A national exhibit about rural America that opened Saturday in a southeastern Indiana community will come to Jennings County this winter.
The county is one of six Indiana stops for “Crossroads: Change in Rural America,” which is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, a collection of 20 museums and galleries, most of which are located in the Washington D.C. area.
The exhibit is part of Museum on Main Street, a Smithsonian program that brings exhibits and resources to rural communities across the nation.
The Stellar Building in North Vernon will host the exhibit from Dec. 14 through Jan. 26, 2020. The site for the exhibit locally was shifted from the Jennings County Historical Society in Vernon.
“This is a really big deal and we are all working very hard to get everything ready. The new roof for the Stellar Building is on, and I think everything is ready to go,” North Vernon Mayor Mike Ochs said.
The exhibit traces the growth and flow of rural America from farming to industrialization to the digital age. It also will include content unique to each of the six Indiana communities involved in the tour.
The exhibit opened Saturday in Dillsboro, a Dearborn County community about 40 miles west of Cincinnati. The other communities involved in the tour are Washington, Elkhart, Wabash and Posey counties.
Each community will host the exhibit for six weeks during the nine-month tour, and will receive training funding and other resources from the Smithsonian and Indiana Humanities, a nonprofit organization that promotes public humanities.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs and the Indiana Historical Society are also providing mentoring and advice to local exhibit teams.
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"Crossroads: Change in Rural America," a national exhibit about rural America, will come to six Hoosier communities during a nine month tour:
Dillsboro Public Library, opened Saturday and through Oct. 20
Washington County Historical Society in Salem, Oct. 26 through Dec. 8
The Stellar Building in North Vernon, Jennings County, Dec. 14 through Jan. 26, 2020
The Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol, Feb 1 through March 15.
North Manchester Center for History in Wabash County, March 21 through May 3
University of Southern Indiana at New Harmony in Posey County, May 9 through June 21
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