Pictured at the 1960s groundbreaking for a new building for Fortville Christian Church are (from left) Estal Taylor, Lloyd Fuqua, Ralph Leonard, Don Denger, Paul Gross, Don Kirkland and Jim White.
Sept. 27
In 1967, about $50 in change was taken from Sheets Standard Service in Shirley. Marshal Glen Cupp believed the thief entered through a rear window.
Sept. 28
In 1940, A 100-lap race was the main attraction at the first program under the lights at Charlottesville Speedrome midget track, a quarter-mile oval.
Sept. 29
In 1927, it was reported that the Greenfield Country Club Association had purchased an 80-acre tract on Morristown Pike from Charles E. Pauley of Indianapolis for $7,000, with the intent of building a golf course and country club. Today the course is known as Hawk’s Tail.
Sept. 30
In 1904, New Palestine Cemetery was dedicated.
Oct. 1
In 1838, Jonathan Evans platted the town of New Palestine.
In 1906, a gas line explosion in New Palestine killed three men and destroyed the original town hall and fire station.
Oct. 2
In 1902, Mother of God Roman Catholic Church was dedicated in Shirley, with 103 attending the service. When the town’s gas boom faded, so did attendance; the building was razed in the late 1920s.
In 1966, the cornerstone was laid for a new Fortville Christian Church building at 9450 N. County Road 200W, where the church still meets today.
Oct. 3
In 1974, a two-ton rock, engraved to mark the spot of James Whitcomb Riley’s “Old Swimmin’ Hole,” was dedicated after the Mayor’s Breakfast of the Riley Festival.
