100 years later: How the Ku Klux Klan fell in a Noblesville courtroom

NOBLESVILLE A century ago, on November 14, D.C. Stephenson, the powerful Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan, was convicted of the brutal murder of Madge Oberholtzer in a trial that took place in Noblesville.

The conviction greatly helped eliminate the power of the KKK throughout Indiana.

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"It was nationally significant, as much as anything else, in terms of both the downfall of D.C. Stevenson and the whole exposure of the Ku Klux Klan and their organization," said David Heighway, a Hamilton County historian.

The trial occurred in a much different Noblesville than today, with fewer than 10,000 people living in the city at the time.

"It was a completely different time period to think about," Jessica Layman of the Hamilton County Historical Society shared.

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