Pioneer Village
~ Julia Pearson
The Pioneer Village is one of the“ must visit” destinations in Brown County. Springtime brings school children to the cluster of log buildings, which represent bygone village life within the larger village of Nashville itself. Visitors are lucky to tag along with the youngsters and see the Brown County Historical Society’ s gem through their eyes. A chestnut tree grows next to the blacksmith shop, recalling Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’ s poem, The Village Blacksmith:“ Under a spreading chestnut-tree / The village smithy stands.” In another stanza children on field trips in 2018 mirror those of an earlier era:“ And children coming home from school / Look in at the open door;/ They love to see the flaming forge,/ And hear the bellows roar.” Like days past, students can see square-headed nails and horseshoes being made as the hammer hits the anvil with an unmistakable sound.
30 Our Brown County • May / June 2018
photos by Ivan Lancaster
The nineteenth century buildings are the perfect setting for visualizing the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Especially pertinent to young Hoosiers is Portia Howe Sperry and Lois Donaldson’ s children’ s novel, Abigail, which is the story of a young girl, Susan Calvin, and her family as they homesteaded in Brown County in the days before roads were paved.
In a landscape of forested hills and valleys wild with bears, panthers, and wolves, many communities consisted of log homes such as the one next to the blacksmith shop. The exhibit of kitchen utensils around the hearth show how kettles of water hung on the iron crane, keeping hot water ready for the household; and footed iron skillets and Dutch ovens set upon the stone hearth providing slow-roasting meats and breads. The rope bed has a straw-stuffed tick for a mattress and brings to mind the origin of“ Sleep tight, don’ t let the bedbugs bite.” Next to the bed is the family Bible with all births, deaths, and marriages entered, and recognized as legal records when needed. Children visiting this cabin especially wonder at the need for water, fuel for warmth, shelter, and food as settlers chose homesites long ago.
On the northeast corner of the Pioneer Village stands the authentic medical office of Dr. A. J. Ralphy, a native son of Nashville and born in 1854. The small white clapboard building was moved from New Bellsville in 1976 and restored to its original condition with medical books, instruments, furniture, and even specimens of Ralphy’ s taxidermy.