Library History - Owensville Carnegie Public Library

Our history is full of the Owensville community striving to bring the love of reading to all our residents

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The Owensville REH Center is a historic gym that was attached to Owensville School. The architect was Ralph Legeman, who designed Roberts Stadium, Huntingburg Gym, Boonville Gym and the old North High School. He is also known for the Anderson Wigwam, one of the largest high school gyms in the nation. The REH Center is the first of his designs to be built in Indiana. A Legeman gym features a sunken court, where Fans walk in on street level and then down to their seats. A safety feature is that the stands are build on earth, and can’t collapse. Before Owensville consolidated with Fort Branch and Haubstadt, it was one of the two gyms at Owensville School. The original gym, known as the “old gym” was in the high school. This gym sported the first pair of glass back boards in the state. One is on display in the REH Center, and the other is in the Indiana Basketball Hall of fame. The REH Center is the “New Gym” to those of us who attended Owensville School.

Several small schools were founded in the early years. Owensville High began graduating high school students in the late 1800’s. The last high school class graduated in 1974, then Owensville consolidated with Haubstadt and Fort Branch to form Gibson Southern. Owensville Community School now serves Wabash and Montgomery Townships. OCS is a K-8 school in South Gibson School Corporation. We have records of the Owensville Alumni in our archives.

In the 1600’s the area of Montgomery and Wabash Township was inhabited by the Piankashaw native Americans, which were part of the Miami nation. They were friendly with the settlers, but suffered retribution for other tribe’s actions. Captain Jacob Warrick led a group of men who pushed the tribe from the area to Illinois, crossing the river by Coffee Shoot. Before this, in 1805, white settlers were moving into the area. Abundant timber, wildlife and fertile ground made it an attractive place to settle. Farming is still a prominent occupation; industries include Duke Energy, Hoehn Plastics, Transcendent Health Care, Holders Furniture, and Superior Ag, among others. The population of Montgomery Township is about 4,000 and the population of Wabash Township is about 37.

The town of Owensville was laid out by Phillip Brisco in February of 1917. The original town numbered 52 with 5 out lots. He named the town after Thomas Owens of Kentucky. Owensville was incorporated on October 4, 1881. Before the town was started, Willis Alsop could have been considered the first merchant, selling a small stock of goods from his log cabin. In the early times, the most influential merchant was John C. Warrick. Mr. Warrick was the son of Captain James Warrick who fought against Tippecanoe.

Several family histories have been donated to Owensville Carnegie Public Library. To see if your interest is available, simply use the card catalog and type the surname in the subject box.

Owensville Carnegie Public Library
110 S. Main St.
Owensville, IN 47665

Phone: 812-724-3335

Hours:

Monday 10-6

Tuesday 10-7

Wednesday 10-6

Thursday 10-5

Friday 10-5

Saturday 10-2

Sunday Closed

Services:

Computer Lab

Internet Access (Free WiFi)

Fax

Copy

Lamination

Notary services

Reading programs for all ages

Adult Programs:

Euchre Programs

Cooking Programs

Craft Programs

Geri-Fit

Ageless Yoga

Youth Programs:

Summer Reading Programs

Toddler Time Programs
Storytime Programs

Sensory Storytime Programs

Novel Ninjas (K-3)

After School Programs

STEAM (4-6) After School Programs

Anime/Manga Club

Middle School Book Club

Dungeons & Dragons

Teen Time Programs

Homeschool Happenings Programs

Family Game Night Programs