The Thorntown Heritage Museum

06/18/2026

👷‍♀️Barn construction is officially underway! This week we removed the old tool wall and additional pieces of wood with the help of the Wamsley family and members of American Indian Council Inc. to make way for our new foundation and flooring. Thank you for donating your time to this project!

Another special thank you to Riggen Landscape N Lawncare for hauling off all of the junk wood we had from the project! Your donation of time and service is invaluable!

Next week- foundation repair begins!! 🛠

06/18/2026

This week we take a look at the histories of John Roberts, Jesse Robertson and Arthur Andrews whom we honored in April.

DAR records list John Roberts as having served in the American Revolution at the insistence of his descendants, but no records have been found to back that up. Census records show he arrived in Boone County prior to 1840. He died October 7, 1840 and is buried in Mechanicsburg Cemetery.

Jesse Robertson fought in Charleston, Camden, Bennington, Saratoga and the Siege of Yorktown where he was for the surrender. Records say he crossed the Delaware with George Washington and wintered at Valley Forge. His father also served in the Revolutionary War and was killed in the Battle of Eutaw Springs in September 1781.

Arthur Andrews served as a private and lieutenant under Captain's McDowell, Hayes, Evans and Ball. It is said that Andrews was an eccentric gentleman, who
was fond of playing the fiddle and wore his regimental uniform until the day he died.

Visit Thorntown Public Library to learn more about each of these patriots.

06/17/2026

Have multiple ways to receive severe weather alerts! Thank you to our community for ensuring a safe place for residents!

06/16/2026

We will meet rain or shine, to share the history of the Thorntown 'Colored Cemetery and the future memorial project!

Join us Saturday at 1 at the cemetery, or at the museum if it's raining. We will post on social media in the event of rain.

06/14/2026

On this day, 249 years ago, the Second Continental Congress passed the first flag act. Today, the 13 red and white stripes still remind us of where we came from. A piece of American history that has stood the test of time.

We want to remind you there is a Federal Law in regards to the proper disposal of the American flag! To ensure it is taken care of the right way, use one of the designated drop offs through !

06/13/2026

We are open today and ready to share our local history with you! Be sure to stop by for you FREE tour between 11-3! You never know what story you might uncover about your own family.

06/11/2026

Before we had the Keewasakee, we had the Thorntown Eagles! This is a photo of the 1906 baseball team taken in front of the AME church in Thorntown. (The church was torn down in the 1920s). The Keewasakee mascot was not adopted until 1928/1929.

Sitting in front row left to right: Harley J. Hendrickson, George Ritter, Jess Ragsdale.
Standing left to right: O. Crose, Billie Gillian, H. Smith, J. Young, Walter Neptune, Charlie Johnson.

Do you recognize any of these names from your family tree?

06/10/2026

Today we remember three more Revolutionary Patriots buried in the county.

John Kersey was born March 1764 in Kentucky. He served in the Virginia Regiment against Indian Allies of the British. He came to Boone County in 1837 to be closer to his children. He died in 1852 and is buried in Beck Cemetery.

William Gipson was born November 1753 un South Carolina. He served with North Carolina troops. He was buried in Gipson Cemetery 1835. His 1776 monument was placed in 1898.

William Pauley was born in 1762 in Virginia. He served with Virginia and South Carolina Militias. He saw action in the battles of Guilford Courthouse, Camden, Kings Mountain and more. He had 13 children. He moved to Boone County in 1833 and died in 1838. He is buried in Bethel Hill Cemetery.

These three patriots will be honored on June 24, following our ceremony at the Boone County Courthouse. We will be in a procession from the courthouse and starting at Beck Cemetery. Carpooling is highly encouraged.

06/10/2026

Just in time for our ceremony Honoring Boone County’s Revolutionary War Patriots 🇺🇸!! Make sure you make time to join all of us for refreshments at Discover Boone County and then see the beautiful quilt at the Courthouse!

The Boone County Historical Society has arranged for the Bicentennial Quilt to be lowered in the Courthouse rotunda for the day of June 24th.

This is your chance to get up close and personal, and to search for those familiar names that are hard to see when it's in the raised position.

Enjoy!

06/09/2026

At Thorntown Heritage Museum, we are all about preservation. And we usually have many projects going on. We've been talking a lot about the Gillan Barn over the last two years. But at the same time, we've been working with descendants of the residents in the Thorntown 'Colored Cemetery' to honor those buried there. Now, this project is coming to life.

Thank you, The Lebanon Reporter for sharing our efforts. We hope our community can once again rally behind an effort to immortalize Thorntown history. Join us on June 20 at 1pm at the cemetery to learn about the history, our project and how YOU can help!

The Sugar Creek Historical Society has joined a committee of dedicated folks to install a monument honoring Thorntown’s early settlers buried in the historic Colored Cemetery.