A sign from Zaharakos hangs with artifacts featured in the Bartholomew County Historical Society Museum exhibit “Meet Me in St. Louis: Bartholomew County & the 1904 World’s Fair.” The exhibit will be on display through June 28.
“The Gateway to the West” meant the world to the world — and to Bartholomew County — at the 1904 World’s Fair.
The Bartholomew County Historical Society Museum highlights that idea at its latest exhibit, “Meet Me in St. Louis: Bartholomew County & the 1904 World’s Fair” that opened Tuesday. The exhibit continues with a free opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the venue at 524 Third St. in downtown Columbus.
In 1904, Bartholomew County was home to 24,000 people. With Columbus’ population at about 8,000 residents, the county had most of its people living in rural, agrarian communities.
Some 300 miles away in Missouri, Bartholomew County was well represented, despite a smaller population, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the 1904 World’s Fair.
Today, the St. Louis World’s Fair is regarded as being a turning point in American culture, according to the historical society. It was where new technology, innovation, and scientific discoveries were on full display for average people to see and interact with.
With attendance at more than 20 million people, Bartholomew County was on full display at the fair, whether it be through more than 20 building projects done by Columbus’ own Caldwell & Drake Ironworks, or through Reeves Pulleys showing the potential for a mechanized future.
Fair attendees might also have seen the elephant from the Irwin Home, or perhaps the old soda fountain which now sits at Zaharakos.
To encourage locals to go to the fair, Columbus even had a temporary office erected downtown for curious folks who might want to attend the fair via the Philadelphia railroad line coming right through Columbus.
The world’s fair exhibit pairs with another temporary exhibit marking the seasonal reopening of the historical society’s museum.
Also opening on display through Feb. 29 is “And Still We Rise: A History of Resilience, Perseverance, Faith & Love,” part of Black History Month Columbus Indiana celebrations. The exhibition includes traveling exhibits provided by the African American Fund of Bartholomew County.
