Our Community of Evansville

Alyssa LambertEDUC 357December 3, 2009

Why this topic interests me…

I choose to research the Evansville community because I hope to teach in the Evansville community in the future. I was never taught the history of Evansville when I was in school. I would like to be able to have some key topics about the community to use in my classroom.

Why this topic interests me continued…

I really wanted to know more about historical places in Evansville. I really enjoyed field trips as a school age child and I want to be able to give that experience back to my students.

I think that in any way that history can come to life for children the opportunity should be taken. By bring history to life, children can better experience it.

What I want to know…

Founding of Evansville, Indiana▪ Who was here before the land was settled?▪ Who settled the land?▪ How did they do it?

Major events in Evansville’s history▪ What are some of the major events what

happened during Evansville’s history? Transition to present day Evansville

▪ What happened to get the Evansville community to where it is now?

Connections with the Standards 2.1.1—Identify when the local community was

established and identify its founders and early settlers.

2.1.2—Explain changes in daily life in the community over time using maps, photographs, news stories, Web sites or video images.

2.1.5—Develop a simple timeline of important events in the history of the school and/or community.

2.1.7—Read about and summarize historical community events using libraries and a variety of information

Mississippian People

The “Mississippian” people is a term used for the Native American people who occupied most of the Southeastern United States thousands of years ago.

They occupied from the Mississippi River all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

They were a hunter gather society.▪ Hunting and farming on the rich land of the

Ohio Valley.

Angel Mounds Historic Site Angel Mounds Historic

Site is considered to be one of the best preserved prehistoric Native American sites in the United States today.

Located off of Pollack Avenue on the eastside of Evansville, it shows how the Mississippian People lived before the pioneer settlement of Evansville.

Mississippian People of Evansville

The Mississippian people were the group that settled the site at Angel Mounds in 1100 A.D.

They used stockades to protect the city made from wattle and daub.▪ Wattle is a construction of poles intertwined with twigs,

reeds, or branches, used for walls, fences, and roofs.▪ Daub is a soft adhesive coating material such as plaster,

grease, or mud. Angel Mounds was also a chiefdom.

▪ A chiefdom is the home of the chief. Being a chiefdom, Angel Mounds was the

region center of the larger community of people which spread out for miles.

Where are the Mississippian people of Evansville now?

The people who lived in Angel Mounds ended up deserting their city.▪ They began leaving in 1400 A.D. and were all gone

within 50 years. It is unsure why they decided to leave. Other groups such as the Shawnee and

the Miami moved into the area in 1650 A.D.

The area was later settled by white settlers who were drawn to the land’s rich soil.

Why did they leave Angel Mounds?

Although it is unknown the real reason the Mississippian people deserted Angel Mounds, there have been many theories offered.▪ Supporting such a vast number of people for decades

may have depleted essential supplies such as firewood, building materials, etc.

▪ Soil nutrition might have been depleted after growing corn for so many decades.

▪ The people may have refused to follow their leaders.▪ Other groups might have moved into the area and

competed for hunting and farm land.▪ Natural disasters such as earthquakes might have cause

the group to move.

Field Trip Opportunity

I would want to take my class to Angel Mounds on a field trip so they can have the experience of what it was like living like the Mississippian people.

I would have a guided assignment involved with the field trip. Students would have to keep journals of everything interesting they see. We would have a discussion back in the classroom about the differences they saw in the native people’s lives and their own.

Evansville Through the Years A classroom activity I would want to do

while learning about the history of Evansville would be to make a timeline from the start till present day of what has happened in Evansville.

As we learn about new steps Evansville took, we would write the information on the timeline.

I included a few of Evansville’s first, but I could change them up depending on the different interests of my students.

The Founding of Evansville Founded in 1812 by Hugh McGary.

▪ Called McGary’s Landing but the name didn’t catch on.

▪ In 1814 it was renamed Evansville after Colonels Evan.

Received its charter in 1847.▪ A charter is a document issued by a sovereign,

legislature, or other authority, creating a public or private corporation, such as a city, college, or bank, and defining its privileges and purposes.

Became a trade center in 1817 because it was so close to the Ohio River.

Our First College

The first college in Evansville was the University of Evansville.▪ In 1854, it was first called Moores Hill Male and Female Collegiate

Institute and located in Moores Hill in Dearborn County in southwestern Indianan.

In 1917, George Clifford proposed to move the college to Evansville, Indiana.

In 1919, the college was moved and renamed Evansville College.

In 1967, the state approved the name to be changed to the University of Evansville.

Our First Library

Willard Library was Evansville’s first public library.

The project was Willard Carpenters idea.▪ He wrote a letter to the

Library Trustees about his plans for a library called Willard Library.

In 1885, the library was open.▪ In just two days, 98 people

signed up for library cards.

Our First Theatre

The Victory Theater was the first theater in Evansville.

The theater was built in 1920-1921. It was built in remembrance of WWI.

The theater puts on movies, plays, and orchestral performances.

In 1998, the Victory Theater was restored to its original glory.

Our First Radio Station

Evansville’s first radio station was WGBF.▪ One of the oldest radio stations

in the United States. The station started in

1923. The format has changed

several times over the years.▪ Now the radio station is

“Newstalk “24 hours a day.

Our First Television Stations The first television station to

broadcast in Evansville is WFIE.▪ The station started broadcasting in

1953.▪ WFIE stands for “We’re First In

Evansville”. In 1977 it was the first television

station to broadcast live news and weather in Evansville.

WFIE is still broadcasting today on channel 14.

Our School History

I would include the school I taught out also in our learning of Evansville’s history.

I would include when it opened, how many students attended, and even pictures of the early years of the school.

I think the students would really enjoy seeing the school they attend looking so different in the past.

Resources

http://www.ohwy.com/in/e/evansvil.htm http://www.thefreedictionary.com/charter http://www.downtownevansville.org/about/history.p

hp http://

www.angelmounds.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=40

http://www.google.com/search?q=history+of+downtown+Evansville+Indiana&hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=FOYbS7zjOY3AlAe55ujxCQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=12&ved=0CDEQ5wIwCw

http://www.evansville.edu/aboutue/history.cfm http://

www.willard.lib.in.us/about_willard_library/history.php

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/232/ http://

www.newstalk1280.com/OnAir/HistoryofWGBFAM/tabid/2607/Default.aspx