Learning about the people
One of the parts of this project I really enjoyed was doing some research into the people of Walkerton that brought the Cut Glass factory to Walkerton, Indiana, as well as named employees and others generally related to the factory and company. I used many resources that helped me learn about the past Walkertonians or Walkertonites.
Online
Some of these do require subscriptions or accounts to use them, I wish there were more open source resources available
AncestryLibrary.com - I used this resource to help find census records, birth records, death records, and marriage records.
I believe you can use Ancestry.com at the Walkerton Lincoln Township Public Library if you live in Walkerton, Indiana or have a library card there.
Find A Grave (Memorials) - I used this resource to help find death records as well as some images and biographical information. I used this resource rarely though.
Newspapers.com - I used this resource to help find some people that I was searching for, though thanks to the item below, I did not need it as much. If you do not have the book below, or access to the microfilm that the newspapers were recorded on, this resource is very helpful.
I believe you can use Newspapers.com at the Walkerton Lincoln Township Public Library if you live in Walkerton, Indiana or have a library card there.
Physical Items
The single most useful physical item that I have used is The Walkerton Independent 1886-1924 by Marilyn Hiatt Sherland. I will put the citation information below, but this book has been very useful in finding information on people, what they did, the parts they played in creating and working for Walkerton's Central Cut Glass Co. factory, name references, marriages and deaths, children, etc... This book compiles issues of the Independent "from its first issue on July 3, 1886, through the Golden Jubilee issue of June 5, 1924." (Introd. Marilyn Hiatt Sherland) It also includes the iterations of the Walkerton Visitor from 1874 to 1886 and its renamed successor, the St. Joseph County Independent.
I bought this book at the Heritage House Museum. There is also a reading room copy for use in the museum I believe.
Book Citation:
Sherland, Marilyn Hiatt. The Walkerton Independent, 1886-1924. Walkerton Area Historical Society, 2012.