This photo was taken in the Fall of another year, but is one of my favorite road trip destinations. It looks almost the same every year with its brilliant golds and leaves all over the ground. What many people don’t know though, is this was the location of an extremely important historical event.

In 1824, a crime was committed against a small Native American village when four white men from the Pendleton settlement raided and massacred nine Native Americans, primarily women and children living near Fall Creek located not far from the present Markleville, Indiana. What made this horrible event so significant was that for the first time, white men were caught, brought to trial, and convicted for the murder of Native Americans. Up until this time in the United States,  Native Americans  were not recognized as human beings and not protected under law from such events.

At that time, Pendleton was a small outpost in a new state being carved from the wilderness territory, but it was also an established small community with a small log jail. Reporters came from many places far away to report on the trial. Even though this trial was so important, it would still be many years before a real change in the treatment of Native Americans would exist.

It is in this small picturesque park, if you walk across the waterfall and up a small hill to a quiet, green grassy place under a large tree; is the location where three of the men convicted were hung almost two hundred years ago. Though this park of beauty is a favorite gathering place for many, it still quietly honors its historical significance.

If you would like to read more, there is a historical fiction book with good historical research, The Massacre at Fall Creek by Jessamyn West.

Thank you for visiting Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons  

Terre’s Blog – Women of All Seasons   c. 2018