Monday, October 6, 2025
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FRAMING THE FUTURE
Construction is progressing at the site of the new multibuilding apartment complex on Webster Avenue in Shelbyville. The development will feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
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Progress continues on two incoming roundabouts, (above) one at the Isabelle Farms neighborhood and (below) the other near the Knauf entrance on N. Riley Highway. | photos by JOHN WALKER
Shelby County History: Riot at the Fairgrounds
from the archives of the late David Craig, Shelby County historian
The old Shelby County Fairgrounds has seen countless events over the years, but perhaps one of the rowdiest occurred in June 1898.
The fairgrounds were rented by an Indianapolis group, the Young Men’s Guide Club, for a picnic on June 16, 1898. According to the Shelby Republican, such outings at the fairgrounds were common.
The club members and their companions arrived in Shelbyville by train, accompanied by a brass band. Once they disembarked, they formed behind the musicians for a parade to the fairgrounds. The Republican reported that the band “played several songs at the same time, or so it sounded.” The fun-loving crowd didn’t seem to care, marching noisily and cheerfully through Shelbyville’s streets to Walkerville and the fairgrounds.
In 1898, the sale of alcoholic beverages on the fairgrounds was prohibited. As the parade entered the gates, however, a sign advertising beer or “hop ale” could be seen beneath the grandstand. Having worked up a thirst on the walk from the depot, the crowd partook generously in the “hop ale,” which added to the already festive atmosphere.
The old game of “bones,” a form of gambling, soon became a popular pastime, though it was illegal on the fairgrounds. It quickly became clear that the picnic was getting out of hand.
At this point, someone sent for Sheriff Valentine Schoelch, who dispatched Deputy William McDougal to investigate reports of illegal activity. McDougal was accompanied by three other men, a decision that would soon prove wise.
When local law enforcement arrived, the gambling had ceased, but the beverage stand was doing brisk business. McDougal saw no need to intervene and returned to the jail. Later that afternoon, however, a group of “sightseers” who had just returned from the picnic informed him that trouble was brewing.
McDougal and another officer returned to the fairgrounds, shut down the bar, and placed the two proprietors under arrest. As the men were being escorted out, a gun was tossed to one of the prisoners. The officer stepped aside, only to find himself surrounded by angry men armed with revolvers. A short gun battle followed until the weapons were emptied.
The lawmen decided to make a run for the gate. The prisoners were loaded into a buggy and driven away, but local man Jerry Woodruff, who had assisted the officers, became the mob’s next target.
As the buggy pulled away, the crowd turned on Woodruff. He fled toward the gate, but a beer bottle struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious. Several men kicked and beat him before one stabbed him in the left lung.
The brutal attack ended when Ed Dismore fired several shots into the crowd, dispersing the mob. He then took Woodruff to Dr. Samuel Kennedy’s office. Remarkably, Woodruff’s injuries were not life-threatening.
The man who stabbed Woodruff attempted to flee by buggy, but nearly 100 angry citizens pursued him. The chase ended at the intersection of Mechanic and Harrison streets, where the assailant, identified as James Jameson of Indianapolis, was captured and taken to the Shelby County Jail.
Woodruff later recovered from his injuries, bringing a violent end to one of the wildest days the old fairgrounds had ever seen.
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NOTEBOOK:
HOOSIER NEWS: The Concerned Citizens of Alexandria say that this week they’ve filed more than 150 tort claims against Madison County and two cities over poor water quality. Those documents are the first official step in suing the cities and county. Individuals filing the claims say water being provided to citizens throughout the county is not healthy and has contributed to growing health complications like kidney impairment and neurological issues. James Peters runs the Concerned Citizens of Alexandria group. He believes the source of the contamination is the county’s aging water infrastructure. He says current tort claims are just the beginning, and anticipates the number could go as high as 500. The group said multiple Madison County residents sent water samples to the Hoosier Microbiological Laboratory for testing. Most of the test results provided to IPR shows the water samples sent in were “bacteriologically unsafe.” (Indiana Public Radio)
NATIONAL NEWS: Even with a $350 million payroll, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen has been a disaster this season. So in the playoffs, as they attempt to become the first baseball team to successfully defend a championship in a quarter-century, they have found a creative solution to address their most glaring weakness. They’re having their starters do all the work. The Dodgers showed off their new strategy against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night. Shohei Ohtani, in his long-awaited postseason debut on the mound, threw six full innings for only the second time since returning from elbow surgery in June. Tyler Glasnow, their scheduled Game 4 starter who last pitched out of the bullpen seven years ago, recorded the next five outs. For a closer, they turned to Roki Sasaki, the Japanese rookie flamethrower who has been a reliever for all of 10 days. The formula worked to perfection. The Dodgers came away with a 5-3 win, jumping out to an early lead in their best-of-five set. (Wall Street Journal)
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YELLOW PAGE LOOK-BACK
February 1971
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This Day in Shelby County History
Local headlines reported on or around this date in Shelby County history. Selections are curated by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: Workers moved a 26-ton house from 150 W. Boggstown Road to 1132 N. Michigan Road, allowing room for a parking lot for O’Neal Steel. Officials with O’Neal said they did not want to demolish the house, so they made a deal with Dick Kitchen to move the house to a new location. The house, which had a basement, was moved off its foundation and hauled through O’Neal’s parking lot, over a hill, past the railroad tracks on the old County Road 421 road bed and up another hill. In the 1950s, there had been a drive-in restaurant at 1132 N. Michigan Road, but the lot had been vacant for some time.
1995: Girls Inc. Executive Director Barbara Anderson reported the club had 500 members ages 6 to 18. Anderson had connected the club to Gov. Bayh’s Partners in Learning program to provide local girls with math and reading tutoring.
1985: Kelly Zinman was named homecoming queen at the Shelbyville High School football game. She was escorted by Jay Cherry and presented a bouquet of roses by Mimi Rubush, student council secretary.
1975:
1965: There were 8,189 students attending schoools in Shelby County, a new record. Northwestern District had reported the large increase.
1955: Congressman Ralph Harvey, accompanied by County Republican Chairman William Carithers and Vice-Chair Martha Whitehead, set up quarters in the commissioners room at the courthouse to hear questions from local constituents.
1945: Street Commissioner Delbert Kendall asked local residents to stop placing broken glass in garbage cans. “The commissioner stated that garbage collected by the city is now being sold as feed and that such objects as broken glass make it unfit for this purpose.”
A program was held at the junior high to promote a Victory Bond and Stamp campaign. A playlet was put on by Margaret Roth, William Deupress, Betty Cole, Billy Gross, Margaret Parsley, Miss Mabel Quigg and Mrs. Merle Gross. W.J. Day gave an explanation of the sale.
1935: Three Shelbyville graduates, Edward Werner, Harold McCabe and Frank Bass, were participating in Indiana University’s “Famous Marching Hundred” band.
“Players on the Addison Township softball team credit their first defeat in two years of play to Shelby Township to smallpox vaccinations,” The Republican said. “The Addison players report that they were defeated because of the superior fielding of the Shelby players. The vaccinations left the losers a little too stiff for catching the batted ball of the winners.”
1925: Workers took automobiles down the James Whitcomb Riley Memorial highway to place markers at road intersections and signs at points of danger. The road, designed to run from Michigan to Miami, Florida, lead from Greenfield, the boyhood home of Riley, through Shelby County. Local officials had allocated $2,500 to mark the road. It was presumed that the state would take ownership within three years.
1915: The Forest Hill Cemetery Association opened a pit of gravel on their land. “By opening this pit, the association will make a saving of not less than 25 cents on every load of gravel they use,” The Republican said.
C.W. Culbertson, who worked locally for First National Bank, had attended a Rev. Billy Sunday meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. He wrote his friends here that the meeting had been attended by 10,000 people.
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OBITUARIES
None today.
Great to see David Craig’s stories, keep em coming
My great-uncle, Sam “BigSam” Thompson played with Billy Sunday on the Philadelphia Phillies and participated in Sunday’s revivals in Michigan.