The Otterbein 150 Project - Otterbein, IN Sesquicentennial 2022

05/19/2025

The Benton County Historical Society is reorganizing! If you love local history or participated in the Otterbein Sesquicentennial celebrations, you should check this out! More details in the post, or join the volunteer list at bit.ly/BCIHSInterestForm

Send a message to learn more

03/08/2025

04/17/2024

Fun opportunity to hear about Otterbein library history tomorrow in Lafayette!

Learn about the fascinating histories of the West Lafayette, Tippecanoe and Otterbein Public Libraries this Wednesday, April 17 at the History Center! Check out all the details below.

This program is presented in partnership between the Tippecanoe County Historical Association and West Lafayette Public Library with special guests Nick Schenkel, retired West Lafayette Public Library Director, Matt Meyer from the Tippecanoe County Public Library and Brooke Sauter from the Otterbein Public Library.

08/22/2023

One thing we saw a lot of in the Otterbein collection were Senior cords and jackets! Check out this neat video from ISM on the tradition of cords.

04/22/2023

Today was opening day at The Dugout!
Often after enjoying ice cream in town, I love to walk through Pond Grove Cemetary. Did you know town founder, William Otterbein Brown, is buried there? I spent some time reading headstones throughout the area and thanked Otterbein Brown for the legacy he leaves behind. 150 years later, Otterbein is still a thriving community.

01/15/2023

Any guesses as to which historic building this is? It still stands! Brooke went to town this morning to do some investigating.
Answers in the comments on the original Indiana Album post.

Otterbein, Benton County, circa 1900 - Does anyone know if this brick building with an arched doorway still stands?

Men stand in front of the State Bank of Otterbein. The bank was incorporated in 1894 with a capital stock of $25,000. Directors were President Job H. Van Natta, James A. Gray, John W. Sappington, Henry A. Moore, A. G. Woodhaus, James G. Van Natta, and J. E. Switzer. Robert H. Bolt was cashier. Both officers still held the titles as late as 1914, so we surmise that the men depicted are Van Natta and Bolt.

The older man on the right is Job Haigh Van Natta (1833-1914, confirmed by comparing this image to known portraits on ancestry.com.), a Tippecanoe County native who served in the Civil War. He was a farmer who made his fortune buying and shipping cattle. Van Natta owned thousands of acres of farmland in Tippecanoe and LaGrange Counties and served as director of several local banks and Purdue University.

On the left is probably Robert Henry Bolt (1860-1937), a South Carolina native who was involved with Otterbein's business and civic activities for 45 years. In 1921 he was also president of the Otterbein electric light company and was shocked and burned by a live wire while pruning bushes near the power station. Bolt was affiliated with this bank until it closed in 1931 due to financial problems during the Depression.

Source - The Indiana Album: Nathan Stanley Good Portfolio (This photo was taken to document the bank's new signage, produced by Good Signs)

10/25/2022

Happy birthday, Otterbein! On this day (October 25th) 1872, the town of Otterbein was officially established.

From the town of Otterbein's website: "Originally a site known as Pond Grove, Otterbein, occupies mostly flat, open farm land on the eastern border of Benton County. Otterbein's first 60 lots were laid out by John Levering and his wife on October 25, 1872, with an addition by Mary A. Clancey on April 24, 1883."

While this photo is not 150 years old, here is a scene from the 1899 Otterbein Street Fair, giving a bit of a view of town at the time.

08/31/2022

Have you had a chance to visit the Otterbein 150 Project exhibit yet at the Otterbein Public Library? Stop by during regular library hours (11-6 MWF, 11-7 T/TH, and 11-3 Saturdays) to walk through the library and see the over 250 items loaned or donated to the project.
Exhibit will be up through December 30!

08/09/2022