Monroe County Timeline
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| Prehistory | Limestone formed from shell deposits under shallow sea. | ||||
| 12,000BC | Last glacier stopped short of Monroe County; hills and valleys remained. Paleo-Indians hunted mastodon, giant beaver and other large animals. |
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| 1600-1830 | Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi and other Native Americans lived in Indiana. | ||||
| 1800 | Indiana Territory was created. | ||||
| 1816 | Indiana became a state. | ||||
| 1818 | Monroe County was created. Bloomington became county seat. | ||||
| 1820 | State Seminary was established. | ||||
| 1828 | State Seminary became Indiana College. | ||||
| 1837 | Ellettsville was founded. | ||||
| 1838 | Indiana College was renamed Indiana University. | ||||
| 1830 to Civil War |
Underground Railroad passed through Monroe County. | ||||
| 1854 | New Albany and Salem Railroad, later known as the Monon Railroad, arrived in Bloomington, Harrodsburg and Ellettsville. Limestone quarries began to prosper. | ||||
| 1856 | Showers family started furniture business, later said to be largest U.S. producer of bedroom and dining room furniture. | ||||
| 1861-1865 | Monroe County furnished food, uniforms and coffins during Civil War. Captain David Van Buskirk, county native, was the tallest Yankee at 6 feet 10 inches. | ||||
| 1869 | Sarah Parke Morrison was the first female graduate of Indiana University. | ||||
| 1874 | African American children attended school on site of present History Center. | ||||
| 1884 | I.U. moved east of town to Dunn’s Woods after fire at College Avenue campus. | ||||
| 1895 | Marcellus Neal became the first African American graduate of Indiana University. | ||||
| 1896-1918 | 38 stone quarries and 25 stone mills were active in Monroe County. | ||||
| Early 1900s | Businesses included Home Glove Mitten Manufacturing Co., the Basket Factory, Nurre Companies, Inc. and Seward and Co. | ||||
| 1904-1905 | Bloomington Hospital founded by Local Council of Women. | ||||
| 1908 | Present courthouse dedicated. | ||||
| 1917-1918 | United States joined allies in World War I. | ||||
| 1917-1930 | Hoagy Carmichael lived, composed and performed in Bloomington. | ||||
| 1929 | Graham Hotel opened. Stock market crashed. Morgan-Monroe State Forest was created. | ||||
| 1930s | Depression brought New Deal projects to Monroe County. | ||||
| 1937-1962 | Herman B Wells served as 11th president of Indiana University. | ||||
| 1940 | RCA factory opened, later manufactured first U.S. color television set. | ||||
| 1941-1945 | United States joined allies in World War II. | ||||
| 1944 | Sarkes Tarzian began manufacturing electronic products. | ||||
| 1951 | I.U. Foundation sponsored first Little 500 bicycle race. Indiana University scientists created Crest toothpaste. | ||||
| 1960s | New State Highway 37 connected Indianapolis and Bedford. Medical manufacturer Cook Incorporated was founded, now area’s largest factory employer. | ||||
| 1970 | New public library opened on Kirkwood Ave., vacating this building. | ||||
| 1970s | Monroe Reservoir became largest lake in Indiana at 11,000 acres. | ||||
| 1980 | Monroe County History Center opened in former public library building. | ||||
| 1987 | I.U. won its fifth NCAA basketball championship. | ||||
| 1995 | Showers factory renovated into City Hall offices. | ||||
| 1998 | Thomson SA closed the former RCA plant and moved manufacturing to Mexico. | ||||
| 2000s | Indiana University began major campus expansion for University Information Technology Services. | ||||
| 2010 | Bloomington population was 80,405. Monroe County population was 137,974. I.U. Bloomington enrollment reached 42,464. |
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 Hoagy Carmichael Playing Piano
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