January 2000
Volume 5 No.1
Clarksville 'Val'
~Iemorial
Exciting plans for Clarksville~s
historic riverfront
taking shape
The Clarksville \Var Memorial is moving from the
plmmingto the fund raising stage 111e committee, chaired
by DonMcDonough, presented the artist's rendering of
theMemorial to the Town Council on Tuesday, January
25. The d,,'si ",tHvi11 be: disp' laved at the F ebman'J meeting:
ofthe Society.
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Dale Moss interviewed McDonough and Bob
Metzger, and did a very nice story in the Courier-Journal.
Several donations have already been received.
February meeting
the 9th
,i
4:00 p.m.
Municipal C4Znterr ind floor
'I
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f
I"A
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I.
James Grayson
speaking about
Boy's Life at Dead Man's
in the 1930 5
1
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HOllOW!'
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The Falls of the Ohio State Park hosted a
program on local plans for the Lewis and Clark
Bi-Centennial celebration on Jannary 26. Rep­
resentatives of the Indiana Division of Tourism,
John Goss and .Marianna \Veinzapfel came
down from Indianapolis and spent the afternoon
and evening hearing about the history of the
Clarksville riverfront and the need for support
:foTthe actixiti~s which '"Y.e expect to take place
from 2003-2006. Mr. Goss and Ms. Weinzaptel
expressed considerable interest and offered their
support for local efforts. They toured the
Clarksville riverfront and learned about historic
sites, such as the Clark Cabin site, the original
town site, the buffalo trace, Camp Joe Holt, the
old mills in the Ashland Park area, and the Falls.
Jim Keith oftlle Southenlilldiana Tourism
Bureau conducted the evening meeting in the
auditorium of the Interpretative Center.
Stephen Knmdes, property manager of
the Falls State Park, spoke at the evening meet­
ing and explained the many reasons why there
needs to be a cabin at the homesite.
Town Council President, John Minta spoke
of the original town site and indicated that the
town will work toward turning what is now an
unsightly area into a restored version of the
original site. Three former Council presidents
were also in attendance
(eOi II. on TWX'! page)
Dani Cummins of the Riverfront Founda­
tion told of the efforts of the local Lewis and
Clark Bi-Centennial Commission's plans for
activities during the 2002-2003 timeframe. The
Trail Heritage Foundation, which is the national
group dedicated to the Expedition, will meet in,
Louisville in 2002, so ,ve hope to have much of
our preparations completed by that time.
Member Elmer Hoehn spoke ofthe signifi­
cance of both the Expedition and General Clark
to the history of the United States, as well as to
its present boundaries, and rnade an excellent
case for state and loca1 support to efforts to give
both William and George Clark appropriate
honor in their hometown and regionally.
Bill Smith spoke of the contribution ofthe
Floyd family and of his work in re-tracing the
Expedition's journey and of commenorating it
for the Bi-Centennial.
Rick Dickman toid of his long association
,,,ith :Mr. Goss and explained how his support
could be instrumental in gaining state support for
emphasizing the area's importance to state and
national history.
Several people in the audience offered
suggestions for Bi-Centennial activities: Bob
Popp suggested a Lewis & Clark postage stamp;
AnnJe,yelloftheBelleofLouisvilleorganization
suggested cruises on the Belle or the Spirit of
Jefferson that would include the Clarksville
historic riverfront.
The mission of the Clarksville 11 istori
Societv js to fo:~ter
a sense of communitv spiriL
.
to enCOUf(uze citizen involvement and orIck
in the
.
town's heritage, and to cooperate with appropri­
ate individuals.. organiz.ations, and institutions on
the local, state, or national levels in projects
activities that '.yili promote and sustain a
interest in histOl)".
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\Ve believe that fulfillment of that misslOn
has taken a giant leap forward \vith the events of
the last few weeks. E
by Don McDonough
An important and dynamic woman in
Clarksville history ,vas Margaret "?\laggie"
Graninger. She was a storekeeper, vel}' active
in local politics, and her store became a political
'center in the town. She helped make Clarksville
. ',vhat it is today and this took place in the Howard
Park area.
Maggie was born to Joseph and Theresa
(Gepner) Graninger in 1895 in Clarksville. She
had two brothers, Joseph and John David, and
an older sister, Catherine (Katie). John David
died in the flu epidemic of 1918. The family lived
in a large two-story house on the comer of Clark
Blvd. and Stansifer Avenue.
The store she and her sister, Katie, ran was
passed down to them by their father and mother.
Their parents had started the grocery in 1882,
just off Clark Boulevard, at 340 \Vest Stansifer
Avenue. It really was a general store and was
stocked with meat; poultry; rabbits (freshly
killed and hanging outside); thread and yard
goods; pickles ill a large barrel, and many other
items. Bread was also sold - it wasn't wrapped
in those days. Delivery w'as made to homes by
horse and wagon.
At that time there was such a rivalry
between the children in ClarksviUe's Howard
Park area and the Colgate section of the tOWIl.
They would play baseball at the field near
ColQ.ate and sometimes the games would have to
be stopped because of the fights.
The kids from Howard Park had to walk
dcrwn the railroad
(now Clark Boulevard)
to get to the school 'which \\'as then across lJ.-om
the prison. l\laggic's lrlther always wanted t()
build a school ill their o"",,n neighborhood be-·
cause he didn't think it was safe fOf the kids to
go down there So her father was on the school
board ,""hen the building, then knmvn as Hovvard
Park School. started conslnlction in 1899. The
school opened ill early J 900 and .\laggie entered
the first grade there that fall, right across
street from their grocery.
"-hen \'laggie was a yOlmg girl she and her
younger nephew, J01m JOSeI'll GraJ11nger (he
and his wife would later nm Vada's Restaurant on Stansi fer Ave.) slipped off one day and hid in a
bam down Harrison Avenue. l11ere they watched a Ku Kiu Klan (KKK) meeting. When the family
" found out about it they were punished. They also saw a cross being burned in front of their house
Jecause they were of the Catholic faith.
"Vllen the "horse and buggy" days were over the family drove a rather large Pierce-Arrow car.
A great niece remembers the car appeared to be larger than the garage.
Maggie and Katie also operated a small post office in the store before the Postal Service opened
the branch on Randolph Avenue. The grocery became a linen store and gift shop when it was passed
on to TVfaggie and Katie, as they couldn't handle all of its fonner activities. It also became a political
center with Maggie becoming very active in local politics.
Maggie assumed the duties of her brother, Joseph (Joe), when he became ill. He ,vas the
Democratic precinct committeeman and she eventually had a lot of influence on a segment of the
population in "old Clarksville". Joe was also one of the town's ·fIrst street commissioners.
Eventually Maggie became so powerful you had to go see her and get her OK if you wanted to
run on the Democratic ticket in Clark County. Charles "Junie" Bowen became 'Maggie's right hand
man in Clarksville politics in her later years. He ran errands for her, baek and forth to the count~Y' court
house, and later became the precinct committeeman.
Sometimes :\'[aggie's obsession with Democratic politics went to the extreme. A relative of
J\1aggie's confided to her that he had voted for Dwight Eisenhower in the presidential race because
he felt "Ike" was the better man. J\;laggie immediately became infuriated and told him to "get out of
my store!"
.\Iost oftlle people and neighbors who knew Maggie and Katie considered them very nice ladies
and good to eye~·one. TIley were expecially nice to the school children who came into their store
to buy penny candy -a fond memory of many in Clarksville today.
Katie died before :Maggie in 1960 and :Maggie passed away in 1981. TIle sisters were always
together as both never married. Katie, the "quiet one" was always dusting in the store and Maggie
,\,as the ,"ocal one. Both left a good mem01Y to all who knew them.
r
r
Ed o "J3rien with
Graninger~v
Deliverv WaKon
John
GmlliJ!Ket~
Sr., John, Jr., Julia OBrien, & Joe Gmninger
Lewis and Clark
Suggestions for Bi-Centennial
Observance Activities
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Lewis and Clark Day(s) at Clark Homesite
Re-enactor encampment
19th century craft demonstrations
Period weapon demonstrations
Children's games & activities
Reconstruction of the Clark Cabin
Membership payments are due. The cost remains at $10.00 per person for the year. Dues can be mailed to: Clarksville Historical Society 2000 Broadway Clarksville, IN 47129 Oriuinal
Town site restoration with infor
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mationa! signs describing the departure &
return to Clarksville
Local School activities such as research
projects, art and essay competitions
Boy & Girl Scout activities relating to
life of the time in Clarksville
A play to be written about Clarksville's
part in the expedition and performed at
Clarksville Little Theater, Derby Dinner
Theater, or a new riverside amphitheater
The Floyd County Youth Orchestra or
IUS orchestra performing music of the
period
Local restaurants serving food of the time
A pennanent, tangible commemoration
of the expedition's departure, such as a
painting or a sculpture
A conmlemorative postage stamp
The Historic Clarksville map is still under
construction. It is in the fmal stages. A reduced
version will be on the new brochure.
Norma lvIcNutt, .Mary Virginia lvlcBride, and
Bill Stodghill are on the brochure committee and
have the ne",' new one almost ready for the
graphic designer. \Ve are looking for a donor
who will undenvrite the cost, expected to be
aboutS500. Suggestions are welcome. \Vehave
very few of the old brochures left.
\Ve thought we had the entire original minute
book of the Clarksville Town Council.. Only
recently did \ve fmd that there are about 70 years
worth of minutes that were not included on our
copy. \Ve are working with the Indiana State
Archives to try to get a complete copy.
Vle still need volunteers if we are to keep the
museum open one day a week. It isn't a hard job,
and you are only called upon to spend three
hours a week, once every two months.
A postal station at the :Nfill Creek site
offering local cancellation
Theme cruises on the Spirit of Jefferson
highlighting the Historic Riverfront area,
with narration of points of interest
Editor Tom Lindley did an excellent job of
covering the important meeting with the State
Tourism personnel. He also wrote a very
supportive editorial for the Lewis and Clark
effort. \Ve should like to give him a big
THANKS!E