Jun
8
Thu
Stories Buildings Tell @ The History Center
Jun 8 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Presented by Tommy Kleckner, Director of the Western Regional Office at Indiana Landmarks.

Learn how details in buildings can reveal the past and tell stories of the people who occupied them. We guarantee you’ll never look at old buildings the same way again. Tippecanoe County buildings will be featured.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Jun
12
Mon
School of the Artifact: Weird Whatzits @ The History Center
Jun 12 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

 

During excavations at Fort Ouiatenon (1717-1791) archaeologists occasionally found objects that were unusual or unexpected. Some have not been able to be identified as to what their purpose was! Come put your history knowledge to the test to see if YOU can help identify some of these “Weird Whatzits!”
Presented by Leslie and Rick Conwell.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Jun
20
Tue
Show & Tell: Fred Hovde @ The History Center
Jun 20 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Presented by Michael Smith. 

As the 7th president of Purdue University, Hovde is a name known to many in the greater Lafayette Area. Join Michael Smith to learn more about the origin and legacy of Fred Hovde.

Learn more about Show & Tell programs:  Remember grade school Show & Tell, and how you looked forward to it all week? We all brought things from home that we thought were special or that were important to us. Recapture that school magic with TCHA’s Show & Tell programs! Bring a favorite piece from your collections, share what you know with others in the audience, and learn something new! Afterwards, sit back in your chair and engage with the presenter’s program.

Jul
11
Tue
Show & Tell: The Dapper Man About Town: George Ade @ The History Center
Jul 11 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Presented by Pete Bill. 

John T. McCutcheon once described George Ade as someone “who would always stand out in a room”. From his earliest days as a student at Purdue and Sigma Chi fraternity, to his flop-house days in Chicago as a cub reporter, to his later career as a writer, poet, and playwright, George Ade always stood out mostly by being “just a little different” … or, perhaps, “just a little odd”. Come hear some of the tales and adventures of “The Aesop of Indiana” as he traveled through life from Purdue to Chicago to his eventual Hazelden estate in nearby Brook, Indiana.

Learn more about Show & Tell programs:  Remember grade school Show & Tell, and how you looked forward to it all week? We all brought things from home that we thought were special or that were important to us. Recapture that school magic with TCHA’s Show & Tell programs! Bring a favorite piece from your collections, share what you know with others in the audience, and learn something new! Afterwards, sit back in your chair and engage with the presenter’s program.

Jul
13
Thu
J.C. Allen: Farm life in the 20th Century Through Photos @ The History Center
Jul 13 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Presented by Fred Whitford

Who among us has not spent hours studying photographs of family and friends? Images transport us to another time, another place, another state of being. Photographs of young children playing in the yard, cradling yellow chicks, or starting school air something deep within us. John Calvin Allen captured a rich collection of photographs depicting farm life during much of the twentieth century in Indiana. Allen consistently focused his lens upon farms and rural communities, resulting in a rare glimpse of agriculture and rural life at that time. Enjoy reliving the early days of agriculture from the transition from pioneer practices to scientific methodologies.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Aug
8
Tue
Tippecanoe County and Indiana State Gunmakers of Note @ The History Center
Aug 8 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Presented by Rick Conwell & Jeff Jaeger

In the mid-nineteenth century more than a dozen gunmakers worked in Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, as well as hundreds more statewide. Many of these men have interesting, often idiosyncratic, life stories set in the era of the Wabash and Erie Canal, the coming of the railroad, western expansion, and the early industrial revolution. For this program, RIck Conwell and author/researcher Jeff Jaeger have assembled a special selection of rifles made by these local and regional makers and gathered from both public and private sources to illustrate their biographies.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Aug
10
Thu
History of St. Elizabeth Hospital @ The History Center
Aug 10 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Presented by Sister M. Petra Nielsen, Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration and Vice President of Mission Integration for Franciscan Health Michigan City

Six Sisters of Saint Francis arrived from Olpe, Germany on December 14, 1875 to establish a community of their order and a hospital in Lafayette, Indiana. Nearly 150 years have passed since their arrival.
 
Sister M. Petra Nielsen, Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration and Vice President of Mission Integration for Franciscan Health Michigan City will speak about the history of the founding and further development and growth of St. Elizabeth Hospital and the School of Nursing. She will include some stories and anecdotes, as well as pictures from their Archives.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Aug
17
Thu
Samara @ The History Center
Aug 17 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm


Photo: Alexander Vertikoff

Presented by Indiana Historic Landmarks

In the early 1950s, Purdue University professor Dr. John Christian and his wife Catherine dreamed of a home that would serve both their desire to entertain faculty, staff, and students and be a lasting structure that would grow with their family. Research, perseverance, and a touch of luck led the Christians to Frank Lloyd Wright with whom they built their dream home. Discover the story of Samara’s construction and the recent completion of a million dollar-plus restoration that repaired structural issues, refreshed finishes, and upgraded mechanical systems.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Sep
6
Wed
Historic Highland Park neighborhood @ The History Center
Sep 6 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Highland Park was platted in 1891 in what was known as Reynold’s meadows. It was Lafayette’s first planned subdivision, with winding brick streets and avenues and a park known as the Highland Park Triangle, used for picnics and gatherings, but mainly used by youngsters for neighborhood baseball and football games. Architectural styles range from large, turn-of-the-century Queen Anne houses to middle-class bungalows. A few houses were built after World War II in the ranch house style. All buildings but one are residential (Highland School) and all but very few are single-family dwellings. Wood frame construction is predominant; however, brick, stucco, and a variety of other materials are present.
 
This event is graciously sponsored by the National Group.
Oct
21
Sat
Spring Vale Cemetery Tour @ Spring Vale Cemetery
Oct 21 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

In December 1868, the Spring Vale Cemetery Association was organized, and a 150 acre tract two miles northeast of the city in the Longlois Reserve was purchased. It was laid out into 35 sections, in the rural cemetery style. Come learn more about this cemetery and some of the early Tippecanoe County residents buried here.

NOTE: if it is raining, we will hold the program at the Frank G. Arganbright Genealogy Center, 1001 South, Lafayette, IN