1917

Years:	1914 1915 1916 – 1917 – 1918 1919 1920

Significant events from 1917.

January

• 1st - The Kirkwood Avenue Christian Church, at the corner of Washington Street and Kirkwood Avenue, is destroyed by fire. The building had dated from 1884.

• Street contractors A.K. Helton and Curtis Stewart purchase the L. C. Daniels coal yard. They planned to continue the coal business as well as store heavy equipment at the site.

• The Driscoll Land Company is incorporated to develop land belonging to the Pauley family on south Walnut Street. Officers are J. T. Driscoll, president; W. E. Thornton, vice president; William Graham, secretary, and Nat U. Hill, treasurer.

• William Wertz, the "blind tiger king of Monroe County" is arrested once again on liquor charges.

February

• Schoolhouse No. 6, in Indian Creek Township, goes up in flames while the children are in attendance. Miss Ruth Cooper gets all the students out in good order.

• 21st - George Adams, a well known drayman on West 5th Street, is electrocuted in the act of turning on the light switch in his horse barn.

March

• The Indiana Avenue Christian Church is dedicated.

April

• 6th - The United States enters World War I

June

The Hill Agency moves to the Buckley Room, on the east side of The Square. Former occupant was the Graham Motor Sales Company.

A hailstorm breaks skylights at the store of Jesse Howe on the west side of the square and the Shaw & Cosner photo gallery. The cluster light post in front of Mr. Howe's store was also blown down.

August

Bloomington's Battery F leaves to fight in the war. Members of the battery assemble at the armory and marched to the Monon Station where a special train was waiting. The soldiers trained at Ft. Benjamin Harrison sailed for France on October 17. They saw 18 months service in France and three months in Germany, returning to Bloomington in May 1919.