Elkhart County Historical Museum

06/19/2026

This week, communities across Indiana are hosting events to celebrate Juneteenth with music, poetry, food, and history lessons.

Juneteeth, a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth,” recognizes the date in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger of the Union army freed the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas, one of the last far-reaching places in the U.S. where federal troops could finally enforce the order of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation to ensure the freedom of all enslaved people.

We’ve attached a link below where you can check out a variety of Juneteenth events in cities across the state of Indiana--including South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Muncie, Gary, and Lafayette--that celebrate this key milestone in our nation’s history: https://www.juneteenthevents.us/state/indiana

Find Juneteenth 2026 events across Indiana — festivals, parades, and concerts in Indianapolis and more.

06/18/2026

A great opportunity for all teachers! AND free pancakes! 🥞

🥞🎁 FREE Breakfast + FREE Swag = A Great Morning! 🎁🥞
Teachers, this one's for you!

Join us for a morning of pancakes, prizes, outdoor fun, and appreciation as we celebrate the amazing educators who make a difference every day.

Here's what you'll find:
🥞 Pancake Breakfast
🎁 Swag & Giveaways
🌳 Interactive Activity Stations
📚 Educational Resources
🤝 Time to Connect with Other Teachers
😊 Plenty of Fun Along the Way

You spend the year investing in your students—let us invest a morning in celebrating YOU!

06/18/2026

It’s International Picnic Day! Did you know that picnics date back to medieval times when outdoor feasts were held to celebrate a successful hunt? They became even more popular in England during the Victorian Era.

Yesterday, staff members from the Elkhart County Parks Department went down to the Feedlot Shelter at Bonneyville Mill in Bristol, Indiana, to kick off the summer season with our “all-team” picnic. Shared dishes included hot dogs, shrimp and vegetable soup, deviled eggs, garlic mustard pesto with noodles, salad greens and assorted toppings, crusty homemade bread, chips and pico de gallo, mixed berry cake, brownies, and ice cream. What are some of your favorite picnic foods?

06/16/2026

🛶This could be you!

Our kayak trip on the St. Joe River originally scheduled for June 6th is now THIS Saturday, June 20th! Pack up your boats, paddles, and lifejackets and meet us at Congdon Park in Bristol at 9:00am for a 2-hour trip down to Six Span Bridge.

$10/person. All ages welcome, but anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Participants must provide their own gear. Learn more and register here: https://elkhartcountyparks.org/events/st-joseph-river-kayak-trip-6-6-26/

Call us at (574) 848-4322 with questions!

06/16/2026

Big news for local history researchers! Thanks to the Elkhart Public Library, most of the entire run of The Elkhart Truth is now searchable online through https://www.inspire.in.gov/. Just scroll down to the Newspapers.com portal to access it.

Go to link. Go to link. Go to link. Search by... Grades K-4 Grades 5-8 Grades 9-12 Adults Learn a World Language Access for 24 languages, with full access to nine languages. Consumer Reports Unbiased product ratings and reviews. Health and Medicine Featured database: Medline with full text. Job & Ca...

06/12/2026

We're now under a month from the big 250th!! Be part of the Elkhart County - America250 Committee's legacy project and record an oral history. To record in person, plan to attend one of our 3 remaining partner open houses. The next one is tomorrow, Saturday, June 13, 10am-12 noon, at the ECHM. Reflections also can be recorded on your own and submitted via email. For more details, ideas for recording topics, and other on-site recording opportunities, visit the 250th Oral History project at: https://ruthmere.org/250th-Oral-History-Project

06/11/2026

🌽🌾 Sink your teeth into local history…it’s National Corn on the Cob Day! ECHM staff members took a trip into the archives and tracked down historic photographs and artifacts that showcase the significance of corn in the Elkhart County community.

We found an image of the Old Settler’s Day Parade in Middlebury, Indiana, from 1898 where you can see the community’s palpable enthusiasm for the iconic crop expressed through an eye-catching parade float adorned with corn stalks. We also looked through a variety of tools used to harvest and prepare corn in the Elkhart County area across different cultures and time periods. One of the notable finds we came across was a corn-shucking glove, sometimes called a husking peg, that was used on the Stiver farm in Millersburg. Let’s celebrate this beloved summer staple by taking a moment to appreciate the importance of corn in our local heritage!

06/09/2026

The Quilt Garden looks fantastic! Stop by and see our 2026 entry in the Experience Elkhart County, Indiana Quilt Garden Tour. Then step inside to enjoy our accompanying Log Cabin quilt from the Museum's collection. Museum hours: Tues-Sat, 9am-5pm.

06/08/2026

Life is all about the friends you meet along the way 😌

👟Join us for Trail Running Club this Tuesday to meet new friends (amphibian and otherwise), explore new trails, and get some exercise in nature!

We meet at Bonneyville Mill County Park (K*m Mol Rie Shelter) at 5:30pm on Tuesday, June 9th. Sign up here to let us know you're coming: https://elkhartcountyparks.org/events/trc-6-9-26/

06/05/2026

🎈☁️ Get ready to soar to new heights as we celebrate Hot Air Balloon Day! To mark this special occasion, our museum staff curated a selection of snapshots and a 1913 Elkhart Truth advertisement for hot air balloon events that took place right here in Elkhart County, Indiana. The black-and-white image was captured at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in 1965, while the color photographs were taken to commemorate Miles Lab’s 100th anniversary in 1984. Step back in time with us and experience the thrill of hot air ballooning from years gone by!