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Indiana Room at PGTPL

Name: Indiana Room at PGTPL
Address: 1120 Stafford Road, Plainfield, IN, 46168, US
Telephone: +13178396602
Price range: Not Applicable

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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.

10/30/2025

Throwback Thursday: Halloween Costumes in Plainfield!

Need an idea for a Halloween costume? Let’s take a look at the past with this collection of getups of yesteryear found in the Photograph Collection in our archives.

From timeless classics to outfits that raise some serious 'what were they thinking?' questions, these costumes prove that creativity knows no era!

Photo 1: (l-r) Greg Porter, Mandy Buchanan, Drew Caften and Thad Westerfield (1976)
Photo 2: (l-r) Joanne O’Haver, Jason Callahan, Chuck Porter and Michelle Chalet (1976)
Photo 3: (l-r) Christine Cos, Craig Wilson, Tim O’Haver, David Durrell (1976)
Photo 4: Plainfield resident Portia Cooper is dressed as a gypsy (no date)
Photo 5: Jeff Goens and David Barnett (in costume) trick-or-treat for UNICEF (1977)
Photo 6: Joe Lease (in pink dress) clowns around with other unidentified revelers (1990)

10/23/2025

Throwback Thursday: Grocery Stores

Before there were supermarkets, shopping for groceries was a very different experience!

As you can see from the photos here, grocery stores were much smaller, and shopkeepers would often select the items for the customer, even delivering them to the home. Over the years, Plainfield, Indiana, saw many food stores grace the buildings along Main Street. Enjoy this look back at some of them.

1. Ellis Food Market, 122 West Main Street, early 1970s.

2. Grocery store owned by Harry Wilson, located on the SE corner of Main Street and South Vine Street. (l-r): Harry Wilson, Jesse Lacy, and Harold Cooper. Between 1913-1918.

3. The Kroger store when it was located at 124 West Main Street (1928-1955). This photo is from 1941 when US 40 was being widened from two to four lanes.

4. The interior of Pavy's Grocery Store, 118 West Main Street, which operated 1947-1954.

5. Making its debut on September 30, 1911 was the Sanitary Grocery, owned by G. F. Calbert and Son. The store was located near 117 South Vine Street (building no longer there) Pictured are (l-r): Fred Calbert, Todd Calbert, and Orla Johnson standing. On the wagon is Oscar Kanter.

10/16/2025

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield’s first McDonald's Restaurant

Hard to believe, but at one time Plainfield, Indiana had only one McDonald’s restaurant, and it didn’t even open until November 1976, a full 18 years after the first McDonald’s appeared in Indiana!

Owned by Walter Eckerling, it was located at 2225 East Main Street. For those wondering, that was where AutoZone stands today, near the US 40 and Quaker Blvd. intersection.

The Plainfield Messenger doesn’t tell us much about this momentous occasion, but it’s probable that residents were pretty excited about it. Ronald McDonald was scheduled to arrive at the Grand Opening by helicopter!

Do you remember the McDonald’s opening? We’d love to hear about it!

Photo 1: The grand opening announcement in the November 8, 1976 issue of the Plainfield Messenger
Photo 2: Walter and Jon Eckerling pose with Bryon Ball at the construction site – August 1976
Photo 3: Jennifer Friel and Julia Chazanoff meet Ronald McDonald
Photo 4: Jeffrey Bafford meets Ronald McDonald
Photo 5: Aerial of the construction site in July 1976.

10/15/2025

The Indiana Room recently received a donation of Mooresville High School yearbooks. We checked with the Mooresville Public Library and they already have copies in their collection and do not need them.

If anyone would like a copy of their high school yearbook from Mooresville, Indiana, please contact the Indiana Room at [email protected] or (317) 839-6602 x.2114

Years available include:
1976 - 1988
1990
1992
1993
2000 - 2005

We would be happy to help find a new home for these yearbooks.

10/13/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Plainfield Telephone Company Directory

Imagine having less than 100 telephone numbers in Plainfield, Indiana!

The Indiana Room is fortunate to have this directory from The Plainfield Telephone Company. It is dated between 1900 (when the company was founded) and 1903 (when it changed its name to the Consolidated Telephone Company). Not only does it list some of the prominent names of early Plainfield, but it highlights the old switchboard and party line system – “2 long and 1 short ring” anyone?

The photo is of local resident Annabelle Crews, operating Plainfield's first telephone switchboard.

10/09/2025

Throwback Thursday: Mary Rivers' Kindergarten Class Photos

Prior to 1941, Plainfield, Indiana, did not have a public kindergarten program through the school corporation. Plainfield's Tri Kappa Sorority, under the leadership of Alice Hampton, took it upon themselves to create one for the children of the community.

The program began in the basement of the home of Mary Rivers. Mrs. Rivers would go on to teach the kindergarten classes until 1965. Over 2000 Plainfield children were introduced to the joy of school by Mrs. Rivers and the Tri Kappa Sorority from 1941 until 1970 when the Plainfield School Corporation's kindergarten program began.

The Indiana Room was the fortunate recipient of the collection of 47 kindergarten class photos which were kept and labeled by Mrs. Rivers. These 47 pictures have been digitized and added to the Indiana Room's Photograph Database. The originals are safely preserved in the archives.

10/07/2025

Who Owned My House? Thursday, October 9 at 6:30pm (West meeting room)

The Indiana Room welcomes Mark Belloni to present this program on property research. Learn how to uncover the history of the places we call home. As a professionally trained historian with a deep love for local history, Mark believes the most valuable and exciting stories are discovered where everyday life unfolds. Learn the processes, records available, and tips for researching a property.

For more information: https://plainfieldlibrary.libnet.info/event/13810904

10/06/2025

Behind the Archives Door: Phrenology Chart

Have you ever heard of phrenology?

This pseudoscience was a craze from about 1810 to 1840 and used the shape and bumps on a person’s skull to predict their mental traits! No wonder it’s been discredited (as well as used to justify social inequalities and discriminatory practices). A practitioner believed that the brain was made up of 27 individual organs that revealed natural tendencies of a person’s character. They observed and felt the skull to determine the size of these organs and thus their power.

The chart which is in the archive collection was found in a Will Book at the Hendricks County Courthouse. It was made out for Noah Day, a blacksmith from Belleville, Indiana, who died in 1852 at the age of 38. It is interesting that “Dr. I. S. Meeks” who did the reading seems to be hedging his bets with his final conclusions – of the four possible phrenological temperaments, he assigns three to Mr. Day: Bilious, Sanguine, and Nervous. Only Lymphatic is left out.

It all leaves us shaking our (lumpy) heads.

10/03/2025

Friday, October 17, 2025 Genealogy Day of Fun

In partnership with the Genealogical Network of Texas and the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN, we invite you to participate in a free day of genealogy!

The event has presentations from 8 top genealogical experts in the field of genealogy. The prerecorded presentations will be virtual and run consecutively during the day. You can join in on any of the sessions that interest you. Speakers include Curt Witcher, J. Mark Lowe, Jessica Horne Collins, and others.

To participate, simply contact the Indiana Room and you will be provided the link for the event. [email protected] or (317) 839-6602 x.2114

10/02/2025

Throwback Thursday: Orchards of Hendricks County, Indiana

It’s that time of year again, when thoughts turn to hayrides, apple cider, and homemade apple butter. Yes, we’re talking about visiting an orchard! We dug through the Indiana Room's photo collection and found some visual memories of these fruitful groves.

1) Danville's Beasley's Orchard employees Debbie Beasley, Pat Hendricks, Lyra Aichinger, and Gloria Derrickson in 1989.

2) Makina Phillips, wife of Jonathan Phillips, standing in her apple orchard, Hendricks County’s Clay Township, circa 1905-1910.

3) Children from Plainfield Nursery School daycare enjoy a visit at Nysewander's Orchard, 1977.

4) Two boys picking apples in the orchard on the grounds of the Indiana Boys School in Plainfield, no date.

What’s your favorite orchard memory?

09/29/2025

Behind the Archives Door: 1929 Plainfield Traffic Guide

This jewel of a pamphlet comes from 1929 and was published to guide drivers in Plainfield, Indiana.

We’ve included a few of the pages here to give you a glimpse of what life was like for residents and drivers at the time. The page promoting the town’s advantages is sponsored by the Plainfield Lions Club and advertises the town as the “Village of Friendly Folks.”

Note the brevity of both the State Highway Laws section and the entire Plainfield traffic ordinances, as well as the inclusion of “buggies, horses, or other conveyances.”

The ads are fun too, with the ambulance service provided by the funeral home and the 25 cent plate lunch at the tea room.

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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