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IHS’s Indiana Bicentennial Train Celebrates State’s 200th Birthday at Indiana State Fair
Indianapolis—This Bicentennial year, the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS’s) Indiana Bicentennial Train will be available to a statewide audience of Hoosiers. For the second-straight year, the Bicentennial Train will serve as an attraction at the Indiana State Fair. IHS invites fairgoers to hop aboard daily (Aug. 5-21), between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Visitors will find the Bicentennial Train in Family Fun Park, next to Pioneer Village, on the northeast side of the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
New this year, IHS is introducing a train whistle and a train-themed photo opportunity. The three air-conditioned boxcars also feature the Bicentennial exhibit The Next Indiana. The exhibit uses several hundred images from IHS’s collections to explore the state’s past. The images are grouped by theme (transportation, land use, talent and community) and by date.
In the first boxcar, the exhibit explores early state history up to 1900, including our Native American and Northwest Territory-era roots, statehood and 19th-century history. The second car covers the 20th century, and the third car illustrates Indiana history from 2000 to the present, while also looking to the future.
Also new this year, Bicentennial Train visitors (must be 18 or older) can register to win a limited-edition commemorative rifle commissioned for the state’s Bicentennial. The rifle is engraved with images from the state’s past.
The Bicentennial Train is included with admission to the fair. IHS individual members are eligible to receive a free fair ticket, and IHS household members are eligible to receive up to four free tickets. For more information on tickets available to IHS members, contact Sarah Sankovich at ssankovich@indianahistory.org.
The Indiana Bicentennial Train is presented by IHS, in partnership with the Indiana State Fair Commission (ISFC), Indiana Humanities and the Indiana Bicentennial Commission. It is funded generously by the Indiana Rail Road Company and Norfolk Southern Corporation, with support from Kroger and Duke Energy.
More information on the Bicentennial Train, and other IHS offerings, is available at www.indianahistory.org or by calling (317) 232-1882.
About the Indiana Historical Society
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller™, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing the state’s history. A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation’s premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor experiences called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups; publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; produces and hosts art exhibitions, museum theater and outside performance groups; and provides youth, adult and family programs. IHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate and a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
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