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Join the Carmel Clay Historical Society! Your membership helps support local history and preserve the history around us as well as the history you are making today as a resident. See Membership Page

Our new book, Greyhound Legends, is now available for online ordering! You can find it along with our other books on the link below.

Order Greyhound Legends here!

In the nineteenth century, students in the one-room schoolhouses around Carmel played a variety of sports at recess. In the 1860s and 1870s, shinny, town-ball and scrub were popular. Soccer was the game of choice in the 1880s, and a decade later, it was football. The champions of those long-forgotten games were just as proud of their victories on the schoolyard as any modern-day athlete. When the high school’s first team of record was organized in 1896, Carmel was the smallest town in the county. The basketball team played on grass courts and, later, the dirt floor of a lumberyard. In the late 1940s, Carmel had one of the best sprinters in the country but no track. A decade later, Carmel revived its football program but had to play its home games in a neighboring town because the school did not have a football field.

From these humble beginnings, Carmel developed into one of the premier athletic programs in the country. “Greyhound Legends” tells the history of the evolution of athletics in Carmel from the pioneer games played on the schoolyard to the fall season of 1981, when Carmel solidified its status as a state powerhouse. The book profiles legendary athletes, coaches and teams, including the basketball team that went to state in 1925, the story of Bill Stubbs – Carmel’s nationally recognized sprinter in the late 1940s, Dick Nyers’s transformation of the football program and his role in the founding of the Carmel Dad’s Club, and the remarkable careers of Billy and Dave Shepherd, Mark Herrmann, Eric Clark, Dick Dullaghan, Jim Belden and more.

Polar Express Evenings

November 9, 2021

On December 3 & 4, CCHS is hosting a special holiday event at the Monon Depot for children that will include readings of the Polar Express, treats and hot chocolate!

There are six sessions of this fun event, but space is limited so order your ticket soon! Tickets are $10 per child and free for adults.
The sessions are at 4:30, 6:00 and 7:30 each day.

CCHS Annual Meeting Oct 17

September 16, 2021

All are invited to attend CCHS’s Annual Meeting at noon on October 17. This year’s meeting will be held in the Wilfong Pavilion at Founders Park (11675 Hazel Dell Parkway).

At the meeting we will share an update on the new museum. Executive Director Deb Gangstad will also present our Year in Review as well as what’s in store for 2022! The meeting will conclude after a vote is taken on changes to the by-laws and for the slate of officers and board members.

Officers (1 year term)

President: Dan McFeely 

Vice President: Nick Davis  

Secretary: Christine Owens 

Treasurer: Deb Teets

Board Members (3 year term)

Meg Osborne

Julie Kingston

Lily Pai

You can review changes to the by-laws here.


Museum Update

July 13, 2021

The Carmel History Museum building design is nearly completed, and we have been told by Clay Township officials that the groundbreaking will take place in October! The City of Carmel has offered to fund an exhibit designer and fabricator. CCHS will soon begin its capital campaign for other museum needs. Many of our longtime members initiated this opportunity forty years ago by purchasing the land where the museum will stand. We are grateful for their foresight!


The Depot will close during construction due to safety issues and accessibility to the construction site, but we want to assure you that the Depot will remain! The Depot will undergo some necessary renovations during that time, and when it reopens it will showcase a new train exhibit!

This rain or shine outdoor garden tour includes four gardens around Carmel. The tour is Friday, June 11 from 5:00PM -7:30PM and on Saturday, June 12 from 11AM-4PM . In the event of a dangerous weather cancellation, the rain date is Sunday, June 13 from 11AM -4PM. The four gardens include two back-to-back neighbors at one stop and two more gardens within ten minutes of driving time. The tour can be done in any order. Tickets are available online (credit card), at the Monon Depot Museum (check, cash, or credit) or at the door (cash preferred). Tickets are nonrefundable, but transferrable. Tickets can only be used once in each garden. Please present your printed form at the first entrance to receive your actual Garden Tour ticket. Restrooms will not be available.

For more information and to order tickets, visit our eventbrite page.

When you purchase any landscape products from Musselman Landscape Solutions throughout the year, mention our organization in any way, and we will receive 10% of your sale! Orders also can be made online at MusselmanLandscape.com using the code CCHS at checkout.

Looking for a gift for the sports fan in your life?!

We have a new book about the history of baseball in Carmel. Baseball had its roots in the bat and ball games played on the schoolyards throughout Carmel in the 1850s. In the 1900s, Carmel had an unusually good baseball club for a town its size. They played in many championship games and several of the players made it to the minor leagues. This book follows the club and their star spitball pitcher, Curtis Bales, through several seasons of the dead-ball era.

If you would like a copy, stop by the Monon Depot. The books will be available December 16.

Click Here to Purchase Tickets!

Tickets are on sale now for CCHS’s largest (and this year’s ONLY) fundraiser! Starting December 10, 2020, through January 30, 2021, you can enjoy this year’s virtual tour from the comfort of your own home on your own schedule while you support the Carmel Clay Historical Society!

One of the most wonderful traditions in Carmel, Indiana, is the Carmel Clay Historical Society Holiday Home Tour. This year’s virtual tour of five beautiful homes has been professionally created by award winning video producer, Philip Paluso.

Included on this year’s tour is the location for the first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. This historic home has been extensively remodeled incorporating many of the original elements with a Mission design. It was the home of longtime CCHS members for decades.

Back by popular demand! This historic home built in the 1930’s was previously on the tour, but we included it this year because so many members asked to see it again! This home is loaded with generations of beautiful antiques and treasures handed down and collected by this family.

This year’s Mid-Century Modern home was the dream home for the current owners, but they didn’t think it would ever really be theirs. Once purchased, this home has been lovingly cared for by the owners. Some of the original Thermidor kitchen appliances are still in use, and the owners say they work better than many modern appliances! The full basement is the perfect layout for hobbies and relaxation.

On the tour is a home with holiday decorations extraordinaire! This owner chooses a different theme each year and begins decorating on November 1. This year’s theme is “CANDY!” and it is a sweet, magical treat for the eyes! Any description would not do this owner’s decorating justice. You must see to believe.

Finally, we were offered a bonus home by one of our longtime members. Their darling weekend home in Madison IN has been exquisitely and lovingly decorated. Longtime antique and doll collectors, their affection for this home is heartwarming. It was such an honor to visit. We are very grateful we could share this home due to the virtual platform. It is a perfect example of “making lemonade” from this year of many lemons.

We hope you enjoy Carmel Clay Historical Society’ s holiday gift to you!

Click Here to Purchase Tickets!

Video Extras!!

One of our hosts on the home tour has a wonderful collection of antique dolls. Lynette Gross’s collection is so interesting that we created a separate video just to showcase it! You can watch the video here! You can also learn more by visiting Lynette’s website.

Gerald Mansbach was a tank commander in the Fourth Armored Division, part of Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army. After holding off the German offensive in the Battle of the Bulge, Mansbach’s division was attacked in a German village. His story about that fateful day and the aftermath is moving and will remind you what it means to be an American. You can watch Mansbach tell his story by clicking the image above. We are grateful for his service as well as that of all our veterans.

On June 8, 1900, Frank Carey arrested a street preacher named Cyclone Johnson and brought him to trial at the livery stable on W. Main Street in Carmel. A fight broke out, and when the dust settled, both men lay dead, one on top of the other.

Johnson killed Carey, but who shot Johnson? After 120 years, we finally have the answer.

The Preacher & the Constable is available at the Monon Depot Museum. Stop by to purchase a copy or contact us at 317-846-7117 or info@carmelclayhistory.org. The price is $8 (plus $4 shipping for all purchases made online or over the phone).