​August Vogel Coverlet, c. 1851

Object ID: 2017.10.2

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Born in Saxony, Germany, August Vogel immigrated to the United States as European textile production became increasingly industrialized. A skilled weaver, Vogel settled in Montgomery County in 1848, where he produced delicately ornate coverlets for the local community. By 1854, he had left the area, likely due to growing competition from mechanized mills such as Yount’s Woolen Mill. Though his time in the area was brief, Vogel’s finely woven coverlets remain as evidence of his craftsmanship and contribution to local textile history.

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Charity Farnsworth Smith Braided Hat, c. 1855

Object ID: 00.20.1

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In order to support her eight children after relocating to Montgomery County in 1822, Charity Farnsworth Smith (1776-1865), a widow and early-settler, wove and sold hats made from the rye cultivated on her farm, located near present day Traction Road. Smith created this hat in 1855 and intended to sell it at the Crawfordsville Farmers Market. She continued to purchase supplies from Cincinnati and sell merchandise at the local farmers markets until her death in 1865.

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Additional Information

Charity Farnsworth Smith was one of the first settlers in the area that would become Montgomery County. Charity was born in New Jersey in 1776, Charity and her family migrated to Washington County, Pennsylvania where she met and married Ephraim Smith. Charity and Ephraim moved to Ohio with their oldest children. In Ohio, the couple decided to investigate the government land deals in the land that became Putnam County, Indiana. Before the couple could move, Ephraim passed away. Charity decided to continue their plans to move the family. Charity and her 10 children arrived in Montgomery County on November 8, 1822. When they arrived in Crawfordsville, they camped on the courthouse lawn where the solider monument stands now. The next day Charity rode to Terre Haute to purchase 160 acres of land east of Crawfordsville north of Traction road today. The family lived in a hollowed-out log and a wagon until a log cabin was erected on the property.  The oldest son a built brick house around 1840. Charity used rye grown on her farm to braid hats during the winter to sell at market in the summer. Family stories tell how Charity and her family were friendly with local indigenous populations and when Charity made her annual trip to Cincinnati to trade, the indigenous people would send a runner to watch over her during her travels. Before her death in 1865, Charity earned enough money that she was able to gift each of her children a farm.

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Crawfordsville: A Pictorial History by Pat Cline, c. 1991

Object ID: R1991.2.1

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In 1991, Pat Cline, a journalist and co-founder of the long-standing Montgomery Magazine, published Crawfordsville: A Pictorial History to inform the public of the rich history of Crawfordsville, Indiana and connect the present to the past through imagery that captures the significance of the local community as the “Athens of Indiana.” Cline’s publication remains an influential publication and symbol of community service in the present day.

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Additional Information

Pat Cline was an award-winning journalist and author. Her journalism career began in 1967 when she joined the Tipton Tribune as a reporter, becoming city editor and managing editor before joining the Crawfordsville Journal Review in 1971. She became the Journal Review’s first correspondent on the Vietnam War 1955-1975, and later worked as the civic affairs editor until her retirement in 1993. She cofounded Montgomery, Your County Magazine in 1976 which was later sold to Journal Review in 1981. She won multiple writing awards during her career. In 1994, she won Freedom Communications Inc’s Award of Excellence, and, in 1991, the Montgomery County Historical Society presented her with the Krout Wallace Award for literature and journalism for her work Crawfordsville, A Pictorial History.

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Crawfordsville Fire Department Speaking Trumpet, c. 1875

Object ID: 55.1268

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In 1875, Warren H. Ashley, chief of the Niagara Fire Company, received this silver-plated presentation speaking trumpet from an unknown source. The Niagara Fire Company was formed in 1869 to address the need for fire protection after a fire destroyed a block of downtown in 1868. In 1888, the Niagara Fire Company and additional volunteer fire protection companies consolidated to become the Crawfordsville Fire Department.

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Additional Information

On December 23, 1868, a fire ravaged a block in downtown Crawfordsville, near the courthouse. In the aftermath a meeting was held to discuss the organization of a Fire Department. The initial group consisted entirely of volunteer firefighters, General Lew Wallace being among them. These community-minded individuals were called the Niagara Fire Company, named after their first engine, "Niagara," that was purchased from Terre Haute. The department operated out of various barns in Crawfordsville until a second engine was purchased in 1872, resulting in a fire station being built in 1873. The first city-funded fire department was established in 1888. It consisted of paid firefighters as well as volunteer “minute men” who supplemented the force until the city installed fire hydrants in 1897. The department settled in the Crawfordsville Municipal Building in 1933.

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Elston Bank Commemorative Medallion, c. 1953

Object ID: 2012.6.1

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In 1953, the Elston Bank & Trust Company created commemorative medallions to celebrate a century of service to the Crawfordsville community. In 1853, Major Isaac Compton Elston and Senator Henry Smith Lane established the Elston & Lane Bank, a financial institution that transformed the city of Crawfordsville through its support of local agricultural and industrial businesses until 2010, when the Elston Bank merged into PNC Bank.

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Additional Information

Major Isaac C. Elston arrived in Crawfordsville in October of 1824. He was appointed postmaster of the city by President Andrew Jackson. Elston established a store in town providing goods, groceries, and hardware to Crawfordsville. Investing his money into land speculation, Elston bought land in Lafayette in 1825 and in the area that became Michigan City in 1831. In 1852 Elston purchased property and platted the City of Kankake, Illinois through negotiations with the with local indigenous people in 1852. Using the money from the sales of his land plots, Elston established the Lane and Elston Bank in Crawfordsville with Henry S. Lane in 1853. Major Isaac C. Elston died in 1867, following his death, his son Col. Elston II assumed control and ran the bank. In 1905, the bank was renamed the Elston National Bank and Isaac C. Elston III assumed control. Elston National bank was absorbed by the First National City Bank which then became PNC Bank.

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First United Methodist Church Cook Book, c. 1886

Object ID: 55.1604.1

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In 1886, the ladies of the First United Methodist Church, including Joanna Lane and Susan Wallace, compiled a cook book for the local community.

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Additional Information

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​​​​Grand Army of the Republic Souvenir Badge, c. 1909

Object ID: 2007.04.19

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On May 19-21, 1909, the City of Crawfordsville hosted the 30th annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), reaching an attendance of roughly 5,000 attendees. During the encampment, the Crawfordsville community honored local veterans with a parade and fostered community pride as they showcased the residences of Civil War generals and notable persons, including Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace, Brig. Gen. Mahlon Manson, and Sen. Henry S. Lane. Participants who attended the encampment received these souvenir badges, commemorating the four deceased generals (Wallace, Manson, Canby, and Morgan).

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Grand Army of the Republic Souvenir Ribbon, c. 1893

Object ID: 2007.04.09

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On September 4-9, 1893, the City of Indianapolis hosted the 27th annual National Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), where posts, such as the local McPherson Post No. 7, shared a space to remember shared experiences during the war and lobby the federal government for additional support in medical attention for veterans, increased pensions and benefits for veterans and their families, and funding to construct monuments and memorials commemorating Union soldiers across the nation. This ribbon was given to local members of the McPherson Post No.7 who attended the National Encampment.

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Additional Information

The Grand Army of the Republic formed in Decatur, Illinois, following the Civil War. The G.A.R acted as both a political and social force that supported Republican candidates and pushed for veterans’ pensions and voting rights for African Americans. The first encampment (1866) and last encampment (1949) took place in Indianapolis. The organization dissolved in 1956 when its last surviving member died. The Crawfordsville McPherson Post No.7 was formed by local veterans in 1879 and was named after Gen. James B. McPherson, who was the second-highest-ranking Union officer to die in battle. In September 1887, Crawfordsville hosted a local encampment, an event that saw 9,000 attendees, as a large tent city was established at the fairgrounds called Camp Henry S. Lane. Encampment events included speeches, music, and a parade, with the main event of the encampment being a mock battle that included a rebel fort constructed for the event.  

In 1909, The McPherson Post No.7 hosted a 30th annual encampment which saw an attendance of 5,000, tours of the city and Civil War landmarks and a parade. This was not the last G.A.R event for the City of Crawfordsville as members continued to hold smaller gatherings. The G.A.R also played a major role in the erection of the war memorial on the Montgomery County courthouse grounds. Also, on the courthouse grounds, The McPherson Post dedicated 2 cannons as a memorial to all volunteers of the Civil War. After the death of Captain Henry Talbot in 1924, the Crawfordsville G.A.R quickly ended due to diminishing surviving members.

Apart from the main branch of the G.A.R., an auxiliary women’s group called The National Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC) was charted in 1883. The WRC’s mission was to provide assistance to G.A.R. members and to provide aid to their widows and orphans. There was a Crawfordsville chapter called the G.A.R McPherson WRC No. 74 that operated from 1887 to 1961.

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Herbert Merritt Fruits’ Silver Star & Honor Certificate, c. 1974-1977

Object ID: 2014.6.3.1 & 2014.6.2

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Herbert Merritt Fruits (1911-1974) served in the United States Army during World War II, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant in Company C, Third Platoon, 811th Tank Destroyer Unit. He served in the European Theater. On December 18, 1944, Fruits was captured by German forces and subsequently held as a prisoner of war at Stalag XIII, a prisoner-of-war camp located near Nuremberg, Germany. President Gerald Ford granted Fruits the Silver Star for his gallantry in action during the war.

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Additional Information

Herbert Merritt Fruits was born on October 6, 1911 in Crawfordsville. After graduating from New Richmond High School in 1930 Fruits worked in Lafayette as a meat cutter and would married Evangeline Louke in 1936.  In 1942 when he entered the United States Army, and would go overseas in April of 1944 with the 811th Tank Destroyer Unit. On December 18, 1944, Fruits was captured by German forces and subsequently held as a prisoner of war at Stalag XIII, a prisoner-of-war camp located near Nuremberg, Germany. After the war, Fruits became a rural mail carrier for 14 years in the surrounding areas of New Richmond, Linden, and Romney. Fruits lived with his mother who he looked after until her death in 1968, he would pass away on December 10, 1974 in Romney, IN and is buried at Waynetown Masonic Cemetery.

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Memorabilia from the Montgomery County Bicentennial, c. 2022

Object ID: 2025.6.1 & 2025.6.2

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In 2022, the Montgomery County Community celebrated the county’s Bicentennial through various commemorative events throughout the year including a Bicentennial Tree Planting Campaign, the establishment of a Bicentennial monument, free Second Friday concert series, a Ringing out the Bicentennial ceremony, and a ceremony to commemorate the “Unsung Heroes” within our community. The Montgomery County Bicentennial Committee created memorabilia to celebrate this event.

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Peace Jubilee Commemorative Medal, c. 1898

Object ID: 2025.3.1

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Decorative brass commemorative medal from the Peace Jubilee and Street Fair held in Crawfordsville in 1898 to commemorate the end of the Spanish-American War (April 21—August 13, 1898), honoring returning soldiers and bringing community excitement through patriotic parades, speeches, and festivities that fostered community pride.

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Additional Information

Following the end of fighting in the Spanish American War (April 21, 1898 – December 10, 1898) a series of Peace Jubilees and Street Fairs were planned in many cities across the United states in places like Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. These celebrations were inspired by a Peace Jubilee held in Boston in June of 1869, that celebrated the end of the Civil War and promoted peace throughout the country. In 1898, another series of Peace Jubilees set out to celebrate peace after the Spanish American War and the returning home of soldiers after the fighting ended in August. Crawfordsville hosted a Peace Jubilee and Street Fair from 18-21 of October 1898 to celebrate the return of the 50 soldiers from Montgomery, and featured events like; speeches, parades, and vendors. Souvenirs were created for the event like the badges. Ads in the local papers advertised the jubilee as a grand event that would draw 50,000 attendees to the city, but due to bad weather it is unknown how large the event was.

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Photographs of Mariah Patterson, c. 1860s-1870s & 1900-1920s

Object ID:  55.387.8 & 55.1992

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In 1847, Mariah Patterson, a formerly enslaved person, founded the historic Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church at its current location on West North Street in Crawfordsville. Patterson, dedicated to her community, established the Bethel AME Church as an educational center for Black Americans due to segregated public education and a site on the Underground Railroad. Between 1891-1893, the church underwent a remodel to include a traditional sanctuary with hand-cut pews, and continued to promote education for Black Americans until the 1880s due to the construction of the Lincoln School for Colored Children. Patterson remained a dedicated member of the Bethel AME Church until her death in 1929.​​​​

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Additional Information

Mariah Gates Patterson was born into slavery in 1826, and in 1842 she settled in Crawfordsville after enduring a journey from Kentucky to Indiana with her former owner Thomas Fry I. Relocating relocated his family to Montgomery County, Indiana, Fry was able to avoid tension in Mercer and Boyle counties that had large slave populations, and find a good education for his sons at Wabash College. In 1847, Patterson founded the historic Bethel AME Church, located on West North Street. Aside from teaching Sunday school at the Bethel AME, Patterson worked as a maid for many prominent families including the Elstons, Lanes, and Wallaces. Patterson also participated in the Underground Railroad, as she worked closely with John Speed to ensure the protection of enslaved people. She would earn the nickname amongst the people of Crawfordsville as “Grandma Patterson” and lived to be 103 years old. Paterson passed away on September 1, 1929 as the oldest resident of Montgomery County at the time.

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