Several images from a recent addition to the genealogy collection at the Indiana State Library have been digitized. The Starnes and Myers collection G-141 is named for Carl Starnes and Kathryn Myers who were from Wallace, located in Fountain County. Both of their families had originally come to Fountain County from North Carolina in the 1820s and 1830s. Both were born in Fountain County and attended their local school. They later were married on Aug. 7, 1939.
Several of the images digitized are class photographs from Wallace High School. The building photographed was built between 1910 and 1911 after the previous frame school building built in 1895 was condemned.
The digitized photographs range from the 1910s to the 1930s, but the collection contains some photographs that date to 1946. Both Carl and Kathryn feature heavily in the photographs but there is also one from 1914 that contains Kathryn’s father Leslie and Carl’s mother Susan Sanders.
Besides the class photographs there are also photos of the 1931-1932 and 1932-1933 boys basketball teams. Carl Starnes was a member of both teams.
There are also other Wallace School related materials in Kathryn’s scrapbooks including ribbons, programs, basketball schedules with handwritten scores and other items.
Like many rural and small schools, the Wallace high school closed in 1964 and was later demolished.
The Wallace School isn’t the only school in the collection. There are a few photographs of various township school buildings that were digitized, including the Rush, Sulphur Springs and one unnamed Jackson Township School. These photographs date from the 1890s to the early 1900s.
There are also a small number of photos from around Wallace including Phanuel Lutheran Church and the Wallace garage. Phanuel Lutheran church was at one time one of the oldest Lutheran churches in Indiana, having started holding services in 1832.
You can find more digitized photographs from the Starnes and Myers collection in the Indiana State Library’s digital collections.
These photographs are just a small part of the Starnes and Myers collection which contain several scrapbooks and photo albums, report cards along with many more photographs grouped by families.
Blog written by Sarah Pfundstein, genealogy librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3689 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”