Jeannie Regan-Dinius presents Indiana's role in the Underground Railroad--PROP Day at the Indianapol

Jeannie R. Regan-Dinius, Director of Special Initiatives, for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will discuss Indiana’s role in the Underground Railroad (UGRR), at Prop Day, noon on Wednesday, September 20, 2017

. She will also talk about documenting stories, and offer research suggestions.

Every Indiana community has oral histories about those individuals who participated in the Underground Railroad (UGRR), but the illegal nature of the UGRR networks makes it difficult to find evidence to substantiate the stories. A statewide initiative, the Indiana Freedom Trails, is working to confirm and document sites that can be definitively linked to the UGRR. Every day, researchers comb the archives in small historical societies looking for information about Indiana’s involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Jeannie is the Director of Special Initiatives, at DNR and has a life-long interest in history, family history, and research. She earned her Bachelors in Public History from Ball State University, where she also studied anthropology and American Studies. She has her Masters in Urban Planning and Information Management/Library Science from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis with additional graduate course work in public history.

Before coming to the State, she was the Executive Director of a 96-acre historic park in Huntington, IN. She came to the state in 2000 to help work on the Underground Railroad research initiative. She was given the additional responsibility of the Cemetery Registry, the Historic Theater Initiative, and public outreach.

The luncheon at noon, followed by this special program is $25 for Indianapolis Propylaeum members and $30 for nonmembers.