Indiana state biography museum

The Indiana State Museum existed for years more in name than reality. The museum began as a cabinet of minerals and curiosities that State Librarian R. Deloss Brown set up in State Geologist James Maurice Thompson moved the collection in from the library to a larger room on the third floor of the new State House. He improved exhibits by labeling and arranging objects in scientific order.

Most were natural history specimens, with Native American artifacts, war trophies, and oddities from Indiana and foreign countries accounting for the rest of the collection. Viewed as not fulfilling its early promise, the museum was moved as part of a governmental reorganization in to the State House basement where it languished for over 45 years.

Indianapolis museum

Displays were arranged in no conceivable order with few labels. However, these deplorable conditions eventually led to calls for better quarters, specifically prompting many to seek a separate building that would allow for the development of a modern institution. The administration of Governor M. Clifford Townsend initiated talk of a new facility, but there were no serious moves until after World War II.

Throughout this time, officials periodically debated the future of the State Museum.