NEW ALBANY —
Admittedly, it’s not a point in history New Albany should be proud of, but Pam Peters said sometimes the character of a city can be judged by “how well it acknowledges and remembers its unfortunate past.”
On Tuesday, Peters and fellow Floyd County Historical Society member David Barksdale approached the New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety about the possibility of the city partnering with local organizations to purchase a state historical marker.
The state marker — which would be New Albany’s 20th, giving it the third most of any city in Indiana — would be placed in front of what is now Lamberts Distributors at 142 W. Main St. Historically it’s known as the Israel House, and Peters said it was one of the few places of refuge for black New Albany residents in July 1862.
Peters — who is a noted black history researcher — said details of the events of that New Albany summer are scarce, but that what ensued was essentially a race riot. Black people were targeted by area white residents, Peters said. Property was destroyed, and blacks were physically attacked and sometimes even worse.
“There were people killed,” she said.
Whites in groups of up to 200 people angrily swept through the city assaulting black residents and damaging their property according to some of the few newspaper accounts from the time, Peters said. She mentioned one newspaper article that described more than 30 black families that fled New Albany “for fear of their lives” due to the outbreak of violence.
Though New Albany has been associated with The Underground Railroad, Peters said this event was horrific, yet it provided an example of bravery. The reason the Israel House was tabbed for the historical marker is because, according to Peters, a black man was fleeing from a gang of white attackers when he found refuge there.
The wife of the house, Mary Israel, opened the door, let the man inside and protected him by barring the entrance, Peters said. It was a bright spot in an otherwise heartbreaking string of events, but it’s still important for New Albany to remember Israel’s actions and the riots, she continued.
The historical markers cost $3,000, and the Floyd County Historical Society and Develop New Albany have each committed $1,000 toward the expense. Peters and Barksdale said they have discussed a $1,000 commitment from the city for the marker with Mayor Jeff Gahan, and asked the board of works on what course of action they should take to have the money approved. Officials said such an appropriation would have to come through the New Albany City Council, and the body is set to meet Monday.
Peters said the goal is to have a ceremony to unveil the marker in July to mark the anniversary of the event, and that the money would have to be committed by the end of the next week in order to have the marker made in time.
“It would be a way for the city to acknowledge, finally, what happened,” she said.
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