Pioneer Village

The Pioneer Village at Fowler Park is a place for locals and tourists alike to take an enjoyable step back in time. The village consists of 14 buildings plus a smokehouse, log barn and a working gristmill. The log cabins located here date back to the early and mid-1800's. They were taken from their original location and rebuilt in the park. Various times throughout the year, mainly in the summer, Pioneer Days are held in the village. These days consist of many workers and volunteers coming together to recreate the pioneers in the 1800s. During these days, the visitors will often see cookies being baked over an open hearth, log hewing, candle dipping, sheep sheering, and many more activities.

Besides the unique Pioneer Village, there are many other attractions at Fowler Park. The park is located on 400 acres of land in southern Vigo County. Also included at the park is a wilderness area, four lakes, a campground, picnic areas, playgrounds, and four miles of trails. So, as the warm weather and summer days come closer, the Pioneer Village and Fowler Park may be good destinations to go and check out!

Hometown Heroes Part 3: Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown

Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown was born in Nyesville, Indiana, on October 19, 1876. Brown lost part of his hand to a corn shredder at age 7. He only actually lost one finger, but two others were mangled. For him, he had such a great attitude that he turned this negative ordeal into a positive one that would give him a fantastic baseball career. Brown started off interested in pitching as many children do, but over time he gained control, and realized that his mangled hand gave him an unusual advantage. The way that he gripped the ball allowed an unusual amount of spin, which resulted in him throwing exception curve and fast balls. His unique way of pitching often made it hard for batters to connect solidly.

To start off his impressive career, Brown played for the Three-I League in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1901. In 1903, he began playing for the major leagues at age 26. Brown was most successful throughout the time that he played for the Chicago Cubs. At the age of 40, in 1916, Brown left the minor leagues, though, and returned to Terre Haute. Upon returning, baseball continued to play a big part in his life; he still pitched in the minor leagues. Also, between the years of 1920 to 1945, Brown ran a filling station that also acted as a gathering place for the people of Terre Haute. As Brown got older, he became ill with diabetes. He died from a stroke that resulted from this in 1948. At 72, Brown had a lot to be proud of in his life, and in 1999 (51 years after his death) he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Game.

Hometown Heroes Part 2: Herald Cox

Herald Rea Cox was born and raised in Terre Haute, Indiana. He attended the Indiana State Normal School, and he graduated in 1928 with degrees in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Cox then went on to obtain his doctorate degree from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He was mostly interested in bacteriology. In the 1930s, he joined the U.S. Public Health Service as the principal bacteriologist studying Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Cox studied rickettsia, the group of organisms that causes this disease. Cox discovered that these organisms could be grown in fertile egg membranes, which led to the development of the vaccines for these diseases.

Besides helping to discover the vaccines for these diseases, Cox was successful in helping to produce the vaccine for polio. In 1952, he was able to grow a strain of the polio virus in hen's eggs, which led to a successful oral vaccine in 1961. Although, he was a contributor, the official polio vaccine is credited to Jonas Salk. Also, the family Coxiellaceae and the genus Coxiella, which contain the organism that causes Q fever, are named after Cox. Cox also was a prominent figure in cancer research. So, we have Herald Cox to thank for many of the reasons we are able to have longer and healthier lives today. This is the reason Cox is considered one of Terre Haute's local legends today.