Pioneer Village
Pioneer Village consists of 20 log buildings, a log barn, gristmill, and covered bridge. The log barn houses a gift shop and a public meeting/banquet room available for rent. Pioneer Village is the center of attraction for a number of events and programs held annually at the park. The Village Folk, a volunteer group, brings the village alive for the annual Mini Pioneer Days, Pioneer Days, and Christmas Walk events. The Blacksmith Shop in the village is opened up every fourth Saturday, April through October, for the popular Intro to Blacksmithing class led by two of our skilled volunteer blacksmiths. Pioneer Village is also open for the public for walk-through tours every third Saturday of each month during the summer. Summer in the Village is also an opportunity for those interested in joining the Pioneer Village volunteer group to learn about the pioneer life, trades, skills, cabins, etc. Tours are given to individuals and groups year-round upon request. The village is frequently the scene of weddings and family photos; couples and families choose the church, gristmill, or covered bridge for their backdrop. See below for more information on each of the Pioneer Village cabins.
Woods Cabin
Originally located in Lockport, now Riley, Indiana. Built in 1822. Donated by Dan and Iva Wood’s children in 1969 to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
Irishman’s Covered Bridge
Originally located three and a half miles southwest of Mt. Pleasant Church on Ferre Road spanning Honey Creek in Riley Township, Indiana. Built in 1845. Moved to Fowler Park in 1971.
Lidster Cabin
Originally located in Riley, Indiana. Built in the early 1800s. Donated by Ben Lidster to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1973.
Peker Cabin
Originally located in Sugar Creek Township on Certain Road, two miles south of West Terre Haute, Indiana. Built in 1834. Donated by the Peker family to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1974.
Graber Cabin
Originally located in Bogard Township, Daviess County, Indiana. Built in the mid-1800s. Donated by Joel Graber to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1975.
Trading Post
Originally located in the Glendale Dish and Wildlife Area in Daviess County, Indiana. The cabin was purchased from Mr. Littell, a Washington, Indiana resident. It was dismantled and moved to Fowler Park Pioneer Village by park staff in 1975.
Tannery Cabin
Originally located on the west end of the Glendale Fish and Wildlife Area in Daviess County. The Vigo County Parks and Recreation department were given the cabin by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources through a dismantling agreement. Staff dismantled and rebuilt the cabin in Fowler Park Pioneer Village in 1975.
Log Barn
Originally located in Vermillion County west of St. Bernice, Indiana. Built in the early to mid-1800s. The Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department purchased the barn from Cecil Shaw. It was dismantled and moved to Fowler Park Pioneer Village in 1976. The log barn was renovated and enlarged adding rental meeting room facilities on the bottom level and the Mercantile/Gift Shop to the village in 1996.
Smokehouse
Originally located east of Fontanet in Nevins Township, Vigo County, Indiana. The smokehouse was assembled from log home remains donated by the Health Department to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department during the annual Pioneer Days festival in 1978.
Carpenter Cabin
Originally located three miles southeast of Brazil, Indiana. Donated by Daisy Huggs to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1980.
Church
Originally located east of Staunton with a third of the logs coming from Sullivan County, Indiana. Built in 1848. Donated by Don Mercer to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1986.
Fur Trader Cabin
Originally located in Newberry, Daviess County, Indiana. Donated by Ray Malone to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department in 1987.
Gristmill
Built as an authentic replica in 1991. Construction of the gristmill involved the efforts of many volunteers and park staff. Dr. Kicklighter, Dean of the Indiana State University School of Technology, spearheaded the effort with assistance from his department as a community project.
Bennet Cabin
Originally located near Marshall, Illinois, off Highway 1, north of I-70. Built sometime between 1837 and 1858. Donated to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department by Harley Bennet in 1995.
Dogtrot Cabins (Dogtrot & Loom Cabin)
Originally located at Hawthorn Mine south of Dugger Indiana. The cabin was purchased by the Fowler Village Folk, Inc. from the Peabody Coal Company for $1,525.00 in 1996. During reconstruction at Fowler Park, logs from the original structure were not suitable to use for reconstruction. Logs from other cabins that had been previously donated from Marshall, Illinois; Paxton and Shelburn, Indiana cabin structures to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department were used to complete the construction.The Dogtrot cabins were completed in 1999.
Outdoor Oven
Built by Fowler Village Folk Volunteers in 2005. Construction of the oven was spearheaded by Craig Hummel and Jay Tapy.
Laura’s Cabin
Originally located in Goose Pond, south of Linton in Greene County, Indiana. Built between 1830 and 1840. Donated to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department by Joyce Lakey in 2007.
Blacksmith Shop
Built from logs donated by J.A. Spears in 2008. Houses the popular Intro to Blacksmithing classes hosted by Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department every fourth Saturday April- October.
Foltz Cabin
Originally located in Vermillion County. Donated to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department by the Donald E. Foltz family in 2009. Reconstruction in Fowler Park Pioneer Village completed in 2010.
Schoolhouse
The construction of the schoolhouse was funded by the Educational Heritage Association, Inc. of Vigo County (EHA) began in 2007. Over the course of seven years the schoolhouse was officially completed in 2014 and continues to be sponsored by the EHA of Vigo County for all Pioneer Village events.
Cochran Cabin & Cochran-Plummer Cabin
The Cochran Cabin of Pioneer Village was originally located in Jackson Township, Owen County. Built in 1825-1826 by Campbell and Jane Cochran. Donated to the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department by George Spelbring in 1992. Park staff and volunteers moved and reconstructed the cabin in Fowler Park Pioneer Village in 1995. An unfortunate accident occurred in Fall 2017, causing a fire and a loss of most of the Cochran Cabin.
The Department was able to salvage the foundation and chimney from the original structure. In fall 2017, a donation was made by the Haywood Trust to reclaim a cabin in Plummer, Indiana located in Greene County. This cabin was roughly a match for the original structure of the Cochran Cabin and was rebuilt to the same specification as the original Cochran Cabin. Staff and volunteers completed reconstruction of the Cochran-Plummer cabin at Fowler Park Pioneer Village in winter 2018.
Pioneer Village Volunteer Recruitment Guide
History of Pioneer Village Booklet
