Althea Stoeckel papers

Althea Stoeckel was a history professor at Ball State University from 1960 until her death on December 18, 1978. Stoeckel was the central figure in a drive to save thousands of historic documents from the Delaware County courthouse when it was razed in 1966. She and her students carried books of county records out of the building. These books remained in the local history archival collection in Bracken Library until 2001. They are now part of the Muncie Public Library local history collection at the Carnegie Library. The local history archive in Archives and Special Collections was named Stoeckel Archives of Local History in honor of the professor in 1979.

Stoeckel used the documents in her history classes, saying, "What better method of showing students that these early residents were not heroes, but ordinary people dealing with their problems. The past becomes more real...and students see that history is made up of the average man as well as the great."

Stoeckel received her bachelor's degree from Shurtleff College, and two master's degrees and a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Illinois. She taught at Eureka College and Marshall University before arriving at Ball State. She was a member of the American, Indiana, and Illinois Historical Associations, a member of the board of directors of the Delaware County Historical Society, Organization of American Historians, Association of State and Local Historians, Phi Alpha Theta history honorary, and Alpha Phi sorority. She served as president of the Ball State chapter of the American Association of University Professors in 1965. A specialist in American revolutionary war history, Stoeckel chaired the Indiana American Revolution Bicentennial Committee at Ball State. She also chaired the Muncie Heritage '76 Committee and worked with the Daughters of the American Revolution to plan activities for the "Honor America" program.

Stoeckel began donating several documents from her work in the early 1970's. After her death, history department chair Morton Rosenberg donated papers from her office which included correspondence, talks and papers, committee papers, subject files, pamphlets and short histories, and numerous student papers.