Aerial Views of Delaware County Available for Research Online!

Students and researchers can now access digital aerial photographs of Muncie, Indiana, in the Ball State Digital Media Repository, a project of the University Libraries. The Roger Conatser Aerial Photographs includes over 1,500 aerial views of Muncie and Delaware County, Indiana, taken by Muncie resident Conatser in 2005. Continuing to grow, the online collection eventually will include digitized materials from various formats and will total upwards of 3,000 aerial photographs ranging from 1985-2005.

Documenting Muncie and its surrounding cities in Delaware County, this digital collection allows a new way to view buildings and natural landscapes through images taken from the air. The photographs provide views of topographical changes in areas like the central business district, Ball State University, churches, schools, agricultural areas, shopping centers, the White River, Cardinal Greenway, Minnetrista Cultural Center, industrial sites, and major roadways.

Researchers can use the Conatser collection in conjunction with other Digital Media Repository collections such as the Muncie Sanborn Fire Insurance maps (1883-1911, 1954-1955, 1965) and the Muncie and Delaware County historic maps and atlases (1826-1903) to compare and contrast  the city`s landscape over time.

For more information contact Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078 or libarchives@bsu.edu.