By: Abbie Reeves

My name is Abbie, and I am a senior at Ball State University studying Public History. I am currently interning at the Hamilton East Public Library in Noblesville, Indiana where I work in their genealogy and local history department. For my main project, I had the opportunity to curate an entire exhibit around anniversaries in Hamilton County, and I am excited to write about the historic research I conducted in the process.

The United States 250th anniversary is coming up this July 4th! It brings with it a slew of events, programs, and historic conversations. But why is it important to celebrate? Is it even important? Birthdays can be used to educate the public on the history of their country, presenting an opportunity to discuss all lenses of history.

The United States is not the only one to throw itself a birthday bash. I was curious about how local milestones have been honored in my community. Come to find out, Hamilton County, Indiana has been known to host grand anniversary celebrations that reflect its founding. What began as parades and contests meant primarily for entertainment, has in recent years turned into celebrations of history, culture, and the many stories of all those who lived here before.

Hamilton County was formed in 1823, popularly founded by William Conner. One hundred years later, it celebrated its birthday in the streets of downtown Noblesville and beyond. Its centennial in 1923 brought to life parade floats, a pageant of the history of the county, and a flamboyant birthday cake featuring 100 pink candles. The cake was eaten at the pitch-in dinner, and the county used it as a way of highlighting its oldest members. The oldest woman in the county at the time had the honor of cutting the first slice, and the oldest man in the county served the first slice. Each township also got to send ten of their oldest community members to the pitch-in to sit in special seating around the cake.

Black and white photo of an ornate extravagant birthday cake


1923 Hamilton County Centennial Celebration Collection, Hamilton East Public Library. Photo taken by Dr. Earl Brooks, 1923.

To see more photos of the Hamilton County Centennial, visit the Hamilton East Public Library’s collection on Indiana Memory, here. https://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16066coll34/id/4509/rec/1

The Hamilton County centennial, a two-day celebration, had many events and sights that made it feel like a grand party. Beyond this, there was also an effort made to incorporate history education, through some storytelling about pioneers and a pageant. The pageant drew in enough people to fill 5,000 seats with hundreds standing on the outskirts. In theory, it was a great way to get the public interested in the heritage of the county. However, the mark was missed on quite a few historic details, and there were certainly more accurate attempts in the years to come.

The sesquicentennial in 1973 was another major event. Folks lined the streets in period clothing, men grew facial hair in hopes of winning the beard contest, and many attended the ice cream social to close out the celebrations. This was a week-long event honoring 150 years of Hamilton County. There was yet another historic pageant at this birthday party, this one better than the last. There were more performances, making it accessible to more of the public, and there was more of an attempt to make it history-centered. It was, however, still far from historically accurate.

This celebration certainly felt like a county-wide affair. An interesting part of the festivities was the involvement of local shops, businesses, and restaurants. It is interesting how many advertisements and promotions I found of local businesses wishing the county a happy 150th anniversary. With the birthday wishes, of course, there tended to be unique merchandise or sales associated with the company.

A vintage four-photo collage showing scenes from a colorful parade, including costumed performers, a decorated float, a young child in a dress, and a marching band playing brass and accordion instruments.


1973, Hamilton County Sesquicentennial Collection, Hamilton East Public Library. Donated by Sherry Faust.

The most recent milestone, 200 years old in 2023, was huge. This bicentennial had goals beyond birthday cakes and parades and chose to highlight all eras of history as accurately as possible. Programs fit into one of five categories; art, education, historic preservation, diversity and inclusion, and parks and environment. These categories were able to cover much of what makes up the County. All of Hamilton County’s nine townships were included in programming so that no community was overlooked, and more residents were included in the celebrations.

To read more about what was done for the Hamilton County Bicentennial, see here. https://hamiltoneastpl.org/the-hamilton-county-bicentennial-year-comes-to-a-close/

A community gathering in a small chapel, with an audience seated in wooden pews while several people participate in a panel discussion at the front of the room.

Hamilton County Bicentennial Collection, Hamilton County Historical Society. Photo taken by Daniel Grose, 2023.

A good birthday party does not only celebrate heritage and engage the community, but also accurately depicts the history our county is built on. For a county with such a rich history, I am glad to live in a place that promotes it to the community. Being able to highlight these stories should be a great joy of the county, such as it was at our bicentennial.

Looking to see how you can celebrate 250 years of America in Hamilton County? Visit here, https://www.visithamiltoncounty.com/250/, for more information on historic sites to visit and events to attend. If you are interested in how Hamilton County and the state of Indiana have honored their past anniversaries, we have an exhibit on display here at the Hamilton East Public Library. Visit the Crossroads Discovery Center on the second floor to learn more about these events and their connection to local history.