Elkhart County Historical Museum

The first-floor galleries are home to Crossroads of Elkhart County. These three galleries bring audiences the story of Elkhart County, often through the voices of the people who lived it. Your adventure begins with the nomadic paleo people who passed through this area thousands of years ago. Meet the Miami and Potawatomi, learn about changes wrought by the arrival of the French, explore the years of conflict and the forced removal of Native groups from the region. Enter the industrial era with the arrival of trains and discover the rise of industry, which occurred hand-in-hand with migration and the changing population. Finally, share your own memories to help us tell the rest of the story.

Crossroads of Elkhart County is complemented by changing exhibits and galleries that showcase the museum’s extensive collection. Spend time with us experiencing Elkhart County.

Fall 2024 – Spring 2025: Journey Stories and Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program (1942-1964) Organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the National Museum of American History, these two poster exhibits tell the compelling stories of people moving for a better life: for opportunity, for work, and for survival. They paint the picture of rural America in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, and showcase how travel and movement defines the American experience.

2024-2026: Clues Through the Lens Doing good history is an ongoing process of asking questions. This ground-breaking exhibit invites and challenges visitors to become their own history detective by investigating photographs. What can we learn about the past from looking at historic images? What might be missing? What can we learn about ourselves and our own perspectives? Put on your thinking caps and come explore!

The Elkhart County Historical Society collections housed in the Elkhart County Historical Museum represent almost 12,000 years of human history in the area.  It ranges from stone tools to 21^st-century pharmaceuticals, band instruments to vehicles, textiles to commercial artwork, covering a wide range of the material culture of Elkhart County.  Caring for, exhibiting and researching this collection is one of the primary goals of the museum.  For information on the collection or to inquire about making a donation, please contact the Curator of Collections at museum@elkhartcountyhistory.org.

The research library contains a wide range of reference materials that, along with the archival collection, may be accessed by researchers.  Appointments are recommended.  The library collection is searchable through the Elkhart Public Library catalog.  The historic image collection is searchable through Indiana Memory.  For more information on available research materials or to initiate a research request, please email research@elkhartcountyhistory.org.