Paradise Spring Historical Park

Paradise Spring, near the Wabash River in present-day Wabash, Indiana, served as the treaty camp for a meeting in 1826 between the Miami Indians, Potawatomi Indians, and the United States government. In October 1826, the Miami and Potawatomi signed a treaty and ceded lands north of the Wabash River in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. This allowed for white settlement and the construction of the Wabash and Erie Canal.

After suffering defeats in 1794 along the Maumee River and in 1811 at the Battle of Tippecanoe, the Miami and Potawatomi still owned land in the area. With funding from the U.S. government, a treaty camp was built during the summer of 1826 with the goal of acquiring land from the tribes. The United States appointed Indiana Governor James B. Ray, Michigan Governor Lewis Cass, and Captain John Tipton as commissioners to negotiate with the Indians. Tipton selected the Paradise Spring location because it had plentiful water and ample room for the camp. In October, the groups met, and a treaty was signed on October 26, 1826. The camp contained 10 buildings, including quarters for the three commissioners. In 1987, the camp was reconstructed based on descriptions from 1836.

Through much hardship, the Wabash and Erie Canal was built and operated for more than 30 years before railroads gradually replaced it in the 1870s.

For railroad buffs, the grounds were once home to the "Big Four Route," with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway passing through Paradise Spring. Originally, the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan Railroad was built through Paradise Spring in 1872, with railroad service shops opening the following year. In 1891, the CW&M became part of the Big Four, and the shops remained in operation until 1925. The railroad map in the photos shows the grounds in 1905.

Present-day Paradise Spring Historical Park has paved walking trails, restrooms, picnic tables, and hosts a Treaty Festival each year in late October. The festival features 1820s living history participants and costumed vendors.