Greenwood's 4th of July Celebrations Through the Years

Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America!

This milestone anniversary is what is formally called America's "Semi-Quincentennial" of when the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence breaking away from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on the 4th of July 1776 in Philadelphia after voting to separate two days earlier on the 2nd of July.

Forty-seven years to the day after the United States separated from King George III, on the 2nd of July 1823, brothers Isaac and John B. Smock purchased two plots of land in what is now Greenwood, Indiana which makes Greenwood quite old itself! And to celebrate our country's 250th birthday, we wanted to look back on some moments of how Greenwood has celebrated Independence Day over the years!

This picture was taken from the Johnson Block Building, on the southwest corner of Main and Madison, looking east. Note the Interurban tracks. This picture was almost certainly for a parade held in Greenwood on the 4^th of July in 1908. For more information, please check-out the links to the original story.  From The Daily Journal from an original photograph that has possibly been lost to history.

This is the front page of an issue of The Protectionist newspaper declaring the “Greenwood and area Anti-Slavery Society” that was formed on July 4^th, 1841. For more information, please check-out the link to the original story. 7 August 1841.

For the Centennial Independence Day celebrations held in 1876, Greenwood had excursions from Indianapolis to a picnic at Locust Grove in Greenwood. The Indianapolis News, 3 July 1876.

“Shady Eden”, a pseudonym for a columnist, wrote a poem about the Greenwood parade and festivities held on July 4^th 1908. Franklin Democrat, 10 July 1908.

This is an advertisement for the fun and festivities in Greenwood to come on July 4^th. Franklin Democrat, 1 July 1910.

This scene was from the 2019 version of the Freedom Fest and is very representative of how large the festival has become in the modern day. The Daily Journal, 24 June 2021.

There is not much found so far in the historical record about how or if the early settlers celebrated the Independence Day until the year 1841, the 65th anniversary of Independence, when the citizens of the village of Greenwood--including Isaac Smock and also Greenwood's first physician Dr. Benjamin S. Noble and the Presbyterian Church's minister Rev. Philip Sidney Cleland-- engaged in a very radical act for the time when they gathered together on July 4th to form the "Greenwood and vicinity Anti-Slavery Society" advocating for the total end to slavery twenty years before the Civil War began.

The society issued a declaration, based upon lessons they provided from the Bible, announcing that "Slavery is a violation of the laws of God, and a gross outrage on the rights of man, and therefore ought to be immediately abolished." Sixty citizens of the village joined the society that day and the event was memorialized in the anti-slavery newspaper called The Protectionist. You can read more on that amazing and almost forgotten story of Greenwood's first notable Independence Day in the link below.

Nothing more could be found in the historical record for nearly the next thirty years, though we do know Greenwood sent many young men to fight in the American Civil War and presume the town treasured America's Independence Day during that time. In 1870, a correspondent to The Indianapolis News remarked how the Fourth was cool and "breezes blew nearly all the time so that nothing finer in the way of weather could have been desired. In that respect it contrasted greatly with the Fourths we have had since the close of the war and which have generally been distinguished by overpowering heat."

With the nice weather, people from Indianapolis boarded excursion trains at the Union Depot headed for Greenwood for a picnic for the benefit of St. Patrick's [Catholic] Church. In the last half of the 1800s, after the Civil War, excursion trains were a major source of relaxation for people who lived in cities like Indianapolis and even Franklin to visit places that were more rural and idyllic like Greenwood.

And when there was an excursion, it was almost always to go to a picnic. Greenwood had a desirable picnic ground located near the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis railroad called "Locust Grove". The grounds were located east of the railroad tracks and south of what is now Main Street.

The 1870 celebrations were very nice with large crowds coming into Greenwood.  "Music was furnished by a fine band, and many occupied the time pleasantly in dancing, while others strolled about through the grove or whiled away the hours in conversation. The whole party returned to the city during the evening, after a day which had been marred by no trouble or difficulty.”

There was a parade that day by the "Emmet Guards" but the day was nearly marred by violence. A tailor who worked at the State Capitol, James Carter, "received a blank charge of powder in his face, the gun being fired by a young lady employed in the shop with him. The particulars are these: the parade of the Guards was just over, and they were dispersing, when this young lady took the gun of Carter's comrade, and stepping within a few feet, pointed it at him, of course under the supposition that it was unloaded, and remarked, 'I am going to blow your hat off,' at the same time drawing the trigger. The whole charge entered Carter's face, lacerating it in a horrible manner." He was taken back to Indianapolis for treatment.

America's Centennial July Fourth celebrations, this time to benefit multiple "Irish societies" including for St. Joseph's Church in Indianapolis, warranted a large celebration at the Locust Grove and the event was heavily advertised in the classified advertisements in The Indianapolis News to entice people to Greenwood with increasingly hilarious and outlandish pleas:

"WANTED--THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT an Excursion and Picnic will be held at Greenwood on the coming Centennial Fourth of July."

"WANTED--INFORMATION--EXCURSION trains to Greenwood on the Fourth of July leave Union Depot at 8:30 and 10:30 a. m. and 12:30 and 2:30 p. m."

"STRAYED--FROM COMMON SENSE BY NOT visiting Greenwood on the Fourth of July."

"FOUND--AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR THE Indianapolis Irish Cornet Band discoursing Centennial music, at Greenwood, on the Fourth of July."

"FOR RENT--THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS on the afternoon of the Fourth of July. What's up? Everybody gone to Greenwood."

"LOST--TO YOUR OWN INTEREST UNLESS you visit Greenwood on the Fourth of July."

"FOR TRADE--THE COOL, REFRESHING shades of Greenwood for the heat, dust, smoke, etc. of the city, on the Fourth of July."

"FOR TRADE--ADVICE FOR CASH UNLESS you visit Greenwood on the Fourth of July, you will be overwhelmingly miserable and wish you had died 400 years ago."

Former Indiana Treasurer James B. Ryan, known as "The Wild Irishman", was the orator speaking on "American Independence" and people could take the train for 50 cents round trip from Union Depot to Greenwood. The newspaper remarked the next day that "The workingmen, in limited numbers, spent the day in the southern park with their families, having an enjoyable time unmarked by any rough feature."

The ensuing years of the 1870s so much of the same "in the beautiful town of Greenwood" with the various Catholic churches of Indianapolis attending Locust Grove for picnics on July Fourth. Historically, this is fascinating because Greenwood was, for its first 120 years until Our Lady of The Greenwood opened in the mid-20th Century, notoriously Protestant and not overly fond of Catholics (and really not favorable toward Irish descendants)--because of perceived issues with alcohol, which the citizens of Greenwood vociferously fought two decades later.

The Catholic societies of the Indianapolis churches of St. Joseph's, St. Patrick's, and St. John's were intermingled with their involvement with the Greenwood Fourth of July picnic excursions and would do so to raise funds for various reasons. For the Fourth in 1878, they raised funds for a reception for Bishop Chatard who had been installed as Bishop of Vincennes and visited Indianapolis the following month (he later became the first Bishop of Indianapolis).

In 1879, "The 'Glorious Fourth' was duly celebrated by our patriotic people. The Greenwood cornet band gave a pic-nic one half mile north of town" and the assembled crowd listened to speeches by three preachers "whom made strong appeals for the cultivation of patriotic principles, christian morality and domestic virtue. The Sunday Schools of the place had been invited, and were in attendance. The booming of cannon and the loud huzza were alike wanting to the scene, but their places were supplied by the innocent prattle and merry gambols of many a light-hearted, frolicsome child. The old looked on with smiles of approbation which told that they lived in the memories of the past as well as the enjoyment of the present. Here and there, apart from the crowd, were the ever present couples, too old for the sports of the young and too young for the memories of the old, while the low town and animated look of the one, and the modest blush that glowed like a summer sunset upon the cheek of the other said, in language unmistakable, that they lived in anticipation of another Fourth, or some other day, more glorious still."

The following year saw a change to the Locust Grove--it was "put in good repair" by the railroad company and renamed "Terrace Park".  [There is no mention in Greenwood histories about this park, and we posit this should possibly now be considered the first park in Greenwood history—even predating Beech Park.]

The railroad had an incentive to make the park nice because they could encourage excursions to the parks knowing people would take the trains to get there. On the weekend of July 4th, for years, they would offer discounts to ride from Indianapolis to Greenwood and from Greenwood to Louisville. They touted using the line saying "This will be an excellent opportunity afforded the people living along the road named above to visit friends at a distance, or form pic-nic or excursion parties for the purpose of enjoying the Nation's Birthday."

Greenwood's Fourth in the 1880s also saw the Methodist Episcopal Church ladies had a lawn social (1883), the Grand Army of the Republic post have "old fashioned army supper of bacon, boiled beans, hard tack and coffee, served in tin cups" (1886) and a "sham-battle" (1889).

The Greenwood "Lady Band" went to Brookston, in White County, in 1891 for some reason while the Stones Crossing band came to Greenwood to perform. Why the ladies did not stay and perform in Greenwood is a mystery.  The following year, nothing happened in Greenwood on July 4th and people had to go to Franklin to celebrate. The rest of the 1890s were mixed on anything happening as well. The Greenwood Social Institute, which was a large space of learning formed by James T. Polk for his Polk Canning plant, in 1894 hosted "the world's greatest lecturer" Joseph Cook, of Boston, who lectured about "Ultimate America" on the 7th of July. The town was "deserted on the 4th" in 1898 as "parties picnicked on the creek."

The 1900s saw a drastic change, however, in Greenwood celebrating Independence Day because of the opening of the Greenwood Interurban line, the first electric rail line out of Indianapolis in history. The company that owned the line constructed a park, called Greenwood Park, much in the same way the railroad had made Terrace Park a nice place to be--because they used the parks as a mean to sell tickets. Greenwood Park was located where the Forest Park neighborhood is today, across from the Greenwood Park Mall (bearing the name of the park!)

The early 1900s also had Catholic charities using the park for events for the 4th of July with the first one in 1900 raising money for the St. Joseph's Industrial School for Girls. The Young Men's Institute (YMI, a Catholic fraternal and benevolent organization competing against the YMCA) also used Greenwood Park on the 4th. In 1901, "a large crowd remained to enjoy the various kinds of sport arranged for the day. The programme included sack races, male and female running races and the greased pig race, all of which were enjoyed."

Also that day, "On a large pavilion arranged in the middle of the park dancing was indulged in throughout the day and evening. The crowd kept changing, some going out in the morning and leaving in the evening, and others constantly arriving, which kept a large crowd on the grounds during the entire time. A plentiful supply of fireworks was shot off after supper."

One of the largest celebrations in Greenwood history before more recent memory to many people of today occurred in 1908 when Greenwood held a major "industrial" parade along Main Street and a hot air balloon ascension among other events. More on the parade and some of the festivities of the day can be found in the links below.After the events of that day, a columnist with the pseudonym "Shady Eden" wrote a poem about Greenwood's celebration saying "Greenwood beats her nearby towns" when it came to celebrating the fourth, and people from all around came to Greenwood to join in. The poem provides a really interesting snapshot at how people viewed Greenwood at that time in history.

Oddly, a news story in the Columbus newspaper mentioned there was no big celebration along the Interurban line that year because rain fell but all other years from 1900 to 1907 had "been bright and sunshiny."

Whatever the case, though, Greenwood had a big day in 1908. In fact, the event was so large that there one of the earliest complaints about what is apparently an eternal concern in Greenwood: parking: "There, [sic] seemed however to be some dissatisfaction among those who came in with rigs, as they were not permitted to hitch in the park where the exercises were held. Some liveryman it is claimed to advantage of this opportunity to add a few jingling coins to their pile, and raised the price of hitch-ins."

There was yet another balloon ascension and a carnival atmosphere in 1910 along with "the largest fireworks show in county history", but 1911 was a "Very quiet and sane Fourth in our town." In 1917, after the U.S. entered the World War, the festivities were muted and communities from around the county decided to join to have just one event, in Franklin at the Fairgrounds. The Greenwood Juvenile Band led the parade and Greenwood preacher Rev. Peter McEwen "made an impassioned appeal for divine guidance during the nation's hour of conflict."

The Fourth in 1921 saw fire but no works--downtown Greenwood about burned to the ground the day before. A fire broke out at a restaurant on the north side of Main east of the Odd Fellows Building. Four timber frame buildings burned down and everyone feared the entire town would go with them because there was an issue with water pressure. The Greenwood Fire Department, joined by companies from the south side of Marion County and Indianapolis fire departments, helped save the day by watering down the brick buildings to the side.

Much like today, misinformation spread as quickly as the fire did: "Reports of the fire were greatly exaggerated in Indianapolis. It was said that the building in which the telephone company was housed had caught fire and that the telephone company was housed had caught fire and that the telephone operators 'stood by their guns' answering calls even when the walls were tottering. It also was reported that the entire business district had been swept clean and a result of the exaggerated reports hundreds of Indianapolis people motored to Greenwood to see 'the destroyed town.' They were greatly surprised when they learned that the fire had been confined to four store buildings."

The 1920s and 1930s saw very few formal festivities on the Fourth. There was a Mary Pickford movie at the Community House in 1925, but generally nothing else much happened during the decade in the town except for another fire in 1929 where John Noble's barn and outbuildings caught fire but house was spared. During this two plus decade span, Greenwood's town council passed an ordinance to prohibit the sale of fireworks within city limits, and children under the age of TWELVE were not allowed to purchase any at all.

In 1944, during World War II, Greenwood held a program for July Fourth held at Greenwood Park. Ministers of the local churches opened the ceremonies, followed by a "patriotic address" and then a concert by the Greenwood High School Band led by director Paul O. Sawyer. Games and contests were held that day and two games of softball were played. The year after the war ended, 1946, an all-day jubilee picnic was held with the citizens of Greenwood--though not in Greenwood but at Camp Joy (on Sugar Creek, east of Rocklane) that included a softball game between World War I and World War II veterans, music by the Mac Harrington orchestra. John Mark Bass, Greenwood's only Mr. Basketball and back from serving in the war, was the committee chairman.

From the 1950s into the 1980s, Greenwood really never seemed to hold any formal festivities for the Fourth. The Greenwood Drive-in movie theater on U. S. 31 and the Meridian Drive-In movie theater west of the town (and as of 1960, city) on State Road 135 held fireworks yearly between movie shows. In general, Greenwood's major festival was the "Old Settlers Days" held later in the summer rather than focusing on the Fourth of July.

The City of Greenwood not formally celebrating July 4th changed in the late 1980s when Mayor Jeanette Surina decided the city would stop having the Old Settlers Days and instead start having Independence Day celebrations. The new Independence Day event, started in 1988, was not always on the 4th itself, though, a fact which was denoted in 1990: "Since when is July 4 on June 30? Since Greenwood Mayor Jeanette Surina chose Saturday as the best date for the annual Greenwood City Celebration commemorating Independence Day." The 4th fell on a Wednesday and public opinion dictated it best to have the celebrations on the previous Saturday. For the most part, the events to this day are typically held on the Saturday before July 4th.

The new Independence Day events differed from Old Settlers Days because different organizations put on that event each year; Independence Day from 1988 onward involved the City of Greenwood leading the way (later coordinated by the Greenwood Parks and Recreation) and at times joined by other organizations such as the Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.

The city's celebrations in the late 1980s and 1990s were `much like they are today--street festivals, arts and music in Old Town, and fun for kids of all ages and fireworks at night at Craig Park. At the time, the Old Towne Greenwood Association held an annual arts and crafts fair on the streets of Greenwood. There were run/walks and Greenwood Fire Department had rides on the snorkel truck and also often held Health and Safety Fairs each year.

The 1992 events were focused as a celebration of the dedication of Surina Square on Saturday, July 4th, with the new headquarters for the Greenwood Fire Department, Greenwood Police Department, and Greenwood Community Center. The square was named after Mayor Surina, though there was a touch of sadness as well because she had died the year before and the square was named in her memory.

In 1993, the city received a $5,000 donation from a company with which the city had contracts, but the city decided the donation was toward a public event that benefit the taxpayers. The donation allowed the city to hire shuttles to bring people down Madison Avenue to the events. The year also saw the very first performance of what is now a mainstay in the city--the Greater Greenwood Community Band, which had formed in May as founded by attorney Duane O'Neal, performed for the very first time at the Greenwood Independence Day festivities.

After the September 11th attacks in 2001, the name of the event in Greenwood changed to "Let Freedom Ring" where there was a "Freedom Parade". There was still an Old Towne Greenwood street fair, the Greater Greenwood Community Band performed patriotic tunes, and there were fireworks in the evening at Craig Park.

In 2004, the name "Freedom Festival" was first used in earnest, matching the same name of the similar events held in Beech Grove and Fishers. Around 40,000 people were expected in 2006 as the event continued to get larger each year--attributed to increased advertising and sponsorships that brought in new attractions. The fireworks display that year cost $14,000.

The Covid-19 pandemic year 2020 saw Freedom Fest cancelled for the first time. Despite the cancellation, Mayor Mark Myers had the fireworks celebration go on. The fireworks were launched at the corner of State Road 135 and Stones Crossing Road. The following year, with the pandemic finally winding down, the Freedom Festival returned with a smaller gathering and a modified schedule and less entrants in the parade. The Grace Assembly of God, which had been holding a ceremony to honor active military personnel and first responders since 2002, joined with the city to "Honor Our Heroes" that year.

By 2023, the full Freedom Festival was back and over 50,000 people attended. In 2025, the city had a drone show for the first time ever along with the fireworks celebration. The drone show was so popular that it returned for this year's events for America's 250th birthday, and we cannot see a reason why it will not be back for years into the future!From forming an Anti-Slavery society to holding picnics to holding massive parades to shooting off larger and larger fireworks shows to having a drone production in the sky, Greenwood has seen a wide variety of ways to celebrate the country's independence over the years. We wish you all a Happy 250th Birthday to the United States of America!

Further reading:

Greenwood Anti-Slavery Society in 1841: https://www.facebook.com/OldTownGreenwood/posts/pfbid02H4UxXG2kpxHJ9Arm4sX97WZTWnM1vthP8Ax3kqZZiPqjQoaVrdnXZWsPfZQTNZHul

Greenwood's 1908 July 4th Parade: https://www.facebook.com/OldTownGreenwood/posts/pfbid0VfD7D199f8s5LStXNxc2siAn3d6KR1JfvNgtQegBjKHYY3bMxFZpMBXxX3dsPBJbl

Greenwood's 1908 July 4th Parade with colorized photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=653759303444452&set=a.624967842990265