Ligonier:
City of museums, parks and history

For anyone wanting to get a feel for the history of Ligonier and its residents, the city makes it easy. All it takes is a few days of time to visit several top-notch attractions that showcase the city.

First stop should be the Ligonier Visitors Center, housed in a 1920s filling station at the stoplight on the corner of S.R. 5 (Lincolnway South) and West Union Street. There you can visit the Indiana Historic Radio Museum which has a collection of over 400 radios, telegraphs and microphones dating from 1898 to the first all-transister radio which was manufactured in Indiana in 1954. Spring, summer and fall hours generally are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. In the winter the museum and center is open on Saturdays. There’s no admission charge but a suggested donation is $2.

Just one block west of S.R. 5 is Ligonier’s beautiful tree-lined main street. There you will find lovely three-story homes as well as the Ligonier Historical Museum, Carnegie Library and Gazebo Park.

The Ligonier Historical Museum was built in the late 1800s as a Jewish Temple and features beautiful stain-glass windows. In 2002 it underwent a major renovation which allowed more of its natural beauty to shine. The museum is home to more than 1,000 artifacts relating to the city’s past. It is operated by volunteers and is a treasure to the city’s residents.

On Lincolnway West is “This Ole House,” a memories museum that is filled with memorabilia from one family’s treasures. It’s part of the Fashion Farm complex which includes a restaurant.

Travel south of Ligonier on S.R. 5 and US 33 to find Stone’s Trace museum, house and tavern. Hours are Sunday afternoon or by appointment.

On West Union Street, five blocks from the visitor center is the 40-acre G. Martin Kenney Park which includes a one-mile walking path, lighted ball diamonds, shuffleboard courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, children’s play area and picnic pavilions.

Enjoy walking the brick paths through the Jennie Thompson Garden to view 25 different flower beds or find a park bench and enjoy the solitude and the fountain. The garden is a lovely setting for weddings.

The visitor center offers guides of the city for tour buses or any group of 10 or more. Call toll free 1-888-415-3562 for information.

Ligonier continues to be a safe town with a low crime rate and outstanding public utilities, as well as respected police and fire departments.

An expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment plant was set to be finished in the early part of 2003 and will add new capabilities to the plant.

HISTORY: The city of Ligonier was founded in 1835 by Isaac Cavin, who built a settlement along the banks of the Elkhart River, in an area known as Strawberry Valley. He named the town after his hometown of Ligonier, Pa.

The town experienced slow growth until the railroad was constructed in 1852. At about the same time, Solomon Mier and Jacob Strauss, two Jewish immigrants, settled in the area and other Jewish people began to follow. Between 1852 and 1866 the town’s population grew from 50 to 1,100.

Following the Civil War, the town thrived and dozens of new businesses were opened. Mier and Strauss each owned banks, and had some of the largest real estate holdings in the Midwest. By 1900, about 10 percent of Ligonier’s 2,000 inhabitants were Jewish, and the town was known as “Little Jerusalem.”

The second generation of Jewish settlers, however, looked to larger cities and by 1940, most of the Jewish influence was gone. Like many small towns, Ligonier waned in the new era of easy transportation following World War II.

In 1952, a group of local businessmen formed an industrial development committee, and began transforming Ligonier into an industrial city. Today, the city boasts a large industrial park, with several large employers.

POPULATION: 4,357 (2000 U.S. Census).

ACCESS: Ligonier is located at the crossroads of S.R. 5, U.S. 6 and U.S. 33.

GOVERNMENT: A full-time mayor with a five-member city council, which meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Ligonier Sports and Recreation Center. The board of works meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. in City Hall. The mayor’s office is located in City Hall, West Third Street 894-4113.
The mayor is Gary Bishop. City council members are Rev. John Lutton, Glenn Longardner, Ken Schuman, Gene Rarick and Karen Richendollar. City attorney, appointed by the mayor, is Robert Kirsch.

SERVICES: Sewer and water is provided by the city, and trash pickup is contracted by the city. Ligonier’s police department has been expanded to eight full-time members, which is supplemented by an active reserve police unit. Three full-time firefighters are aided by several volunteer firefighters.

EDUCATION: Students attend West Noble School Corp. Elementary students attend either Ligonier Elementary or West Noble Elementary. Middle and high school students attend at the West Noble campus three miles south of Ligonier.

RECREATION: Ligonier has many parks, the largest of which is Kenney Park on West Union Street. The Ligonier Sports and Recreation Center in Kenney Park has a full gym and two fitness rooms, as well as a public meeting room with kitchen facilities. In 1993, the Jennie Thompson Garden, a scenic walkway in a garden setting, was added to the park.

FESTIVALS: The Ligonier Marshmallow Festival is held each Labor Day weekend; attendance is well over 10,000 people.
The Stone’s Trace Pioneer Crafts Festival is a popular festival held the weekend after Labor Day at the Stone’s Trace grounds, three miles south of the city. It also boasts large attendance figures.

SHOPPING: Ligonier has three grocery stores, two banks (one with two branches) and a hardware store, two discount stores, a drug store and many small shops as well as an equipment-rental store. There are numerous restaurants, including five fast-food establishments and several long-established, full-service restaurants.

TAXES: The 2002 tax rate was $.7793 per $100 assessed valuation. Total assessed valuation last year was $124,055,200. Maximum levy was $986,099.

POLICE: City Hall, Station Street, 894-4111. (Emergencies: 911)

FIRE: City Hall, Station Street, 894-2123 (emergencies) or 894-3124.

CLERK-TREASURER: City Hall, West Third Street, 894-4113. Hours — 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

LIBRARY: Ligonier Public Library, South Main Street, 894-4511. Hours — Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

POST OFFICE: 201 S. Main St., 894-3021.