUSCRIPTS – Ledgers/Account Books, Sellersburg Court Docket Book, Letters, Post Cards, Scrapbooks

• Area Maps

• PHOTOGRAPHS – Early Citizens, Schools, Buildings, Historic Sites, Dwellings, and Businesses in Speed and Sellersburg

• YEAR BOOKS - Silver Creek High School Yearbooks 1933 (copy), 1941-42, 1944-45 (copies), 1946-2007; Silver Creek Junior High Yearbooks 1972-1973, 1976-1980, 1982-1989, 1998-2001, Sellersburg Elementary Yearbooks 1973-1974, 1977-1988; Stout Elementary Yearbooks 1973, 1978; Memphis Elementary Yearbooks 1974-1976

 Borden Library:

• CEMETERY RECORDS – Carr and Wood Townships

• GENEALOGICAL SOURCES – Borden Obituaries (1989-2006), Old obituaries book I (from Borden Sentinel newspaper), The McKinley Clan 1763-1999, The Bells of Pleasant Ridge 1760-2000, Littell Funeral Home Records book 1 & 2 1906-1956,  1911 Telephone Directory, WWII Obituaries, Martinsburg Store Ledger

• LOCAL HISTORY – Reminiscences of New Providence 1884-1994, Early Wood Township, History of the Borden Institute, Memories of Pleasant Ridge, The Goldstar Book by Fanny B. Coats, and Borden History File

• YEAR BOOKS - Borden School Yearbooks (includes K-12 school) 1949-2003, 2008 (missing 1993 and 1995)

New Washington Library:

• CEMETERY RECORDS – Washington and Other Area Townships

• GENEALOGICAL SOURCES – Cole Family Obituaries; Area Obituaries 1980-2006 townships of Bethlehem, Oregon, Owen, & Washington; Family/Community Histories; Old Newspapers; national bank directory of 1909; Newspaper clippings of New Washington School happenings: 1984-current (some pre ‘84)

• YEAR BOOKS - New Washington K-12 Yearbooks 1950, 1954, 1958, 1961-1964, 1972-1974, 1976-1977; New Washington Middle and High School Yearbooks 1980, 1982-2007; New Washington Elementary Yearbooks 1979, 1987-2005

Henryville Library:

• CEMETERY RECORDS – Charlestown, Monroe, and Oregon Townships

• YEAR BOOKS - Henryville High School Yearbooks 1948-1952, 1954-1957, 1959-1966, 1969-1973, 1977-1983, 1988, 1990-1997, 1999-2000; some Henryville Junior High and Elementary Yearbooks

The Brandenburg Stone

The Brandenburg Stone was loaned to the Charlestown Clark County Public Library from the Meade County Library in Brandenburg, Kentucky in 2000. The Brandenburg Stone was returned to the Meade County Library in January 2012.