Courthouse squares
Indiana's 92 counties each have a county seat, and many of them were built around a courthouse square, often with an elaborate nineteenth-century courthouse in the middle. Postcards of courthouse squares, with stores and wagons or early cars around them, are among the most popular Indiana town views. Real photos of squares on busy days, parades and events are the most wanted.
Interurbans
Indiana had one of the most extensive electric interurban networks in the country, with lines radiating from the Indianapolis traction terminal to towns throughout the state. Postcards of interurban cars, stations, bridges and wrecks are collected by transportation enthusiasts, and real photos of small-town stations are scarce.
The Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911. Early postcards of the track, cars, drivers and crowds are popular with auto racing collectors, and early real photos of race cars and drivers are especially sought after.
Industry
Gary was founded by U.S. Steel in 1906 as a planned steel city, and postcards show its mills and new streets. Indiana also had automobile manufacturers, glass factories in the gas boom towns of east central Indiana, limestone quarries around Bedford, and many other industries. Real photo cards of factories, quarries and workers are collected.
River towns
The Ohio River towns of southern Indiana, including Madison, New Albany, Evansville and others, appear on cards with steamboats, levees, bridges and floods. The great Ohio River flood of 1937 was widely photographed.
Resorts
The French Lick Springs Hotel and the West Baden Springs Hotel, with its huge domed atrium, were famous mineral-water resorts. Indiana's northern lakes had summer cottages and resorts, and Lake Michigan's dunes drew visitors as well. Resort real photos and early views are collected.
Places and subjects to look for
- County seats: courthouse squares and main streets in all 92 counties.
- Indianapolis: the Speedway, Monument Circle and the traction terminal.
- The Calumet region: Gary's steel mills and Hammond's industry.
- The gas boom towns: Muncie, Anderson, Marion and their glass factories.
- Southern Indiana: limestone quarries, river towns and French Lick.
- The lakes: Lake Wawasee, Lake Maxinkuckee and their cottages and hotels.
Colleges and basketball
Indiana's colleges and universities and its high school gymnasiums, which became famous during the state's basketball craze, appear on cards. Real photos of early high school teams and gymnasiums interest sports and local collectors.
Real photos versus printed views
Indianapolis landmarks, Monument Circle and later chrome cards were printed in quantity. Real photos of small towns, interurbans, factories and racing carry most of the value in an Indiana collection.
What is common
Printed views of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the capitol and later chrome highway cards are plentiful.
Why Indiana town cards are so sought after
Indiana has an unusually strong local-history culture, with active county historical societies, collectors who focus on a single town and families who have lived in the same county for generations. Real photo postcards of small Indiana towns, schools, churches and businesses are often the only early images that survive, and they are in steady demand from people who want to see where their families lived and worked. That demand is what makes even a modest-looking Indiana real photo worth a careful look.
Disasters and events
Indiana real photographers recorded the great flood of 1913, which hit many towns across the state, along with tornadoes, interurban and train wrecks, fires, parades and county fairs. Event real photos from identified Indiana towns are prized, because each one shows a specific moment in a specific place that was rarely photographed any other way.
Questions about Indiana postcards
Are early Indianapolis 500 postcards valuable? Early real photos of cars, drivers and races are collected by racing enthusiasts.
Are Indiana interurban postcards collectible? Yes, especially real photos of cars and small-town stations.
Are West Baden and French Lick postcards worth anything? Early views and real photos of the resorts are collected.
Do you buy Indiana collections? Yes, complete collections from anywhere in the state, by mail.