Did you know that Murdock Park was once an official bird sanctuary in our state? In honor of Women’s History Month, we would like to highlight a few lives of forgotten women leaders from Tippecanoe County’s past. One such woman was Eliza Dana Weigle, whose accomplishments were so vast that it would be impossible to list them via this forum. During the early and mid-part of the 20th century, Weigle was a well-known poetess, highly honored author, award-winning artist, and an avid bird-lover. In addition, Weigle was a founding member of the General de Lafayette DAR Chapter and served two terms as the organization’s regent as well as chaplain for the state DAR society, and she wrote articles and poetry that were published in various books and magazines throughout the country. Weigle served as president of the Indiana Audubon Society for many years and was appointed official reporter for the government on spring and fall migration of birds. Weigle and her husband, Charles, owned a be...

  Indiana General Assembly Enacts Formation of Tippecanoe County on January 26, 1826 - Part II Lafayette Weekly Courier (Lafayette, Indiana) - Tuesday, October 31, 1882 - Part II Continued - The Movers and Shakers of Early Tippecanoe County - as told by Col. William Wilson Do You See Any Recognizable Names? Artist George Winter early painting of Wabash Valley area The first newspaper published in the county was the  Free Press , which was issued as early as 1830.  In that beautiful tract of land known as the Wea Plains, was made the first settlement of the county.  Helm says that Elijah Noore located on this prairie in the spring of 1822, and remained until winter, when he returned to Bloomington, Indiana, and that Peter Weaver, late in the year 1822 removed from the White River country, to establish a home better adapted to his inclinations on the Wabash, settling upon the Wea Plains, upon the land now occupied by his son, Patrick H. Weaver.  Peter Weaver Homes...

 Part 1 of 2: A History of Tippecanoe County as told by Pioneers in 1882 Indiana General Assembly Enacts Formation of Tippecanoe County on January 26, 1826 From The Lafayette Weekly Courier (Lafayette, Indiana) – Tues., Oct 31, 1882 Did you know that Tippecanoe County, Indiana, has thirteen separate townships with unique and disti nct histories?   Over the next twelve months, the America/Indiana 250 Committee for Tippecanoe County will be sharing historical stories related to the people and places of these thirteen townships. We also welcome submissions from those who would like to share family histories and related photos to be included in the 250 th anniversary memoirs for Tippecanoe County.   The Indiana General Assembly enacted the formation of Tippecanoe County on January 26, 1826, out of Wabash County. Prior to that date, “all the territory embraced in that wide district of land lying north of Montgomery County as far as Lake Michigan was called Wabash County and...

  Fred, Gabriel & John Aveline, Orphans of Royal Native American Lineage St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum Home to Native American Princes By Diana Vice & Karen Brand Vice and Brand are Historians with the General de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution in Lafayette, Indiana. My friend and co- DAR Historian, Karen Brand, and I have been researching orphans who had once lived at the St. Joseph’s Orphanage Asylum in Lafayette, Indiana.   The orphanage was founded in 1876 by the local Catholic Church and ran until 1938 when it closed. Our goal is to capture as many personal stories as we can.   [For previous orphan stories, you can read about this writer’s grandfather , Roy Hanthorn , and Con Kennedy , known as the Carnival King.] Karen recently came across an interesting story about three brothers who had lived there at the turn of the 20 th century who were famous for their genealogical heritage. In fact, they were considered to be of royal Native ...

  Valerius Armitage, Canal Builder By Diana Vice Vice is an honorary regent and historian for the General de Lafayette Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Valerius Armitage first arrived in Indiana in 1830 to work on the Wabash & Erie Canal. Who was Valerius Armitage? That was a question I asked myself after being asked to look through a large collection of canal-era artifacts bearing his name. The collection contains dozens of various legal documents, letters, and diary notes from the collection of Judge Cyrus Ball, a prominent attorney and pioneer from Lafayette’s earliest days. Judge Ball had served as an attorney for Armitage and handled his final estate.   For nearly 200 years, the Armitage papers have been in possession of the Ball Family, and since it was constructed in 1876, the collection has been stored in a closet of the notorious Ball House that was built by Judge Ball for his wife, Rebecca.   The papers include historical artifacts from For...