The Pendleton Historic District is a national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

located at Pendleton,

Madison County, Indiana Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 census states the population is standing at 130,129. The county seat since 1836 has been Anderson, one of three incorporated cities within the county. Madison County is includ ...

. Sites of interest include a relatively intact 19th-century business district, Fall Creek Park, the Grey Goose Inn (built in 1820), and a large variety of homes in Federal,

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, and

American Craftsman American Craftsman is an American domestic architectural style, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which included interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts, beginning in the last years of the 19th century. ...

styles. The structures within the district are described in detail in the 1984 Madison County Interim Report, which was part of the Indiana Historical Sites and Structures Inventory (IHSSI). The historic district includes the original 1821 plat by Thomas M. Pendleton and several of the subsequent plat additions. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. The historic district includes the historic portion of Falls Park. Pendleton, the first settlement in Madison County, was originally formed by homesteaders attracted to the scenic beauty—and hydrologic potential (for water mills)--of the falls. In 1825, an important milestone was marked in Native American rights when the European-American perpetrators of the Fall Creek Massacre were hanged near the falls. In 1843,

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

spoke in Pendleton as one of the

American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist society in the United States. AASS formed in 1833 in response to the nullification crisis and the failures of existing anti-slavery organizations, ...

's Hundred Conventions. The gathered crowd was dispersed by an armed mob that chased Douglass, overtaking and beating him near the falls. He was saved by local Quakers, with whom he remained friends with throughout his life. A historic marker in Pendleton commemorates Douglass's speech here. Falls Park is also historically significant as a noted recreational destination between 1921 and the 1950s. During this time, the area below the falls was made into a natural pool. In 1923 it was announced as one of the best, if not the best, swimming location in the state. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1991.

References

''2006 Pendleton Comprehensive Plan Update''
Town of Pendleton

External links

* ttp://www.town.pendleton.in.us Pendleton Town Site {{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Pendleton, Indiana Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Federal architecture in Indiana Greek Revival architecture in Indiana Historic districts in Madison County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Madison County, Indiana