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Indiana Room at PGTPL

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Indiana Room at PGTPL

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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.

10/22/2026

Throwback Thursday: Maurice Bombei

From short pants to grown-up plans!

The Indiana Room has had an adorable picture of a young Maurice Gene Bombei in our photograph archives for some time. Recently we were gifted with another picture of Maurice - his high school senior picture. He graduated in 1949 from Amo High School (Amo, IN).

We thought we'd share them both--what a difference just a few years makes!

Thank you to Plainfield resident Jill Hadley for donating the photograph.

10/15/2026

Throwback Thursday: Main Street, Plainfield, Indiana (pre-1923)

The Indiana Room recently received this early 1900s picture postcard of the south side buildings in downtown Plainfield, Indiana. Enjoy this look at our town in earlier days!

Starting on the right side of the picture, you'll see the brick three-story Keeley Institute building (201 West Main). Past the intersection of Center Street is Frank Phillips Dry Goods store (125 West Main--the future home of the Plainfield Masonic Building and Shirt Tales). Continuing east you'll see the First National Bank building (121 West Main) and next to that is a vacant lot which would eventually become the home to the Prewitt Theatre. The imposing Knights of Pythias building (115 West Main) appears much as it does today.

Partially visible among the trees on the left side of the picture is the two-story Hiss Building (206 West Main and now home to Hendricks Live) and the Green & Hadley Apothecary (124 West Main and now home to Gear Up Cyclery)

For comparison, we've included a picture from the same vantage point today.

10/08/2026

Throwback Thursday: Plainfield Post Office

Did you know the Plainfield, Indiana, Post Office has had several locations in its history? Enjoy this look back and timeline of the Plainfield Post Office:

1) The 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows that the post office was located in the west room of the Tomlinson building, located at 104 West Main (pictured here in 2018)

2) By 1893, it had moved to a frame structure where the Knights of Pythias building (117 West Main) currently stands. When the K of P building was built in 1900, the post office stayed on the site, moving into the new brick edifice. Here you see an interior shot in 1914 with Postmaster "Butch" Frank Dalton (right) and assistant Will Heringlake.

3) After more than two decades in the K of P building, and having outgrown its quarters, the post office moved north across Main Street to 114 West Main (pictured here in 2020).

4) Still on the move, in 1935 it relocated just a bit east to 102 East Main to the corner of the building that now houses Headquarters on Main Barber Shop.

5) In August 1956 the Plainfield Messenger prematurely declared the demise of the Friends' Depository brick house at 303 East Main, where a brand-new purpose-built post office was supposed to appear.

6) However, the Western Yearly Meeting of Friends Trustees and the builders could not agree on the inclusion of additional business buildings, so a new site was eventually chosen at 164 North Mill Street, where the building opened on September 13, 1958.

7) Finally, having outgrown even that location, our current post office is located at 700 North Carr Road and opened in 1986.

10/01/2026

Throwback Thursday: Johnny Holiday movie

Did you know that a Hollywood motion picture was filmed right here in Plainfield, Indiana?

With the exception of a few Indianapolis street scenes, the movie, “Johnny Holiday”, was filmed in and around Plainfield and the Indiana Boys' School (now Heritage Trail Correctional Facility.) in the summer of 1949.

The movie was touted as "a heart-warming drama fashioned around a rugged, retired U.S. Calvary sergeant, a confused boy, and a mare and her foal." Starring in the film was William Bendix, Allen Martin, and Hoosier songwriter and musician Hoagy Carmichael. The local newspapers paid particularly close attention to the Hollywood visitors’ eating habits, noting that the stars and film crew especially enjoyed the pie at the Winstead Café on the first floor of the Masonic Building (125 W. Main Street). The film premiered in November 1949.

Pictured:
1) A scene is filmed in the Indiana Boys’ School horse barn (the barn is still there today)
2) The same stall in the horse barn in 2022
3) The director, producer, and film crew
4) On set with Hoagy Carmichael
5) The film poster cover
6) Article from the August 18, 1949 “Friday Caller” newspaper reporting on pies!

09/24/2026

Throwback Thursday: 101 East Main Street, Plainfield, Indiana.

With its distinctive diagonal entrance, the building on the corner of South Vine Street and US 40 has hosted a variety of businesses in its 125-year history. Businessman Leroy Hiatt purchased the property in 1901 and built the building that is still there today. The original configuration was a set of three neighboring, but separate shops, each with its own entrance along Main Street. Over the years, the entrances were covered up (but are still visible today). Here’s a look at three of the occupants of 101 East Main.

Pictured:
1) 1934 photograph of A. C. Willis in front of his Busy Bee restaurant.
2) 1944 photograph when the building housed Deem’s Restaurant, owned by V. R. Deem
3) 2012 photograph of Floor Fashions
4) 2024 photograph showing the ghost outlines of the original entrances to the two units east of the corner

09/17/2026

Throwback Thursday: Hanna Chevrolet

Preston W. Hanna ("Pres") opened his Chevrolet dealership in 1952 at 131 North Mill Street, Plainfield, Indiana. The dealership was housed in a building owned by John Daum which formerly housed a skating rink.

Mr. Hanna expanded his business and moved to a larger piece of land on U.S. 40, west of Plainfield, at 704 West Main Street. As seen here, Hanna Chevrolet was a local landmark at the corner of Vestal and Main Streets until August 2001 when it was sold to Andy Mohr. This picture postcard, from the mid-1960s, shows the dealership during its heyday. Currently, Larkin Collision occupies the old Hanna Chevrolet space.

Pictured:
Postcard of Hanna Chevrolet when located at US 40 and Vestal Road
Advertisement from the Plainfield Messenger newspaper (November 1954)
Aerial picture of North Mill Street showing the dealership when located there

09/10/2026

Throwback Thursday: Public Service Company of Indiana

This September 1954 aerial photograph of the Public Service Company of Indiana (aka PSI, PSI Energy, Cinergy, Duke Energy) shows the early days of the company in Plainfield, Indiana.

One of the coolest things to do with this picture is to zoom in and see all the little details of early days along US 40. The beginnings of Simmons St. and Kentucky St. and the homes being constructed. The new East Hill Shopping Center under construction (which today is home to Petals Florist, Hoosier Home Furnishings, Kinnamon Financial, and Fabric Care dry cleaners).

Plus, the Carr Road water tower isn't white, it's silver. Just north of the water tower is the railroad track (now part of the Plainfield trail system). And there is no Carr Road Post Office yet!

09/03/2026

Throwback Thursday: Galyan’s Trading Post

Do you remember Galyan’s Grocery Store? And Galyan's Trading Post?

Local Plainfield residents Albert and Naomi Galyan opened their grocery store at 2382 East Main Street, Plainfield, Indiana, in 1946.

In 1960, Albert built a log cabin next to the grocery and the Galyan’s Trading Post opened, housing outdoor and sports equipment. Galyan's was eventually bought out by Dick's Sporting Goods, and in 2012 the structures were razed to make way for the Aldi Grocery Superstore.

1. Original Galyan's grocery store, 1963.
2. The Galyan’s complex showing the Trading Post, circa 1960s.
3. Campers and canoes in the parking lot of the Trading Post, no date.
4. In this November 18, 1965 Plainfield Messenger photo, Albert Galyan and Lester Woodley prepare for one of the popular annual barbecues hosted by the store.
5. Over the years the complex came to include the C&E Rexall Drug Store and Galyan’s Hardware, as seen in this photo circa 1975.

08/27/2026

Throwback Thursday: Judge Horace and Hortense Hanna House

You’ve probably driven by this this stunning blue Italianate home at 430 South Center Street in Plainfield, Indiana many times. With four-inch-thick brick walls and a veranda spanning the facade, it reposes like a queen among its more workaday neighbors.

Built around 1876, the house once belonged to notable Plainfield resident Judge Horace Hanna and his wife Hortense. Married in 1909, they bought the home in 1911 from farmer Pleasant Almond and it remained in the Hanna family until 1973, when Mrs. Hanna passed away.

Judge Hanna was an attorney with an office in the Knights of Pythias building at 117/119 Main Street (now home to Roots Market) and in November 1936, he was elected Circuit Judge in Hendricks County, twice reelected. He also served as a State Representative and a State Senator.

The Hannas were socially active in Plainfield, belonging to several civic organizations including the Plainfield Friday Club, Guilford Township Historical Society, Masons, Elks, and Knights of Pythias. They were also members of the Plainfield United Methodist Church.

More information on the home at 430 South Center Street is available in the book "50 Historic Buildings of Plainfield, Indiana", which is available to check out in the Indiana Room.

1) 430 South Center Street, December 2019
2) Horace Hanna (right) and friend Charles Vestal, ca. 1907
3) Horace Hanna in 1943.
4) This 1948 photo shows the brick home in a snowy setting.
5) The home in 1983
6) The cover of "50 Historic Buildings of Plainfield, Indiana", by Sarah Wright of the Indiana Room.

08/20/2026

Throwback Thursday: Virginia Schooler Morrison

Have you noticed the banners in downtown Plainfield, Indiana, honoring Virginia Schooler Morrison? Want to know more about her? Today’s TBT is here to clue you in!

Born in 1917 in Hamilton County, Indiana, Virginia Wheeler grew up in Indianapolis and married Harold Schooler in 1941. In 1950 they purchased the Plainfield Flower Shop at 119 South Vine Street from Emma May Hadley and moved to Plainfield. The Schoolers were well known for their award-winning flower arrangements, winning ribbons at flower shows, and the Indiana State Fair. After Harold died in 1975, Virginia continued running the shop on her own. She was active in Tri Kappa and the Plainfield Woman’s Club, and was a member of the Plainfield United Methodist Church.

Virginia retired in 1982, the same year she married Adrian Morrison, who preceded her in death. When she died in 2001, the Harold Schooler & Virginia Schooler Morrison Memorial Fund was established. It is run by the Hendricks County Community Foundation and supports beautification projects in Plainfield.

In 2025, Discover Downtown Plainfield began working with the HCCF and the Memorial Fund, as well as Plainfield’s Department of Public Works, to put in place and maintain the floral baskets and banners now lining Main Street in Plainfield. (See their post here: https://www.facebook.com/profile/100082065186658/search/?q=virginia%20schooler)

Thanks to the hard work of these organizations and the passion of Virginia, Plainfield is a bit more colorful.

1. Virginia Schooler Morrison banner, 2026.
2. Virginia Schooler adjusts floral arrangements in the Plainfield Flower Shop, 1979.
3. Three children with a larger-than-life sized Easter Bunny at the Schooler’s Plainfield Flower Shop, 119 South Vine Street, 1962.

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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