Collections
1905 Mier Car
Center stage at the museum is the 1905 Mier car designed and built by local resident, Sheldon Harkless. Mr. Harkless sold the car’s design rights to the Mier Carriage Co. of Ligonier. The company produced only about 10 cars and this is one of the two known survivors.
Chief Wawasee
The Syracuse High School Class of 1966 left over $600 “to purchase busts of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to be placed in the four alcoves in the lobby of the Wawasee High School auditorium. If the full amount is not spent for these items, the balance is to be applied to an Indian statue.” Eli Lilly, a longtime resident and community benefactor, was interested in helping the class with the project.
William Henry Harrison (first governor of Indiana Territory) was chosen to join Washington and Lincoln, but the “Indian” – Chief Wawasee – presented a problem. What did a typical Miami chief look like?
Jane Nesbit (former teacher at the John Herron Art Institute of Indianapolis) was commissioned to do Lincoln and Chief Wawasee. Since there were no likenesses of ”Wau-wa-aus-see,” Miss Nesbit worked with prints of local Indians in the Indiana State Library and the anthropology department of Indiana University to develop her statue. After the busts were done in clay and sent to New England to be cast in bronze, Mr. Lilly did not like the effect of some of the treatments and sent them back to be redone. This bust, in the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum, is the rejected first cast.
For the sake of brevity, Ann Garceau condensed an article from “CRUZIN AROUND ‘CUSE,” 2/23/1983, authored by Lewis S. Immel, school superintendent at the time the busts were created.
Anchoring the the museum’s newly created nautical section is a c. 1930s era wooden lapstrake boat. Donated by Doug and Karen Grant of Lake Wawasee, the beautifully restored antique boat was awarded the Commodore’s Cup in the 1998 Wawasee Flotilla and won first place in the antique division at the White River Yacht Club boat show in the Indianapolis area that same year. A unique feature of the boat is three-position steering; it can be directed from the steering wheel in front or levers in the middle and back of the boat. Ownership of the boat has been verified at least as far back as Jesse A. Dietzen, president of Dietzen Bakeries, Kokomo, who resided on the south shore of Lake Wawasee. Pictures of his grandchildren in the boat in the 1960s have been donated by the family. The museum will continue to research the boat’s history and welcomes all information patrons may have.
…and many other items and collections including:
Syracuse and Wawasee High School Year Books and Class Portraits
- Portraits of graduating classes from 1950 to 1989
- Trophies from a variety of sports over the years
An Extensive Collection of Native American Artifacts
- Arrowheads
- Axe heads
- Various tools
Other Items and Collections From The Area:
- The Grant Boat
- The Harkless Family Memorial Case
- Military uniforms
- George Miles
- Past and present businesses
- A 400 Year old grandfather clock
- Oil paintings (mostly by Ken Harkless) depicting life in Syracuse from years past
- Numerous advertising items from local Businesses
- Most of the Museum’s photos have been preserved in the Syracuse – Wawasee Historical DVD, which can be viewed at the Museum and is also available for purchase, along with other gift shop items.
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