FREETOWN
Bison roamed the area when the Native Americans were here.
Then in the late 1970s, old streetlamps were placed along a roadway in a mobile home park south of town.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Given the historical significance of bison and the streetlamps to Freetown, Russell Fritz, curator of the Freetown and Pershing Township Museum, wanted that to be showcased.
Money was used to buy a fiberglass bison to paint and place on a concrete pad outside the museum along State Road 58, and one of the streetlamps also was put in place.
Fritz said they are good additions to the museum, which opened in 2010 and features 11 rooms of Freetown and Pershing Township historical items.
“We have had nothing but positive comments from those who come,” he said. “Those that come from far away always say they wish their town had such a place. It’s not your usual museum, and I am proud of that.”
The bison gives people a concept of what life was like in the 1800s, Fritz said. Freetown was plotted out in 1846, 30 years after Indiana became a stat, and is one of the oldest communities in Jackson County.
He said bison, Native Americans and gold all were in the area at the same time.
In 2016, the state and county celebrated their bicentennials, and Jackson County received six fiberglass bison as part of the Bison-tennial Public Art Project. Artists were chosen to paint the bison, and sponsors were sought. The bison made their way to community festivals, the county fair and bicentennial events before finding permanent homes throughout the county.
At the time, Fritz said they were too expensive for the museum to buy.
Earlier this year, Arann Banks, executive director of the Jackson County Visitor Center, connected Fritz with a company in Nebraska that makes fiberglass animals, including bison, and delivers them.
Since he only wanted one, the price went from $900 to $1,500. The museum and Pershing Township Lions Club covered $900, and the rest came from a visitor center grant.
Once the bison arrived in Freetown, Fritz painted it. It features two images on each side — a sketch of the old school by Bruce Stogdill, a picture of children being dismissed from school, a drawing of the No. 1 train that used to come through town and pictures of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp that was in town in 1935.
He then framed the concrete pad for the bison and the streetlamp, and Gary Greathouse came by to pour the concrete.
The streetlamp was among those purchased by Chester Rust in the late 1970s. The lamps had been along Seymour streets until city officials decided to replace them, and Rust bought them to place in Redbrush Mobile Home Park a couple of miles east of Freetown off of State Road 258.
The mobile home park had 24 spaces and was there from 1978 to 1995. Then the streetlamps were moved to nearby Redbrush Park, which later became SpringHill Camps. Some of the streetlamps are still along the road into SpringHill Camps.
Fritz was told he could have one if he had it taken down. The streetlamps are 30 feet tall, and he knew that would be too tall to put outside the museum.
“After removing all of the stone and concrete from around the pole, it was quite a chore,” he said. “We got it below grade and cut it off at 22 feet.”
The streetlamp was then taken to BNR Design in Freetown and cut off to 13 feet.
“I didn’t think it would look right sticking up 8 feet above the roof,” Fritz said.
He had a new base welded on, the light was rewired for an LED bulb and the steel pole was sanded, wire brushed and painted.
“Jackson County REMC kindly lifted it up on its new foundation,” Fritz said.
Along with being two pieces of history, the bison and streetlamp add to the improvements being made around the small community, Fritz said.
“Freetown is looking better,” he said. “Properties have been cleaned up, a new restaurant is open, new homes are being built and there is prospect of new business coming. I think the outlook for Freetown is very positive.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The Freetown and Pershing Township Museum is at 4784 W. State Road 58, Freetown.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
The bison and street lamp projects wouldn’t have been possible without the following help:
Arann Banks and the Jackson County Visitor Center, SpringHill Camps, Matt Robertson, Larry Courtney, Rick Perko, Wayman Gastineau, Lloyd Gastineau, Jim Roberts, Ronnie Ault, Dave Waggoner, Ike Waggoner, David Martin, Roger Martin, Glen Skaggs, Elijah Demers, Gary Greathouse, Neal Paint, My House and Signs by Ron.
[sc:pullout-text-end]