The History Museum has secured a $50,000 grant – but only if we raise another $50,000 in just 60 days!
This matching grant is made possible through IHCDA’s CreatINg Places Initiative but will only be available if we meet our goal by July 13. Funds from this campaign will be used to continue development of the Navarre Homestead, home of the Pierre Navarre Cabin, and help create an immersive experience of early settler and pioneer life. This will lay the groundwork for the final phase to add a Trading Post, Blacksmith Shop, Bank, and more!
Double your impact – donate now to help us reach our $50,000 goal by July 13 and help bring this vision to life!
The story of the Navarre Cabin begins with the man who built it. Pierre Freischutz Navarre was the first person of European descent to settle in St. Joseph County. Navarre’s arrival played a significant role in the history of St. Joseph County, and his presence paved the way for the founding of the city of South Bend. Born in 1787 in Detroit, Michigan, he was an educated man of French ancestry, who came to the area in 1820 as an agent of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company, which strongly influenced the history of the Midwestern frontier. Navarre married a Potawatomi woman named Keshewaquay, who adopted the name Angelique. Along with their seven children, they lived in the cabin on the north side of the St. Joseph River, near what is now 123 W. North Shore Drive. In 1835, Navarre’s family were forcibly removed to Kansas along the Trail of Death, along with many other local native people.
One of three historic homes in The History Museum’s collection, the Navarre Cabin holds a distinguished place in St. Joseph County, Indiana. Built circa 1820, the cabin is the oldest structure in the community, home of the county’s first pioneer settler. In 1895, The History Museum acquired the cabin, rescuing it from demolition. The museum moved the cabin in 1904 to the southeast corner of Leeper Park East so that it could be better used to teach the history of the area’s pioneers. Relocated two more times to accommodate expansion of the North Pumping Station, in 1954 the cabin was moved to its current site in Leeper Park East. In 2005, the Navarre Cabin was completely restored by The History Museum.
