Hidden History Of Terre Haute

Many know about Terre Haute's long-gone reputation as a "sin city," but that hardly tells the whole story. Unknown to all but a few, the city was home to a POW camp for Confederate prisoners and divers once plucked valuable freshwater pearls from the Wabash River. Druggist Jacob Baur discovered a way to liquefy carbon dioxide, earning him the title "King of Soda Fountains." Before the advent of Hollywood, motion pictures were made here. And one of the biggest child stars of the 1930s and '40s was a local boy named Billy Lee. He joined another child star from the area, Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer of Our Gang fame. Historian Tim Crumrin reveals the overlooked events and people in Terre Haute's past.

The author of Hidden History of Terre Haute and Wicked Terre Haute explores the home of sin in the Sin City. Home to uproarious saloons, swindling gambling dens, and thriving brothels, Terre Haute's infamous West End was so wild the Chicago Tribunecalled it "the scene of a hundred all night carousings." Pimps, pickpockets, and conmen roamed the crowded streets where legendary Madam Edith Brown's pleasure palace was the crown jewel of brothels. Yet more than a mere den in inequity, the West End was also a community that could put bickering differences aside and pull together to help their neighbors. And it wasn't only a place for seedy enterprise, but also a place for stores, cafes, and homes. Historian Tim Crumrin presents the first complete history of this legendary area and separates myth from reality to reveal the very human side of the West End.

The author of Hidden History of Terre Haute and Wicked Terre Haute explores the home of sin in the Sin City. Home to uproarious saloons, swindling gambling dens, and thriving brothels, Terre Haute's infamous West End was so wild the Chicago Tribunecalled it the scene of a hundred all night carousings. Pimps, pickpockets, and conmen roamed the crowded streets where legendary Madam Edith Brown's pleasure palace was the crown jewel of brothels. Yet more than a mere den in inequity, the West End was also a community that could put bickering differences aside and pull together to help their neighbors. And it wasn't only a place for seedy enterprise, but also a place for stores, cafes, and homes. Historian Tim Crumrin presents the first complete history of this legendary area and separates myth from reality to reveal the very human side of the West End.

Twin Cities sports fans are well-versed in disappointment, but the last 120 years of Minneapolis and St. Paul sports have also produced forgotten milestones. Most know of the Vikings' Super Bowl woes and the Twins' record-setting postseason losing streak. Few know that the first full-time college basketball coach originated here and that a Babe Ruth home run record supplanted a local player's achievement. Fewer still know about near misses like John Wooden almost becoming the University of Minnesota basketball coach in 1948 and Billie Jean King turning down an offer to join the Twin Cities' World Team Tennis franchise. Longtime Twin Cities journalist Joel Rippel documents these subjects and other forgotten or unheralded stories.

At the center of Indiana lies Boone County, a seemingly quiet place with a colorful past. The stagecoach along the Michigan Road helped to start the county, then the railroad transformed it as new towns were created along the routes. Some of these towns are now gone, leaving behind a few buildings and a sign marking where they once existed. Local vagabond Thorntown Cyrus entertained area residents with his accordion, a couple touted his and hers tractors, and the Cragun twins met a tragic demise. Mysteries surround true stories such as a rogue monkey seen wandering a community and why a butcher attacked a prominent citizen. Author Heather Phillips Lusk brings these stories and more to life to reveal what makes Boone County unique.

Montgomery County never fails to surprise the visitor with its unique and varied history. Even local residents are often unaware of some of their county heritage. Anyone who spends some time in Crawfordsville will eventually know about General Lew Wallace, author of the one-time bestseller Ben-Hur, as well as Senator Henry Lane, who helped found the Republican Party and get Abraham Lincoln nominated for the presidency. Wabash College was founded here in 1832 and is one of the two remaining all-male colleges in the nation -- with the dubious honor of having fired Ezra Pound before he went on to fame as a poet. The Hidden History of Montgomery County will touch upon such topics but will also bring to light many of the area's other deserving stories.

The Battle of Fort Sackville appears in every history of Vincennes and Knox County, yet so much more defines this area. Everyone is familiar with George Rogers Clark, but few know about ordinary but accomplished figures like diplomat Hubbard Taylor Smith and Civil War veteran Joseph Roseman. The Stibbins murder of 1911 and other long-forgotten crimes once shocked the county, and visits by politicians and entertainers, including Buffalo Bill Cody, enthralled residents before quickly slipping from memory. Weather made history, too, such as the destructive hailstorm that pounded northern Knox County in 1907. With the help of rare photographs, local historian and Sun-Commercial columnist Brian Spangle brings to life these stories and more.

During the early years of World War II, American ships crossing the Atlantic with oil and supplies were virtually defenseless against German U-boats. Bombs and torpedoes fitted with TNT barely made a dent in the tough steel plating that covered the hulls of Axis submarines and ships. Then, seemingly overnight, a top-secret, $100 million plant appeared near Kingsport, Tennessee, manufacturing a sugar-white substance called Research Department Explosive (code name RDX). Behind thirty-eight miles of fencing, thousands of men and women synthesized 23,000 tons of RDX each month. Twice as deadly as TNT and overshadowed only by the atomic bomb, this ordnance proved to be pivotal in the Battle of the Atlantic and directly contributed to the Allied victory in WWII. In The Secret History of RDX, Colin F. Baxter documents the journey of the super-explosive from conceptualization at Woolwich Arsenal in England to mass production at Holston Ordnance Works in east Tennessee. He examines the debates between RDX advocates and their opponents and explores the use of the explosive in the bomber war over Germany, in the naval war in the Atlantic, and as a key element in the trigger device of the atomic bomb. Drawing on archival records and interviews with individuals who worked at the Kingsport "powder plant" from 1942 to 1945, Baxter illuminates both the explosive's military significance and its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans involved in the war industry. Much more than a technical account, this study assesses the social and economic impact of the military-industrial complex on small communities on the home front.