(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Weaver Settlement Exhibit is now on display at the Indiana State Library. The settlement was established in 1840 in Liberty Township in Grant County by free black pioneers, mostly from North Carolina.
The settlers cleared the heavily-forested and swampy land to create farm homesteads, which grew to more than 3,000 acres in 20 years. It was a thriving and self-sustaining community in the 1930s. Family names in the community included Weaver, Pettiford, Beck, Burden, and Casey, among others.
The exhibit includes original and reproduction photos and documents. It also includes original tools and items, such as hammers, saws, toolboxes, trowels, and horseshoes.
The exhibit is courtesy of the Marion Public Library Museum in Marion and is a traveling version of their own exhibit. Read more about the exhibit here. It will be on display at the Indiana State Library through May.
