The Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville House was built near

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, Indiana, in 1827. Subsidized by the U.S. federal government through the 1826 Treaty of Mississinewas, it is believed to be one of only three treaty houses built east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on March 2, 2012.

History

Chief Richardville, the principal chief of the

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

from 1812 until his death in 1841, signed several

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government as it negotiated with the Miami tribe for its eventual removal from Indiana as a recognized nation. Lands were reserved for Richardville's personal use, and $600 was provided for the building of a home. The Richardville House's architecture reflects both

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 Federal styles. When completed, using both the government's and his own funds, Richardville's Fort Wayne home was the equal in style and grandeur of the homes of prominent white residents of the area at that time. The Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society acquired the house in 1991 with money donated by the Foellinger Foundation and the Ropchan Foundation. Farther south and west lies the trading and meeting place where the

Wabash River The Wabash River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana, and a significant part of Illinois, in the United ...

and the Wabash and Erie Canal intersected in Huntington, Indiana. Here is another home owned by Richardville (lived in by Chief LaFontaine)– a white, two-story Greek Revival filled with period furniture and portraits of the owners. This is also the site where treaties were signed. Today, this house forms the centerpiece of the historic Forks of the Wabash park.

References

External links

Fort Wayne Historical Society entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardville House Houses completed in 1827 Historic house museums in Indiana Museums in Fort Wayne, Indiana Houses in Fort Wayne, Indiana Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Allen County, Indiana Miami tribe Georgian architecture in Indiana 1827 establishments in Indiana

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links