During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan controlled Indiana and D.C. Stephenson controlled the Ku Klux Klan. M. William Lutholtz’ book, Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana is the definitive narrative of D. C. Stephenson’s rise and fall. Originally published in 1991 and then published in paperback in 1993, the book has been out of print for some time. Now Purdue University Press has republished a paperback edition.
Stephenson moved to Indiana with a new wife and job in 1920. It wasn’t long before he changed from selling hard goods to selling memberships in the newly revived Klan. It isn’t clear whether he was an adamant believer in the Klan’s tenets or saw the Klan as an opportunity to advance himself. In 1923, he was named Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan. Through that position, he achieved the money and power he had always desired. At the height of his power, Stephenson controlled the Indianapolis mayor and the Indiana governor. He declared, “I am the law in Indiana.” Then, on a train to Chicago, there was the incident of his sexual assault on Madge Oberholtzer who came home to die. His trial for her murder, his conviction of murder, and subsequent incarceration ended his rule of Indiana.
Lutholtz extensively researched the history of that period in Indiana, the Ku Klux Klan and D.C. Stephenson. His use of the details and depth gained by his exhaustive research adds immensely to the book. He tells the story from all angles, allowing the reader to come to his own conclusions. Even with the wealth of historic detail, though, the book is very readable — it feels almost like reading a novel.
Then, of course, there is the interest in the book because Stephenson and Oberholtzer both lived in Irvington. Lutholtz actually lived around the corner from Stephenson’s home. That must have brought Lutholtz’s research home in an eerie fashion.
Grand Dragon: D.C. Stephenson and the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana is a must-read by anyone who wants to understand that unusual period of Indiana history and that history’s effects through today. The book is available at Bookmamas in Irvington, 9 S. Johnson Ave.
