Huntington County Indiana has 22 places on the National Register of Historic Places including 1 place of National significance and 1 place of Statewide significance. Significant places include Chief Richardville House and Miami Treaty Grounds and Snider, S.C., and George McFeeley Polygonal Barn, Chenoweth-Coulter Farm, Drover Town Historic District and German Reformed Church.
Several famous people are associated with these Huntington County historic places including Chief Richardville, Samuel H. Purviance and Madame Margaret LaFolier.
Some of the country's most noteable architects helped create the Huntington County places including George McFeeley, S.C. Snider, D. D. Whitelock, Martin Koch, Ufheil Brothers, Robert V. Lamont, Samuel Fisher, John Kenower, Lafayette Engineering Co. and Roebuck & Co. Sears. Prominent architectural styles found in Huntington Country are Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne.
Historic Significance:
Information Potential, Person, Event
Historic Person:
Richardville,Chief,et al.
Area of Significance:
Exploration/Settlement, Politics/Government, Historic - Aboriginal
Cultural Affiliation:
Miami
Period of Significance:
1825-1849
Historic Function:
Domestic
Historic Sub-function:
Camp, Single Dwelling
Current Function:
Agriculture/Subsistence, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function:
Agricultural Fields, Museum
The Chief Richardville House and Miami Treaty Grounds, located at the Forks of the Wabash in Huntington County, Indiana, is a site of profound historical significance, representing a critical juncture in the history of the Miami Nation and United States Indian policy. As the traditional council grounds of the Miami people, this strategic convergence of the Wabash and Little Rivers served as the negotiation site for several pivotal federal treaties signed in 1834, 1838, and 1840. These agreements systematically stripped the Miami of their remaining reservation lands in Indiana, directly facilitating the tragic, forced military removal of the majority of the tribe to reservation lands west of the Mississippi River in 1846. Consequently, the treaty grounds stand as a solemn monument to the federal policy of Indian Removal and the enduring legacy of the Miami people in their ancestral homeland.
Constructed circa 1833, the Chief Richardville House is the centerpiece of the property and is recognized as one of the oldest surviving structures built for a Native American leader in the Midwest. The two-story, Greek Revival-style brick home was built for Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville (Piniwa), the principal chief of the Miami and reputedly the wealthiest man in Indiana at the time, using federal funds mandated by the Treaty of 1826. The home, which later served as the residence of his successor, Chief Francis LaFontaine, physically embodies the transition of Miami leadership as they negotiated the complex socioeconomic pressures of white encroachment. Today, the preserved house and surrounding landscape serve as an invaluable educational resource, illustrating the adaptation, political sophistication, and tragic displacement of the Miami Nation during the 19th century.
