History Collection

History Collection

Learn about Indiana's past in these films featuring historic figures and places. This featured collection has been graciously presented by Conner Prairie.

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History Collection
  • Vital Passage: A Holocaust Rescue Story

    ‘Vital Passage’ chronicles a pair of midwestern Jewish merchants’ amazing story as they risked their business and livelihood to provide a vital passage for German Jews to escape the Holocaust and come to America.

    For 85 years (1906 through 1991) Plaut’s Dry Goods store was a fixture on Goshen’s ...

  • From Sundown to Sunrise

    Trace one man’s journey from sundown to sunrise as he and his family integrate an all-white Indiana town in 1968. By breaking the color barrier, they also helped transform the town and place it on a trajectory of inclusion.

    In this film, you’ll hear the use of racial epithets as people recall in...

  • Raised In Contrast

    A look at the experiences of mixed-race and non-white Hoosiers who live in rural and suburban communities. 

  • Our Story: Once The Doors Opened

  • When We Were Syrian: Early Lebanese in Indianapolis

    In a self-narrative search, filmmaker Josh Chitwood pieces together his fragmented Syrian-Lebanese heritage in Indianapolis. In his findings, he explores the ingredients of his own family’s identity and discovers the assimilating tale of early Arabs in America.

    Written and directed by Josh Chitw...

  • White River Lenape

    The White River Lenape tells about the Delaware (or Lenape) Native Americans during their time in East Central Indiana from the 1790s through 1821. In partnership with the Delaware Tribe of Indians and Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, the documentary provides a rich and detailed look at ...

  • Saboteur

    Saboteur explores the early life of Gabriel DeLobbe, a current Fort Wayne resident who was a Belgian resistance fighter during the Second World War. DeLobbe was only 14 years old in 1940 when the Nazis invaded his hometown of Charleroi. By the time he was 18, DeLobbe was sabotaging German supply ...

  • A Legacy Etched in Glass: The Ball Brothers in Muncie

    This film examines the lives of the five brothers, the family legacy in Muncie and the core values that propelled them to success: hard work, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and beneficence.

  • Stories and Legends: Historic Preservation in Muncie, Indiana

    "Stories and Legends," which won an Aurora Award for Platinum Best of Show, explores historic preservation while tracing the efforts to restore structures in several of Muncie's nationally recognized historic districts, including the hospital where bank robber John Dillinger stayed (Whitney Hospi...

  • Indiana Crossrails: A Transit Choice

    Indiana Crossrails: A Transit Choice is a documentary that explores and advocates for the growth and development of mass rail transit in the state of Indiana. The documentary seeks to raise awareness in about rail transit options, including: rapid transit in dense urban areas, commuter/light rail...

  • Everlasting Light: The Story of Indiana’s Bicentennial Torch Relay

    Working in partnership with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and guided by TCOM lecturer Chris Flook, two teams of students traveled through 260 cities and all 92 Indiana counties documenting the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay.

  • In Closing

    American film director Ira Mallory explores the closing of Broad Ripple High School and its legacy in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2018, the announcement that four potential public high schools in Indianapolis may close sparks widespread outcry. Among the schools slated for closing is Broad Ripple H...

  • A Stone's Pace

    Indiana Limestone can be found all over the country. It is known for its uniqueness and beauty and has been turned into some of the most stunning works of architectural mastery. But, many people really know what goes on in those big mills found in the Stone Belt.

    A Stone's Pace takes a look bey...

  • Not Pictured

    From the Quarry, to the Fieldhouse, to the battlefield: a lost Hoosier name comes home to Assembly Hall.

  • Big Enough, Small Enough - South Bend in Transition

    South Bend is haunted by deep wounds in the city’s past while grappling with its fragile future. For more than 50 years after Studebaker closed it has struggled to determine its identity, but it is beginning to change rapidly. What type of place is South Bend to South Benders in 2020? Rustbelt ci...

  • Wild Winds: Spirit of the Bison

    Over 30 years ago, Dr. John Trippy, set out to achieve his life long dream of preserving North American culture through the bison. Now Wild Winds buffalo preserve is home to over 250 of these free roaming animals. In this short documentary film, the caretakers for the bison tell the stories of th...

  • The Jewel of Richmond

    Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church, an Indiana landmark celebrated for its architecture and Tiffany stained glass, was forced to close, and now the building’s future is uncertain.

  • The Legend of Stan Bowman

    Stan Bowman was raised and grew up in Little York, Indiana in the southern part of the state. In 1962 Stan Bowman was a 32 year on rookie sprint car race driver who be came an instant star.

    In 1962, he won, as a rookie in his first official USAC race, a major race at Eldora Speedway defeating s...