Battle of Tippecanoe Monument (top) and restored farm at Prophetstown (bottom)Our family traveled to Lafayette recently for a graduation ceremony and while in the area, decided to visit "Indiana's newest state park" Prophetstown. There was a bike path, a playground, a restored farm and a portion of the village of Prophetstown recreated. I think the intent is to also give the park more of a recreated prairie feel. Something didn't seem quite right about the whole experience.
And I'm not sure why that was......
We left there and went to the Battle of Tippecanoe State Historic site, just down the road in Battle Ground, Indiana. I wish river city had a cool name like Battle Ground. We hung out at the memorial for a while, then made our way home. I give the experience a B.
Short history lesson: the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought in 1811 between Tecumseh's growing Indian confederacy, centered out of Prophetstown, and Governor William Henry Harrison of the Indiana Territory. The battle essentially squelched the dream of unifying Native American tribes into a nation. Indian forces were outnumbered 2 to 1, although losses were heavier on the U.S. side. The battle led to Tecumseh's and the Prophet's, place in history. It also propelled Harrison's presidential campaign to victory with the slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too".
For more info on this great piece of pre-statehood history, visit
3 comments:
Could it be that Prophetstown State Park is more theme park than traditional state park for you? I mean how many state parks have corporate sponsors?? I think you have seen the first signs of how Indiana will be financing parks, just like cities pay for expensive sports complexes with licensing agreements....Welcome to Eli Lilly's Turkey Run State Park or maybe 1st Source's Potato Creek State Park.......
you've made my heart sink. All the better reason to vote Long-Thompson my dear.
they'd probably drop the "Potato Creek" and just go with 1st Source Park.
My sons and I stopped at the battle site on our 2007 Spring Break Indiana History State Tour. We were on our way to see Lake Michigan and made this unplanned detour when we saw signs pointing the way. Very cool site. My youngest son dug it especially, studying the monument carefully.
Post a Comment