Jean Swiggett Franklin IN Artist — Jean Swiggett Franklin Indiana Artist

A total of thirty-six artist created murals in forty-two Indiana Post Office buildings during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Seven of the artist received multiple commissions as noted below. The artist and their awarded sites as listed below.

We have found having a list such as this is convenient when performing research at the National Archives Records and Administration. Any researcher will reveal, that finding information is part of the fun, somethings what you are looking for is catalogued by the artist name. Other times the research materials you need may be cataloged by the city or town, and so on.

Having a list to refer to is helpful on your journey of discovering these wonderful treasures in our nations post offices.

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

Alexandria: Roland Author Schweinsburg
Angola: Charles Malcolm Campbell
Attica: Reva Jackman
Aurora: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Batesville: Orville A. Carroll
Bedford: John Fabion
Berne: Walter Gardner
Bloomfield: Lilian Swann Saarinen
Boonville: Ida York Abelman
Cambridge City: Samuel Franklin Hershey
Crawfordsville: Frank Weathers Long
Crown Point: George Melville Smith
Culver: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Danville: Gail Wycoff Martin
Dunkirk: Frances Foy Dalstrom
Fowler: Nat Werner
Franklin: Jean Swiggett
Gas City: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Garrett: Joe Cox
Hobart: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Indianapolis-Birch Bayh Federal Building: Grant Wright Christian*
Indianapolis-Birth Bayh Federal Building: David K. Rubins
Indianapolis-Broad Ripple: Alan Tompkins*
Jasper: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Knightstown: Raymond L. Morris
Lafayette: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Lagrange: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Liberty: Avery Johnson
Ligonier: Fay E. Davis
Martinsville: Alan Tompkins*
Middlebury: Raymond Redell
Monticello: Marguerite Thompson Zorach
Nappanee: Grant Wright Christian*
North Manchester: Alan Tompkins*
Paoli: Tom Rost
Pendleton: William Frederick Kaeser
Rensselaer: John Edward Costigan
Rockville: Milton Avery
Spencer: Joseph Meert
Tell City: Laci de Gerenday
Terre Haute: Frederick Webb Ross
Tipton: Donald Magnus Mattison*
Union City: Donald Magnus Mattison*

Henrick Martin Mayer
Jessie Hull Mayer
William Dolwick
Grant Wright Christian
Alan Tompkins
Donald Mattison

Sources

David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
National Archives Records and Administration, College Park Maryland
Who was who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 years of artist in America, Peter H Falk; Audrey M Lewis, Georgia Kuchen, Veronika Roessler, Madison, CT, Mount View Press. 1999.
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz

ADDRESS: 200 E., Maumee St. Angola, Indiana, 46703
ARTIST: Charles Campbell
TITLE: Hoosier Farm
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Angola post office was razed years ago. However, the mural was moved to the Steuben Community Center on Wayne Street. It can be viewed by interested members of the public during business hours. It resides on the second floor of the building.
YEAR: 1935

This one has also vexed me for some time. I’ve driven through Angola many times on our way out to visit the in-laws in Ohio. Every time I drive through I look around for the old building.

When I did some initial research I never found anything solid. Fast forward to this year, and I’ve reached out to the the local library and was delighted when they returned with the following historical photos of the building. They are old and I believe they are copies of the original black and white completion photos required of the contractor to receive final payment.

The tricky part was trying to figure out the physical address and location. I used google maps to line up this historical photos with the current view in Angola. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the approximate location where the photographer stood and what google maps is showing me.

I’m tagging this article with the Help category as I’d love to see other historical images of this building if you or any loved ones have any around, I’d love to get a better photo or different photos of the building and bonus if you have images of the mural in it’s original location. That would be cool to see.

David W. Gates Jr.

Sources

Personal Visit to the Steuben County Community Center on 03/02/2022 by David W. Gates Jr.
Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
(affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
(affiliate link): A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals: John C. Carlisle
Visit Steuben County, Public Art in Angola: Public Art in Angola- Steuben County Tourism Bureau (visitsteubencounty.com)
Synopsis of proposals for the construction of the post office at Angola, Indiana 1934

Charles Campbell