The part of downtown that we're used to calling “The Mound”, or “The Circle” was actually designed to be a square, and was referred to that way for a long time. Long before the Soldier's Monument was erected, the middle of the public square has been and seen a lot of things.
In the very beginning, when the Gale and Gilmore families first moved to Angola, the square was a thicket of trees, according to Louisa Gale Hendry, in a talk she gave near the end of her life. When her father and Mr. Gilmore platted the downtown, the town square was a feature, and a place for the town pump.
It was also a place to hitch your horses to while you did your business either at the courthouse, or one of the businesses in town, and a place for town gatherings and celebrations.
Troops gathered there, to begin marching, people gathered there to exchange the latest news, kids played there,speeches were made, it really was the heart and soul of Angola.
In fact, it has been such a big deal to the Downtown, that this will be a recurring theme, the public square, as this series progresses.
And as always, thanks to Kim Maxton Bordner for use of her postcard collections. :) And also thanks to the Carnegie Public Library and their reference area. :D
