Just the Facts
Elkhart County Historical Museum
The Elkhart County Historical Museum is housed in the historic Rush Memorial Center in Bristol, Indiana at 304 W. Vistula St. (St. Rd. 120). Phone: 574-848-4322. For general tour & reservations call 574-535-6458 Howard Rush purchased the former Bristol High School property in 1968, and donated it for a Museum to the Historical Society.
Also called the Rush Memorial Center, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
Season: open all year
The museum will offer many different programs that will appeal to young and old all year long. Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday, 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., closed Sunday (except for special programs). Call Educational Director Rebecca Oestrich for information on registration for upcoming programs and tours at 574-848-4322.
Read Museum Director Nick Hoffman's blog which will provide information on E.C.H.S upcoming programs and events.
A Grave Matter in Indiana
Jeannie Regan-Dinius, the Special Program Coordinator of the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources in Indianapolis presented an overview of the conservation of cemeteries in Indiana to an interested group of local historians at the Elkhart County Historical Museum.
Due to the concern of citizens, Indiana has passed laws which not only define what constitutes a burial ground and human remains, but how such areas must be handed: what can and cannot be done.
Regan-Dinius spoke on a number of subjects, including how the orientation of graves has changed over the years. 19th century burials were with the head to the west and the feet to the east, and one viewing the stone inscription would not need to walk on the grave to read it. Later burials faced the inscription to the east, which meant the viewer would be standing on the grave. She maintains an on-line data base on Indiana cemetery locations. For more information, contact her at jrdinius@dnr.in.gov.
Museum Education Director Rebecca Oestrich, who introduced the speaker has conducted a number of local cemetery tours. The next tour will be in October at Grace Lawn Cemetery. Call the Museum for information.
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