Visitors to Sullivan County in West Central Indiana will find the lovely town of Merom perched on a high bluff overlooking the Wabash River. It is a pretty little town with two historical noting the founding of the town and the Merom Chautauqua and the Merom Conference Center.
Excerpted from my book:
West Central Indiana Day Trips
Title of Marker:
Merom Founded 1817
Location:
1997 Third Street/SR63 north of Market Street intersection, Merom. (Sullivan County, Indiana)
Installed by:
Erected by the Merom Improvement Association 1989
Marker ID #:
77.1989.3
Marker Text:
A log courthouse here served as Sullivan’s first county seat from 1819-1842. Merom was an important river port and a stop on the stage route - The Old Harrison Trail. Harrison’s troops camped near here on their 1811 march to Tippecanoe.
Brief History
Merom
County - Sullivan
Township - Gill
Elevation - 548 ft
Population (2010) - 228
Founded in 1817, Merom takes its name from the biblical Battle of the Waters of Merom between the Israelites and the Canaanites. Merom Bluff Park, on Fetter Street, towers over the Wabash River and is the site of the revived Merom Bluff Chautauqua. Merom is located at the junction of Indiana State Roads 58 and 63 fourteen miles northwest from Indiana State Road 58’s intersection with US 150.
Title of Marker:
Merom Conference Center
Location:
Merom Conference Center, Phillip & 5th Streets at Edward Ovellette Drive, Merom. (Sullivan County, Indiana)
Installed by:
Erected by the Merom Improvement Association 1989
Marker ID #:
77.1989.1
Marker Text:
Dedicated in 1862, Union Christian College served as a preparatory school and college until 1924. In 1936 it became Merom Institute - a rural enrichment center. Now owned by the United Church of Christ it serves as a camp, conference, and retreat center.
Brief History
A church denomination called the Christian Church founded Union Christian College in 1859. The College completed construction on its main hall in 1862. Union Christian College was one of the first colleges to pioneer allowing women to take the same college courses that men could take. The College closed in 1924. The building remained vacant until 1936 when Chicago Theological Seminary’s president engineered the opening of the Merome Institute. The Institute provided ministry services to the Merome area until 1984. The name changed in 1984 to the Merom Conference Center and continues that tradition today.
Title of Marker:
Merom Bluff Chautauqua, 1905-1936
Location:
Merom Bluff Park overlooking Wabash River near pavilion, Merom. (Sullivan County, Indiana)
Installed by:
Erected by the Merom Improvement Association 1989
Marker ID #:
77.1989.2
Marker Text:
Organized nationally to bring culture to rural communities, Merom’s 10 day religious and educational event featured concerts, debates, plays, and lectures. Carrie Nation, William Jennings Bryan, William H. Taft, Warren Harding, and Billy Sunday were among the speakers here.
Brief History
Popular in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries, Chautauqua’s were events that sought to deliver top quality entertainment, culture and education. The Merom Bluff Chautauqua brought this movement to Indiana on the banks of the Wabash River.
Chautauqua Movement
Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller organized the first Chautauqua event in New York on the banks of Chautauqua Lake. The event featured speakers, musicians and other entertainers as well as lecturers of various topics. In an era of limited transportation and communication, the events provided valuable educational and entertainment opportunities to an America hungry for both. The rise of the automobile, which expanded transportation opportunities, and radio, which enabled people to listen to music and culture at home, ended the Chautauqua movement before the middle of the Twentieth Century.
Merom Bluff Chautauqua
Merom citizens formed the Merom Bluff Chautauqua Association in 1905 to organize a Chautauqua festival in their town. The first event ran from August 16 to August 23, 1905, and was a success. The event grew and eventually turned into a ten-day event. The Merom Bluff Chautauqua was religious in nature, but the Merom Bluff Chautauqua Association sought to keep in non-denominational and recruited religious leaders from area churches to organize and oversee the event. Passenger boats still plied the waters of the Wabash. The boats met passenger trains from various stations, bringing in attendees from points far away. The event grew in attendance until the early 1930’s, when the event was discontinued.
The event has been revived. Those interested, click this link.
If traveling around the state of Indiana is a passion for you like it is for my wife and I you will be interested in my book, West Central Indiana.
Road Trips in West Central Indiana
Take a fun tour through the rich history of Indiana using West Central Indiana Day Trips as your guidebook. This tourism guide will help visitors find all the historical treasures in south central Indiana.
West Central Indiana Cities and Towns
West Central Indiana has some wonderful cities and towns ranging from charming small towns like Rockville, Brazil and Spencer to larger cities like Terra Haute, Crawfordsville and Martinsville. Each of these towns and cities has many things to do for your family as it explores the region’s roads and highways.
West Central Indiana Wineries
West Central Indiana has several interesting wineries that produce some fascinating wines.
West Central Indiana State and Local Parks
The region has several state parks and forests including Indiana’s first state park, McCormick’s Creek and rugged Turkey Run State Park.
West Central Indiana Museums and Historic Sites
Explorers in the area can stage a day trip to learn the region’s rich history by visiting the museums and markers located in the various cities and towns of West Central Indiana. Many host interesting family events that are fun and educational
The counties included in this historical travel book include:
Parke
Clay
Fountain
Mongomery
Morgan
Owen
Putnam
Sullivan
Vermillion
Vigo
Warren
The book is part of my nine-volume Road Trip Indiana Series, which is available on the website. An economical box set that includes all nine volumes is available at this link.
Author Paul Wonning – Mossy Feet Books
Facebook – Indiana Places and History
Facebook – Stories of American History
Sustack – Indiana Places and History