Miami County Iron Bridge
Festival
This canoe rally and hog roast will
be held on June 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Wabash
River at the River Walk in downtown Peru.
This year’s event will open with a Ribbon Cutting
Ceremony for the Wabash River Water Trail by the Wabash
River Heritage Corridor Commission. Our day starts at 9
a.m. with the ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by the
launching of our canoe rally. Paddlers from all over
Indiana come to canoe the beautiful Wabash River and get
a river rat's view of the Nickel Plate Bridge and the
Kelly Avenue Bridge. (Peru to Lewisburg is a four to
five hour trip).
Bring your own canoe or rent one from Miller's Cool
Running Canoe Rental (call (765) 985-9800 to rent). Your
family will enjoy every minute of the trip no matter
what your experience level. There are check points along
the way and transportation from Lewisburg back to Peru
is provided. Upon returning to Peru our guest will enjoy
a hog roast and live music from 3 to 5 p.m.
If canoeing is not for you, we have a driving tour
map available that will take you to our Iron Bridges
(about a one hour drive). Then feel free to come back
and enjoy the hog roast and live music.
Everyone is welcome, even if you just want to come to
eat and sing along with the band!
The cost is $15 for adults and $7.50 for children
ages 10 and under. Admission includes transportation for
you and your canoe from Lewisburg to Peru, hog roast,
live music and driving tour map. This is an alcohol-free
family event.
Register by phone Tuesday through Saturday between
the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (765) 473-9183. For
more information, please visit http://www.ironbridgefestival.com/.
Canal Boat Dedication at the Canal Park
in Delphi
This event will be held on June 20
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Canal Park in Delphi.
The new float-on-the-water canal boat, The
Delphi, was delivered to Canal Park on June 2. The
boat was built by the Scarano Boat Building Co. in
Albany, N.Y., to two-thirds scale to accommodate passage
under the stone bridge. It is 54 feet long and will hold
40 passengers plus two crew members. It has two quiet
five-horsepower motors, but could be pulled by horses.
There is seating on long benches facing outward so that
passengers can enjoy the historic sights along the
canal. The colorful boat was painted with historic canal
boat colors.
The boat will be officially dedicated at 10 a.m. An
honorary group will take the first official outing on
the canal, and upon their return to the dock, those
waiting will be taken on short “sample” cruises at no
cost for the rest of the day until 5 p.m.
While waiting, patrons can enjoy ice cream cones from
the Rossville Lions Club ice cream truck or watch the
Wheelmen on their vintage bicycles. Food will be
available at the shelter house, served by the Methodist
church. Commemorative buttons will be on sale as
souvenirs.
After Saturday, the boat rides will be full-length
narrated cruises and will cost $5 for adults, $4 for
seniors and students and $2 for pre-school children.
Cruises will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. on
Sundays.
For more information, please visit http://www.wabashanderiecanal.org/.
Rural Heritage Driving Tour in
Switzerland and Ohio Counties
This driving
tour from the Switzerland County Historical Society and
the Ohio County Historical Society will be held on
Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning in
Vevay and Rising Sun.
Barns and rural sites in Switzerland and Ohio
Counties are the focus of an amazing tour that the
historical societies from the participating counties
have organized. The tour was developed as a way to honor
the rural heritage that established the two counties and
showcase sites that have shown a high level of
stewardship towards preserving rural architecture or are
works-in-progress to revitalize properties undergoing
adaptive reuses.
Take this rare opportunity to visit operating farms,
country churches and developing museum sites. The
variety of barns includes a scissor-truss barn, hay
press barns, a Gothic arch-roofed barn and a
gambrel-roofed dairy barn.
Tickets are $8 and are available the day of the tour
at the Switzerland County Historical Museum at 208 E.
Market St. in Vevay or the Ohio County Historical
Society at 212 S. Walnut in Rising Sun.
A map with specific directions will guide you on this
incredible rural adventure, and a booklet with
information about the sites will further enhance the
drive. Plan to spend the whole day, as you won’t want to
miss any of the nine sites on this driving tour through
the picturesque countryside.
For further information contact the Switzerland
County Historical Museum at (812) 427-3560 or the Ohio
County Historical Museum at (812) 438-4915.
Journey of Faith Church Driving
Tour in Scott County
In partnership with
four Scott County churches, the Scott County Heritage
Center and Museum is sponsoring the Journey of
Faith church driving tour on Saturday, June 20,
from 1 to 4 pm.
Participants will be able to visit and tour the
Austin United Methodist Church, the Lexington Christian
Church, the Ox Fork Primitive Baptist Church and the
Scottsburg First Presbyterian Church. The driving tour
is self-guided and participants will be free to visit
the churches in any sequence anytime during the
afternoon. Church members will provide histories of
their congregations as well as tours of the buildings at
each location. In addition, museum volunteers will
provide refreshments at Ox Fork Baptist. Directions,
maps and a brochure with brief histories of each church
will be provided with ticket purchases.
Tickets for the event are $10 per person and are
available at the museum.
The Scott County Heritage Center and Museum is open
Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on
Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For additional
information about the tour or other upcoming events,
please call the museum at (812) 752-1050.
Critter Showcase at Sheridan Veterans
Park
This event will be held on Saturday,
June 20, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Veterans Park in
Sheridan.
Milk goats, pygmy goats, rabbits, chickens, turkeys,
alpacas, llamas, sheep and lambs will join cats and dogs
from the Humane Society for Hamilton County. The event,
near the gazebo and the historic Boxley Cabin,
compliments the historic landmark’s weekend visiting
hours from 1 to 3 p.m.
The showcase, free to the public, is designed to
illustrate the versatility of the new park’s open space
and is produced by a volunteer committee representing
the Sheridan Historical Society and the Town of
Sheridan. Donations are welcome, and if rain, the animal
exhibits will be relocated under the gazebo.
For more information contact the Sheridan Historical
Society at (317) 758-5845.
Programs at the Indiana State
Library
These programs will be offered at
the Indiana State Library at 140 N. Senate Ave. in
Indianapolis.
- Remarkable Indiana
Dames
This program will be
held on Wednesday, June 24, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the
History Reference Room.
Learn about Hoosier
women such as May Wright Sewall, Gene Stratton Porter
and Madame C.J. Walker who worked to change life in
Indianapolis and Indiana during the 19th and 20th
centuries.
- Hoosier Mama, Hoosier
Papa
This program will be held on
Thursday, June 25, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the
History Reference Room.
Get an introduction to
the materials in the Indiana State Library for family
history research. This is a good follow-up to the
Genealogy for Beginners program.
These programs are free to the public and require no
registration. For more information, call (317) 232-3675.
Made In Henry County Lawn Social
at the Henry County Historical Society
This
event will be held on Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. at the Henry County Historical Society located at
606 S. 14th St. in New Castle.
Come shop with the vendors who make their items in
Henry County. Come see the displays, games for children
and other things that are too numerous to mention.
Two authors will be signing their books that have
just come out this year. Charlene Perry will be signing
her book, Haunted Henry County, Vol. III, from
10 a.m. to noon, and Nancy Holler, will be signing her
book, The Hoosier Cabinet in Kitchen History,
from 2 to 4 p.m.
Ice cream will be served in the afternoon. Eat it
plain or make it into an ice cream sundae. Hot dogs,
chips and a drink will be available from 11 a.m. to 1
p.m.
The event is free to the public. There is a charge
for food.
For more information, please visit www.kiva.net/~hchisoc/museum.htm.
Historical and Architectural Survey
Project Kickoff Meeting in Franklin
County
The public is invited to a kickoff
meeting to learn more about a field survey project on
Tuesday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at the Franklin County
Courthouse located at 459 Main St. in Brookville.
Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, the Indiana
Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, and
the Ball State University Center for Historic
Preservation are collaborating to identify all of
Franklin County’s historic sites and structures. The
federally and locally funded project began May 1 and
fieldwork will continue through the next eleven months.
Amanda Taylor, Project Coordinator for Ball State
Center for Historic Preservation, will present a brief
slide show about the project, introduce the surveyors,
and answer questions. Joe Jarzen, Community Preservation
Specialist for Historic Landmarks Foundation, will also
be available to discuss the project. Judge Steve Cox
will highlight recent renovation at the Courthouse, one
of the county’s signature landmarks.
Field Surveyors Ryan Shrack and Scott Brown will
drive every road in Franklin County to locate, document
and photograph all historic sites, structures and
districts built before 1969 that meet survey criteria.
Brief histories of the county’s towns and their historic
districts, as well as photos highlighting the county’s
outstanding homes, commercial buildings, cemeteries and
bridges, will be included in a publication that will be
issued when the survey is completed.
In addition, towns, planning agencies and historical
organizations can use the data to identify historic
buildings and districts that should be nominated to the
National Register of Historic Places. Teachers use
survey information to instruct their students about
local history and architecture. Eighty-eight counties
have already been surveyed as part of the state’s
ongoing historic inventory program.
The Franklin County survey and publication projects
are funded in part by matching grants from the U.S.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service's
Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic
Preservation and Archaeology. Historic Metamora and
Franklin County Citizens for Historic Preservation are
the local sponsors of the projects.
For about the survey and the June 30 presentation,
call Amanda Taylor at (765) 213-3540 x 234.
Naturalization Ceremony at the President
Benjamin Harrison Home
This event will be
held on July 2 at 10 a.m. on the south lawn of the
President Benjamin Harrison Home located at 1230 N.
Delaware St. in Indianapolis.
The Honorable Judge Sarah Evans Barker will preside
over the Naturalization Ceremony of approximately 100
new U.S. citizens. Harrison Home Foundation Board
President Susan Ridlen will welcome new citizens and
their families. The ceremony will be held in a tent on
the south lawn rain or shine.
Admission to the ceremony is free, and admission to
the house tour is free that day to the new citizens,
their families and friends.
For more information, please visit http://www.pbhh.org/.
Canal Days at the Canal Park in
Delphi
This event will be held on Saturday,
July 4, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, July 5, from
noon to 5 p.m. at the Canal Park in Delphi.
The traditional Independence Day parade, sponsored by
the Delphi Lions Club, will begin at 10 a.m. and will
end around noon at the Canal Center for the presentation
of awards. A special feature on Saturday morning will be
a stirring patriotic multi-media presentation “Let
Freedom Ring,” presented by Brian Migliore, of Fort
Wayne. This distinctive program combines images matched
to words and music. Gather at 1, 2:30 or 4 p.m. at the
Canal Center to hear Brian’s program. There is no
admission charge for this event, but donations are
welcome.
The new canal boat The Delphi will be
running cruises continuously beginning at 11 a.m. on
Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. Purchase tickets at the
Canal Center front desk.
Narrated walking tours will take visitors to two new
venues: a walk at 2 p.m. to Canal Park Annex to learn
about the new warehouse patterned after a local 1800s
warehouse, and a trek at 4 p.m. to the Mule Barn, a
replica of a relay station where fresh horses were
obtained to pull the canal boats. The Mule Barn and its
tack room will be open for viewing all day as well. All
of the buildings in Canal Park will be open, and, of
course, the miles of towpath trails are always available
for walking, hiking or biking. The 1844 Reed Case House
will be open for tours both days.
You will find quality hand-made gifts at the Bowen
Cabin Crafts Gift Shop. Kids can make their own bird
houses with Rob at Jim’s Carpenter Shop. The
Schoolmaster will be at the school house both days, and
children can play games outside during “recess.” Of
course, the wonderful Playboat will welcome children to
explore its many parts. The beautiful white carriage
will be available for rides on Sunday from noon to 5
p.m.
The Canal Association’s Snack Shack will offer
various sandwiches and food items as well as the
traditional home-made fruit pies and ice cream. New this
year will be buffalo burgers. Another booth will be
serving chili. Have a hot apple dumpling with ice cream
(while supplies last) at the Canal Center. Some
dumplings may be available frozen to purchase and bake
at home as well.
At the Canal Center and throughout the park craftsmen
and artisans of pioneer crafts will demonstrate their
skills and some will have items for sale.
For more information, please visit http://www.wabashanderiecanal.org/.
34th Annual Ice Cream Social at the
President Benjamin Harrison Home
This event
will be held on July 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at
the President Benjamin Harrison Home located at 1230 N.
Delaware St. in Indianapolis.
The event will include tours of the Harrison Home
with live re-enactments. Other event features will
include:
- Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Harrison the Fifth
will be inviting guests to sign a copy of the
Declaration of Independence with a quill feather pen
- A historical treasure hunt for children
- Silly Safaris animal show
- Silhouette artist
- Juggler
- Magician
- Victorian games on the lawn, including croquet
- Indianapolis Fire Department fire fighters
providing tours of a fire truck and teaching about
fire and fireworks safety
- A scoop of ice cream, included with the cost of
admission
- Live music provided by The White River Jazz
Band
- Patriotic items available in the Harrison Home
gift shop
The cost is $10 for adults, $4 for students ages five
to 17 and free for children ages four and under.
Parking for the Independence Day weekend events will
be available along Delaware Street and in the Landmark
parking lot at 11th and Delaware streets.
For more information, please visit http://www.pbhh.org/.
Miami Indian Heritage Days at
the Chief Richardville House
This event will
be held on Saturday, July 4, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the
Chief Richardville House located at 5705 Bluffton Rd. in
Fort Wayne.
Join us as Erik Vosteen, one of the region’s leading
authorities on ancient lifeways, demonstrates
traditional Great Lakes pottery, stone crafts and tools.
Vosteen, a cultural and environmental interpreter, will
explain flint-knapping, using sharp blows to shape
stones and flints into useful tools that can be used to
accomplish basic everyday tasks such as cutting, sewing,
drilling and sawing sticks. He will also demonstrate
early pottery and how it was used to cook over a fire.
A tour of Miami Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville’s
c. 1827 home is included in the admission fee. This
restored site affords visitors an opportunity to walk in
the footsteps of our area’s history.
The cost is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and
students and free to Fort Wayne History Center members
and children ages five and under.
For more information, call (260) 426-2882 or visit http://www.fwhistorycenter.com/.
Fourth of July Ice Cream Social and
Vaudeville for Freedom at the Scott County
Heritage Center and Museum
This event will
be held on July 4 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Scott
County Heritage Center and Museum in Scottsburg.
The event will feature ice cream, games, activities
and live entertainment. Volunteers will be selling ice
cream with a variety of toppings, prior to the Scott
County Museum Theatre Company’s staging of
Vaudeville for Freedom at 6 p.m. Ice
cream is 50 cents a scoop and 50 cents for toppings. In
addition, a variety of outdoor games and activities are
available for all ages.
The Theatre Company’s vaudeville show is an original
production that features singing, dancing and comedic
sketches. Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs or
blankets to enjoy the show from the front lawn. The show
will be staged a second time, with a few changes, the
following Saturday, July 11, at the museum’s Heritage
Garrison Weekend.
There is no admission charge, though a free-will
donation will be collected.
For additional information about this or other
upcoming events, please call the museum at (812)
752-1050.
Lew Wallace Youth Academy at the General
Lew Wallace Study and Museum
This academy
for children will be held July 7 through 11 from 9 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. at the General Lew Wallace Study and
Museum located at 200 Wallace Ave. in Crawfordsville.
Applicants for the academy must be entering 6th
through 8th grade or equivalent and able to attend the
entire camp. The academy promotes in its students the
qualities of leadership, character and lifelong learning
that General Lew Wallace embodied throughout his life.
Academy students will explore disciplines close to
Wallace’s heart, including architecture, art, music,
storytelling and serving others.
The cost is $25 per child. Parents are responsible
for arranging transportation to and from the academy.
For a registration form, please contact Amanda
Wesselmann at (765) 362-5769 or awesselmann@ben-hur.com.
Registration forms and fees are due by June 30.
ArchiCamp For Kids in
Madison
This program will be held on July 15
and 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Madison, and is
sponsored by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana,
Historic Madison, Inc. and the Lanier Mansion State
Historic Site.
ArchiCamp, an award-winning program,
encourages children to use their imaginations and powers
of observation while teaching them about history,
architecture and renovation.
Participants in the two-day ArchiCamp spend
both days discovering the fascinating history of Madison
and its architecture. The camp, based is for children
ages eight to 12.
Campers travel back in time when they meet a
nineteenth-century carpenter who instructs them in the
use of historic tools. The children take a tour of
downtown Madison led by visitors from the 1800s. There
are plenty of hands-on activities including planting
heirloom flowers, model building, and texture rubbings.
The second day of the camp concludes with a swim in the
historic Crystal Beach pool.
The cost of the camp is $30 and includes
refreshments, educational materials, admission fees and
souvenirs. Participants should bring a sack lunch both
days. To ensure personal attention, enrollment for the
camp is limited to 20 children.
Reservations are required by July 3. Contact Heidi
Kruggel, Historic Madison, Inc., at (812) 265-2967 or hmiheidi@seidata.com.