Frontiers and Folktales: A History of the Wabash Valley

Ages 3 & Up: Travel back in time and share Indiana history with your family with myths, legends, and stories from Native Americans and early European settlers of the Wabash Valley. Start your trip with the exhibit in the Special Collections Department to learn about the people and places of the Valley’s early history.

Beginning at 10:15 a.m., you and your family can listen to three folktales: the story of the Terre Haute Madstone, a mysterious “cure-all” from the 1800s that drew people from across the country; the story of the Little Prairie Hen and the Big Indiana, two ships that competed in a boat race when the Wabash and Erie Canal opened; and the story of Bear’s short tail as told by the Potawatomi people, one of the first tribes of Native Americans to live in Indiana.

At 11:00 a.m., the Special Collections Department will host a brief presentation on the history of the Wabash Valley and Vigo County.