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Brown County Court House
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Libraries
The Brown County Public Library
Brown County Public Library
Photo by Bob Oliger
The new Library was opened on 2 January 2001. It is a delightful airy
building.
The panels on the south side of the building honor the Hoosiers authors:
Ernie Pyle,
the World War II War Correspondent,
Kin Hubbard, an
Indianapolis journalist who wrote about the fictitious character,
Abe Martin
of Brown County, and
James Whitcomb
Riley, the famous poet who wrote his poems in the Hoosier dialect.
The Brown County Public Library, established in 1919 with support from local
artists and members of the community, was one of the first county-wide
libraries in the state.The library's primary source materials on the people,
art, and history of Brown County are used extensively by community residents
and visitors.
The genealogical collection contains significant material concerning Brown
County and its neighboring counties. Many in-depth studies of Brown County
families as well as copies of the voluminous correspondence of genealogist
Helen Reeve are available on open shelving.
Newspaper
The Brown County Democrat is the weekly paper of the country. The library has
microfilm copies of issues dating from 1918 to the present. .
Vital Records
The Library has published two books:
Vital Records of Brown County, Indiana 1882 - 2000
Volume 1: Births
Compiled by Sarah Clevenger, Pauline Hoover and Evelyn Gladding
2006
This book contains over ten thousand birth records not only from the
Brown County Health Department, but also records from Dr. Ralphy's day book
and some delayed birth records from the Brown Circuit Court. It is fully
indexed.
Vital Records of Brown County, Indiana 1882 - 2000
Volume 2: Deaths
Compiled by Sarah Clevenger and Pauline Hoover
2006
This book contains over six thousand death records from the Brown County
Health Department. A typical record contains the birth and death dates as well
as the names of the parents and spouse along with the name of the cemetery and
its address. It is fully indexed.
To order copies:
Other Libraries
The Monroe County Public Library
The Monroe County Public Library located in down town Bloomington has an
outstanding genealogical collection. It is probably one of the best in the
state for a library of its size. The collection emphasizes the
surrounding counties and the states to the east and south from which many of the
early settlers came.
The Indiana State Library
The Indiana State Library is located at 140 N. Senate Avenue in Indianapolis
with an entrance on Ohio Street. It has an outstanding collection of Indiana
genealogy which is on open shelving and is very easy to use. Across the
street is a parking garage which usually has empty spaces if the legislature is
not in session.
Check the hours that the library is open. At present the library is open
Thursday evening and on Saturday, but this could change.
The Allen County Library
The Allen County Library located in Fort Wayne, Indiana has the second
largest collection of genealogical
material in the United States. The collection is extremely diverse and is now
on open shelving.. However, some genealogists researching mainly Indiana
genealogy prefer to work in the Indiana State Library
© 2008 by Sarah Clevenger