Skip to main content

Public Service Company of Indiana broadsides

 Collection
Identifier: B091

Scope and Contents

This collection includes broadsides (series 85, 87-98, 100, 109) from Public Service Company of Indiana in Plainfield, Indiana ranging from 1955 to 1956 and undated, regarding the company's activities and sights and scenes of interest around Indiana.

Dates

  • 1955-1956, undated

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Administrative History

Public Service Company of Indiana provided electrical services to three-fourths of Indiana during most of the 20th century. The company began as the Interstate Public Service Company in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1912, headquartering in the Traction Terminal Building. It provided electricity for the interurban railroads between Indianapolis and Louisville. Under the first company chairman, Samuel Insull, the company absorbed several small electric and gas companies but moved too quickly. Following the stock market crash in 1929, Insull was forced to declare bankruptcy. Two years later, J.N. Shannahan replaced Insull as chairman of the board and changed the company's name to Public Service Indiana (PSI). Over the next decade, revenues declined along with the interurbans. In 1941, Robert Gallagher took over the comapny and it was reorganized as Public Service Company of Indiana, focusing on providing electricity to industry and residences and shutting down the interurban service. The company relocated to Plainfield, Indiana. Its reach extended over most of Indiana and abandoned gas and water services to focus on electrical production in 1945. PSI eventually supplied electricity to more than 76 percent of Indiana, serving more than 700 cities, towns, and rural areas. The company merged with Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company and Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky under Cinergy Corp. in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 24, 1994.

Sources:

Smith, Robert W. and Dorothy A. Nicholson. "Public Service Company of Indiana Posters, 1955-1956, n.d." Finding aid. Indiana Historical Society. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/public-service-company-of-indiana-posters.pdf.

Wikipedia.org. "Cinergy." Last edited September 3, 2020. Accessed July 30, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinergy.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (4 small oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by series number and subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Herbert L. Heller on 1957/01/04.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Processing Information

Collection processed and finding aid created 2004 by Amy C. Belcher. Collection reprocessing completed 2021/07/30 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid created 2021/07/30 by Brittany Kropf.
Title
Public Service Company of Indiana broadsides
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671