The Famous Fairs of Bourbon

The Famous Fairs of Bourbon

by | Apr 1, 2026 | Bourbon, Events, Pastimes

Feature Image. Undated birds-eye-view of fair.

The Town of Bourbon 1872 fair was the first one established in the county. It took place in a schoolhouse 1½ miles east of Bourbon. The fair was discontinued for a few years and started again in 1891, as an 1892 ticket listed it as the Second Annual Fair. Some days the crowds were as large as 10,000 to 14,000 visitors. They usually took place in late September or early October, and often school would be dismissed so students could attend.

The Purpose of the Bourbon Fair

Among the Bourbon fair’s goals was to improve livestock breeding, to promote the area’s agricultural, mechanical and industrial interests and to provide good clean entertainment. They erected several permanent buildings: a grandstand with a half mile track, an art hall, stables and fenced-in animal pens.

 

Race track looking north.

Each year a brochure was printed showing everything that was going to be happening at the fair.  The catalog also provided plenty of opportunities for local businesses to advertise. As a sample of the fair offerings, the 1933 catalog listed various cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, turkeys, waterfowl, and pet stock (eagle with cage, pea fowl, guineas, pigeons, rabbits, cage of squirrels, largest cat, ferret, pair of silver foxes). Also to be shown in all categories imaginable were grains and seeds, vegetables and roots, apples, pears, peaches, plums, persimmons, chestnuts, quinces and grapes, cut flowers, shrubs and flowers. The table luxuries category included canned fruits and vegetables, jellies, breads, cakes, cookies, fudge and candy.

The art hall contained “ladies fancy work” of coverlets, quilts, spreads, pillows, knitted goods -including socks, mittens and clothing – and every kind of rug. Embroidery and needlework included dresser scarves and handkerchiefs, pillowcases and tablecloths. All sorts of collections were featured, including coins, stamps, curiosities of any kind, shells, marbles, etc. Fine arts covered clay molding, landscapes, drawings in oil, pen, pencil, crayon and charcoal, baskets and “miscellaneous article not otherwise entered.”

And we cannot forget the most exciting activity, the Speed Program – horse races in trot or pace, pulling contests and mule races. Any mule winning the race two years in a row was barred. Straw and stalls were free for all horses entering the race. Horse racing was the big attraction and took place throughout the years to the last fair.

Horses on racetrack.

Other activities through the years included a firemen’s tournament, a band contest, bicycle races, trick bicycle riders and ball games. There were large pumpkin contests. In 1927 a “calling cows” contest was planned. The champion caller was to be rewarded with a handsome old-fashioned cow bell. In 1941 they added an amateur night.

The Bremen Enquirer: October 23, 1891

“About sixteen or seventeen years ago Bourbon began to have fairs…. The excellence of these fairs gave them a great reputation, far and wide, and everybody who attended spoke in the most flattering terms of them. One of the strong features of these fairs was the splendid exhibit of stock of all kinds, and to them is due much of the advancement in stock breeding in and around Bourbon which for many years could boast of being far in advance of any other section of country in this part of the state….  

“Last Friday found us at the Bourbon fair…. We were agreeably astonished at the very excellent buildings they have erected, and which were just finished during the fair. The sound of the saw and hammer was mingled with the cry of the fakir and the music of the merry-go-round and the hum of human voices.

“It will be impossible in the limits of this article to describe in detail the many attractive features of Bourbon’s fair. The exhibits in stock were fine and quite large…and the parade was something that would make the heart of the fellows who have been raising ‘scrub’ stock chock full of envy at the progressive farmers who believe in keeping up with the march of progress.

“The agricultural department was well filled with the choicest products of a rich soil and a propitious season and elicited words of praise from all who viewed it.

“The poultry department contained many fine specimens of thoroughbred fowls that would delight the eyes of any poultry fancier on earth.

“The implement department contained the regulation wares in the way of necessary and labor-saving machinery that is necessary for the systematic tickling of the productive soil.

“The floral and art hall contained a wonderful collection of fine fabrics wrought into articles of usefulness and beauty by the nimble fingers of the ladies. Stepping into this art hall is like stepping out of this old prosaic world into a fairy land, an elysian bower of beauty and whose radiance dazzles the eye and beauty charms the soul. So different from what we meet in our everyday life that one forgets that he is on this mundane sphere but thinks rather that he has been transported to a new world where all the beauty, loveliness and grandeur of nature and art has been gathered, combined and blended together in a manner to mystify our temporal senses and induce the belief that by some means we have caught a brief glimpse of Paradise.

“Without question the most remarkable thing about the entire grounds is the fine race track that the association has succeeded in building. It is constructed on the most approved plan and the very fact that it is only a few weeks old as yet and has had such splendid time made upon it shows conclusively that it is destined to be one of the best in the state. . ..”

The Bremen Enquirer: A Few Years Later

“Bourbon has a very fine race track and up to the Bremen fair this year the best time ever made on a track in Marshall County was made over the Bourbon track, 2:21 by Billy the Kid (presumably a horse, not the outlaw). This time was cut down to 2:19¼ at the Bremen fair last week and now the managers of the Bourbon fair say that the time will be again lowered over the Bourbon track next week, therefore you may look for some very fast going. Do not miss it. You may regret it if you do.”

Jim Bates Sr. on horse.

The Bremen Enquirer: October 12, 1894

“A correspondent from Bourbon to Wednesday’s Chicago Times says a prize of $200 is to be awarded at the Bourbon fair on Thursday to the man who drinks the most whiskey. It is a foregone conclusion that the $200 will remain in Bourbon.” (Perhaps the residents felt they should live up to the name of the town.)

The Argos Reflector: October 11, 1900

“The crowd on Wednesday was . . . larger than expected by the management. But on Thursday the vast throngs of people simply overwhelmed the officers in charge. The number of single tickets sold on this day was 6,400. This does not include children, holders of season tickets, exhibitors, caretakers of exhibits, race horses, nor stock holders. The treasurer of the association informed our reporter that he could not be far wrong in saying there were more than 10,000 people in the grounds on Thursday. On Friday the attendance was not so large but was larger than expected.

Other Bourbon Fair Stories

There was not always a happy ending at the fair. Dolphus was a magnificent Shropshire ram of fine proportions, good weight and clean heavy fleece of high quality. He was exhibited at the Bremen fair in 1895 and then later entered at the Bourbon fair. While on exhibition he was seized with an illness and died. Another time a horse tied up with a rope fell, choked and died.

There was snow at the Bourbon fair in 1906. October 10 saw the area receive ten inches of snow.  Tents fell beneath the weight of the snow, tree limbs were snapped and bushes were bent to the snow. People came to the fair in boots to see the snow. The next couple of days the weather was very mild.

As the automobile became more popular, accidents involving them began to take the place of accidents with horses, wagons and buggies. In 1910 Dr. Nichols broke his arm while cranking his “machine” when leaving the fair. The next day another doctor did the very same thing. The Bremen Enquirer concluded that “Automobiles appear to have a special grudge against doctors just at present.”

More difficulty with doctors and automobiles. In 1915 Dr. and Mrs. Hammon Imus were thrown out of their buggy, and it was smashed when it was struck by an automobile on their way home from the fair.

In 1935 Ida Helmlinger of Bremen, the founder and president of the Old Maids Association of the World, was invited to visit the Bourbon fair. “We’ll find a place for you somewhere,” she was told, “even if we have to put you with the chickens.” She still went and met hundreds of people, after which she went to the Warsaw fair.

By the 1940s and 50s the fair featured four days of racing. Besides the usual races, there were pony races, farmers’ running races, and farmers’ cart races. Modern times brought tractor pulling contests.

Eventually, as interest in harness racing waned, and the county fair grew and became more popular, the Bourbon fair ceased to be. In 1963 the fairgrounds were sold to Triton School Corporation, and sadly, one of Marshall County’s most beloved institutions passed into history. The last fair was said to have been in 1962, though there are a couple of newspaper items mentioning people attending the fair in 1964.

Bourbon Fair, 67th Annual poster.

The Museum is open from 10 until 4 from Tuesday through Saturday at 123 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. For more information, call 574-936-2306.

A Bold Robbery in Bourbon

A Bold Robbery in Bourbon

by | Feb 25, 2026 | Bourbon

Feature Image. Bourbon railroad depot, ca 1883.

While the advent of railroads brought many advantages to the community, including easier access in and out of the area and an easier way for the farmer to move his crops, it also brought more people into the county, some of whom were unsavory characters.  A group of robbers decided to make Bourbon their home base.

The story is told in McDonald’s History of Marshall County of those bold robbers who operated in Bourbon:

A History By McDonald

“During a considerable period before and after the completion of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, the town of Bourbon was infested with a gang of counterfeiters and robbers who kept the inhabitants in a constant fever of excitement and fear.  The existence of this gang and many of those connected with it were well known, but the evidence of their guilt was not sufficient to warrant legal proceedings.  Some of them were, however, finally arrested, but the law’s delay and the many technicalities brought into requisition enabled all of them to escape the penalty they undoubtedly deserved.

“One night in the summer of 1867 a large number of housebreakers and robbers entered the residence of Joseph W. Davis.  Before entering they blackened their faces and otherwise disguised themselves.  They had taken the precaution to give the watchdog, a very fine Newfoundland, a dose of strychnine, which had put him effectively out of the way.  They procured a large scantling (a piece of lumber of small cross section) and, using it as a battering ram, drove it with such force against the front door as to break it open with the first blow. 

“Two of the robbers rushed into the bedroom where Mr. Davis and wife and infant child were sleeping and laid violent hands upon them before they realized the true condition of affairs.  A pistol was under Mr. Davis’ head, and in making a desperate effort to procure it, he was struck several times on the head and face, making the blood run profusely.  The burglars secured the pistol and (with one) holding Mr. Davis down by the throat, the remainder of the robbers went through the several rooms in the house, taking them one by one, going through the house and taking everything of value that suited their fancy.  In one of the rooms they found the hired girl; in another, the hired man.  At each of these rooms they placed one of their number on guard, and now, having everything arranged safely, they began to rummage every part of the house,  They made Mr. Davis open his safe, from which they took all the money and papers and other valuables contained in it. 

“They prepared an excellent supper from the supply of cooked provisions they found in the kitchen and buttery, of which they partook with evident relish.  They remained about two hours and, having finished their work, bade the occupants an affectionate good night and hastily took their departure.

 “When the robbery became known early the next morning, the whole town was in a furor of excitement and threats of lynching suspected parties were freely made, but as nothing definite could be ascertained as to who the guilty parties were, nothing was done.  Sometime afterward the pocketbook and papers were found close to the railroad track near Bucyrus, Ohio, and shortly after returned to the owner.  Several of the suspected parties soon left town and others were not slow to follow, and this was the last trouble Bourbon ever had with housebreakers.”

Who was Joseph W. Davis?

Who was Joseph W. Davis?  The thieves picked their victim well. 

Joseph W. Davis was a lumber dealer and farmer.  He was in the milling business with his brother Omar and built a hotel in Bourbon.  The Davis mills had been destroyed by fire in 1865.  In 1867, the year of the robbery, the Davis brothers built again after the Davis block was destroyed by fire.   In December of that year Joseph W. Davis was chosen to represent his party on the Board of Registry for Bourbon Township.  Davis was also a lawyer, practicing law for over thirty years, and a state legislator.  The gang would have figured Davis had something worth stealing when they broke into his house.

Born on January 22, 1829 in Ulysses, Davis would have been thirty-eight years old when he visited by the gang of thieves who ransacked his house.  He lived to be seventy-two years old and passed away on February 1, 1901.

MCHS & Museum is full of great stories, and you are free to look anytime! We are located at 123 N. Michigan St. in Plymouth. Our hours are 10:00 until 4:00, Tuesday through Saturday. Call us at 574-936-2306.

Hunting Tales

Hunting Tales

by | Nov 25, 2025 | Bourbon, Pastimes, Plymouth

With the annual hunting season in full swing, it’s time to look at hunting tales from long ago from the archives at the Marshall County Historical Society. Documents tell us: “The tradition of the last bear that was shot in Marshall County, comes from the lips of John Thomas, who is as familiar with the unwritten history hereabouts for the last 40 years as a draft horse is with the four corners of his feed box.” said John Thomas.

“In the winter of 1865,” says Thomas, “a number of bears wandered down from the woods of Wisconsin and terrified cattle and farmers throughout Northern Indiana.  This particular bear was a huge black fellow and had been seen in various parts of the county before he met his doom.  I had just come home from town when the women folks ran to meet me and said they had seen the much-dreaded animal run across a field.  I rushed to the house but found the hired man had taken the gun before me and started in pursuit.  Going to the neighbors, I borrowed another gun, mounted my horse and galloped away on the trail.  When I came up to the Whaley place on the Wolf Creek Road, I found the two boys in a very excited mood.  They had just shot the bear.  They told me that their father had gone to town, and they had been left at home to feed the pigs.  Suddenly one of the yelled, ‘See that pig on the fence!’  The other one looked.  Sure enough there was a pig on the fence.  But a pig on the fence was absurd.  When they took a better look, they saw the supposed pig was a bear.  A gun was brought from the house and inside of two minutes the big brute lay dead upon the ground.  Many hunters arrived in time to help gloat over the victory.  The hide was sold to Jepeth Disher, who paid $8 for it.  It was afterward worked up into a fine robe.” Plymouth Democrat – July 31, 1902

“The latest diversion of Bourbon men of affairs is that of racoon hunting.  The town, that is the sporting part, is now in the throes of a revival of the art of hunting the animals, that in the early days was a favorite pastime.  Whether it is a case of heredity, just now cropping out of the fourth generation, we have no means of knowing, but there is one thing certain, the craze has hit the town hard.  As far as we have been able to learn Jonas Rettinger is the only one who has, in the years past, kept up the sport enough to not forget its requirements.  Later Samuel Lemlar, Phillip Steinman and Arch Myers formed a company (limited) and purchased a hound after they had sold the one Sam had owned to Rettinger.  Lemler then purchased another hound and his deep sonorous voice had been sending cold chills up and down Mr. Racoon’s spine with painful regularity.  When Harl Stewart got the fever, he purchased another dog, and the old days of gentlemen following the hounds is returning.  Lemler, Myers & Steinman gave a racoon feast at the Vernette & Fretz restaurant Wednesday evening, and the smacking of lips told the tale, as their friends passed in and out.  Harl Stewart and Otis Thacker went Friday night and so far, hold the palm of good catches.  They secured three large, fat young racoons and a skunk.  And the beauty of the whole thing is that the skunk wasn’t quick enough to use his defense.” Bourbon News-Mirror – November 28, 1907

Skeleton Found in a Bourbon Barn

Skeleton Found in a Bourbon Barn

by | Oct 30, 2025 | Bourbon, Crime

It is said that every family has a skeleton in their closet. One Bourbon family had a skeleton in their barn:

“After the body was accidentally discovered by a hired hand and became publicly known, an inquest was held. Witnesses were called, a jury summoned, and testimony was given on August 25, 1855, in S.M. Adams’ storeroom. The jurors examined the skeleton of a female body between fourteen to twenty years of age, about five feet two inches tall. The top part of the skull and the left side of the lower jaw were gone. The name of the person and the cause of her death were unknown. The body was found on the premises hidden in the barn of Grason Parks.

“Henry Strunk testified the body was found in Grayson Parks’ haymow in the northwest part of the barn. It appeared to be covered up and secreted. He helped remove the body from the barn by the order of the coroner. The body was removed on the evening of August 24, 1855, shortly after dark.

“Thomas Wilkins said he discovered the body. Grason Parks had sent him up in the hayloft after a piece of lumber. Wilkins saw a small corner of a box and supposed it to be the lumber he was sent for but upon taking hold of it, he discovered it to be a box. On August 20 Grason Parks had employed him to help haul in oats. Wilkens examined the box again and was led to suppose that it contained a human body. The box was in the same place and condition as it was when he had first seen it in Grayson Parks’ barn. Wilkins supposed the box to have been secreted in the hay with which was covered. Wilkins next saw the box on the evening of August 24 when he went up into the haymow by the order of the coroner to show where the box was. Wilkins saw the box opened in the barnyard. At that time, he discovered to a certainty for the first time that there was a human body in the box. Wilkins had no knowledge as to how the box came to be in the barn.

“Abraham Baker said he was frequently about the Parks barn the previous spring and summer. He often noticed that there was a bad smell in the barn. He said he was working for Grayson Parks in May, and while the cattle were eating at noon, Baker went up into the haymow and for the first time, he discovered the bad smell. Baker asked Grayson Parks’ son what smelled so bad. The boy replied that his father had killed a cat in the hay but had burned it the day before. Baker said that when he first discovered the box his brother was with him; he shook the box, and it gave a disagreeable smell and that he supposed it to contain a dead body.

“Dr. David Hazzard testified he had examined the body which had come from the barn of Grayson Parks and discovered no marks of violence. It was a female body. The upper part of the skull had been removed and the left under jaw was taken off. Dr. Hazard stated that Grayson Parks was not a physician or surgeon.

“Dr. J. E. Brooks also examined the body and saw no marks of violence. The skeleton was a female. Dr. Brooks supposed the subject to have been between fourteen and twenty years of age.  He thought the body had been fairly well prepared. There was as little smell about it as any he had ever seen which was so recently prepared.

“James O. Parks said he had seen the body many times. He saw it in Leesburg. He said it is the property of Dr. Edward Parks. It was prepared by Dr. Edward Parks and probably others. James Parks said he saw it before it was dry. He said it was brought from Michigan. He never learned the name of the person. James Parks said it was a young female; he did not know the age but said it was “hardly matured.” He identified the skeleton to be the property of Dr. Ed Parks from the fact of the removal of the upper part of the skull and the loss of part of the under jaw and teeth.

“James Parks stated he could not say that he ever heard Dr. Ed Parks say that the body was his property, but he saw the body in Dr. Ed Parks’ lecture room in Kosciusko County. James Parks had no knowledge of the body being at Grayson Parks.’ James Parks said he was invited into Dr. Ed Parks’ lecture room by some of the students and went afterward without an invitation because they made him welcome. He said that it was prepared over a year ago.

“Dr. John F. Parks said he did not recognize the skeleton for a certainty to be the one which he had once or twice seen in the room of Dr. Ed Parks. Dr. John Parks said he had no knowledge of the skeleton being at Grayson H. Parks.’ He believed the skeleton to be the property of Dr. Ed Parks. He had seen a skeleton in Dr. Edward Parks’ room over a year ago and supposed this was the same one. It was in much the same condition as it was at the inquest. Dr. John Parks had requested Dr. Ed Parks to send him a skeleton two months before. Dr. John Parks had passed by Grayson H. Parks’ place but had received no notice of a skeleton being there for him.”

Apparently, the body was an open secret in the Parks family because they all seemed to know about it. In the early days of the study of internal medicine, it was very common for a doctor to acquire a cadaver to study. Some doctors were known to pay someone to dig up a recently deceased body, as in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

The jury found Grayson Parks guilty of unlawfully secreting the skeleton of a human body. Those involved in what happened to the skeleton are gone now, all buried properly under tombstones with their names on them. They received much better treatment after their decease than that which was given to the young girl, whose name is still known only to God.

Be sure to stop by the Museum! We are open from 10:00 until 4:00, Tuesday through Saturday at 123 N. Michigan St, Plymouth.

The Town of Bourbon: 1911

The Town of Bourbon: 1911

by | Sep 18, 2025 | Bourbon, Business & Industry, General History

This article about the Town of Bourbon appeared in the Weekly Republican on November 30, 1911.

Weekly Republican, 30 Nov 1911, pg 28 cols 3 & 4

Farm and Industry

Bourbon is one of the larger towns in Marshall County, its population according to the last census is 1,163. It is the center of what is considered the best farming lands in the county. While there are good lands all over the county, the Government geological survey shows that the best of them lie in the eastern third of the county.

Surrounded by such rich farming lands, Bourbon is a very prosperous town. Here the E. E. Delp Grain Co., does an elevator business of from $30,000 to $40,000 monthly. There are extensive coal and lumber yards, sawmill, cooperative creamery, two banks, many stores, three churches, Presbyterian, U. B. and Methodist, fraternal societies of Masons, I. O. O. F., Red Men and Knights of Pythias. A good newspaper, the News-Mirror, upholds the best in and for the community.

Some of the best of the Bourbon institutions are represented in this edition, which shows how enterprising and up-to-date they are. The Bourbon Fair, held every fall, is one of the greatest attractions of northern Indiana. On the biggest days the attendance usually reaches eight or ten thousand. Fruit growing, which is given much attention in this vicinity, is always well represented at these fairs.

The Heinz company has a salting station here also and many pickles are grown. Four of the chief growers are Otto Ames, who from a half-acre cleaned up $94.87; Conrad Hand, who made $136.82 on one acre; Jos. Hurford, who had out 1 1-2 acre and got $149.76 from it; and Fred Lemler, who took in $227.89 from two acres.

That Bourbon is a good center for farming and livestock raising, is evident from the large number of farmers in the district who feed and ship their own cattle and hogs. It is a fact that more livestock is shipped by rail out of Bourbon than is the case at any point between Ft. Wayne and Chicago.

The following figures showing the number of cars of livestock that have left Bourbon during the past eight years will be of interest: 1903: 105 Cars; 1904: 122 cars; 1905: 135 cars; 1906: 194 cars; 1907: 192 cars; 1908: 243 cars; 1909: 182 cars; 1910: 126 cars.

The figures for this year are, of course, incomplete, but the railway officials at Bourbon expect them to equal those of 1909.

Onion Growing in Bourbon

The onion crop in the vicinity of Bourbon is cultivated to a considerable extent, and with a success which is surprising especially to the layman. The industry has grown amazingly in this part of Marshall County and provides something more than a good living to those in the business. The soil in these parts is peculiarly adapted to the successful raising of this onions.

Over 200 acres around Bourbon, are yearly planted out, and usually the yield is good and pays the farmer well. This year, however, it was only 60 per cent of the normal yield.

It is five years since the industry was started around Bourbon, and, during that time it has assumed large proportions. A considerable number of men are employed, especially in the weeding season. The onions from Bourbon are shipped to all parts of the country, Boston taking large quantities for export purposes. Quantities are also sent to New Orleans for export to Panama. Most of the crop, however, is sent to the south and southwest.  F. F. Fribley, who is one of the pioneers in the business, and who has made a success of it from the very start, owns two large storage houses in Bourbon, from which he ships.

In conversation with a representative of the Republican he instanced the case of George Gouchenour who owns five acres of onion soil, and who, this year, made a net profit of $1000. Another man cleaned up $125 on one acre this year, while still another, Emanuel Coon, with 12 acres, had a net profit of $1920.

As showing how the value of onion lands has increased, it may be mentioned that a very few years ago, they were considered almost worthless, and went begging at from $5 to $10 per acre. Today these same lands are held firmly at from $100 to $125 an acre with improvements. Mr. F. F. Fribley is an enthusiast of onion raising and has done well in the business. He is of the opinion that the industry will soon develop into one of the most important and remunerative in the county.