Stewart to give next Tiny Towns talk

Putnam County Museum’s series “Rediscovering Putnam County: Tiny Towns and Vanished Villages,” final presentation of 2019 will feature guest speaker Susan Stewart on Thursday, Sept. 26 at the Putnam County Museum, 1105 N. Jackson St., Greencastle.

The 6:30 p.m. program is free and open to the public.

Stewart, a retired South Putnam speech pathologist, has lived in the Putnamville area with her husband Lee for more than 50 years. After joining the historic 1834 Putnamville United Methodist Church, Stewart was moved to record the oral histories of church members Georgia Sublette, Ruby Stringer, Mary Berry and Louise Bridges.

They painted a verbal picture of life in Putnamville in the early 1900s that whetted Stewart’s appetite for local history. In addition, Georgia and Ruby urged Lee Stewart to save from demolition the 1884 office of Dr. Amos Horn.

Once the office was relocated to the Putnamville Green, folks began to bring artifacts from days past to share with the community. Never dreaming of opening a museum, the museum sort of opened itself as a place to display fragments of history.

Stewart found herself in the position of museum docent and recruited young people from the church and community to become junior docents.

Thus began the journey of piecing together the rich heritage of this small town along U.S. 40, formerly known as the Cumberland Road and the National Road. It was astounding to learn of the people of note who visited the area (Jenny Lind, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ward Stowe and others) and the accomplishments and values of those who established Putnamville.

To Stewart, the learning process was similar to hunting mushrooms — the more information she found, the more she wanted to find.

Perhaps the most exciting part of this adventure has been meeting those who are connected to the pioneers of the past. Through the research of others, such as Virginia Kingsbury, Anne Phipps, Mary Heeke and Susan Huber, pioneer descendants ave made their way to Putnamville and their stories have been shared.

“What an honor it is exchange this information, and to be introduced to a living link to the Putnamville past,” Stewart said.

Normally presented by Putnam County Historian Larry Tippin, the Tiny Towns and Vanished Villages series will begin again after the start of the new year.

For more information, persons may contact the Putnam County Museum at 653-8419 or email info@putnamcountymuseum.org.