History and Development
Conner Prairie was founded by pharmaceutical executive Eli Lilly in the 1930s. In 1974, Lilly transferred the William Conner house, which he had restored, and related outbuildings to a public charitable trust of which Earlham College, a Quaker liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana, was named as trustee. Lilly also transferred about 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) of surrounding farmland to the college with the expectation that Earlham would sell that land and use the proceeds to provide an endowment for the museum. Instead, Earlham elected to retain the farmland and expand the museum, constructing an 1836 village, Prairietown, using funds that Lilly provided for this purpose. The museum grew in scope and popularity. In 1992 Earlham created a wholly owned subsidiary to run the museum and appointed a local volunteer board of directors, while retaining financial control over the museum's operations. Beginning in 1999, tension began to develop between the board of directors and Earlham regarding the museum's governance and the college's financial policies. The dispute culminated in Earlham's dismissal of the board of directors and president of the museum in June 2003. The Indiana Attorney General intervened and, after a lengthy and contentious dispute, a settlement was reached under which Earlham resigned as trustee of the public charitable trust, the Lilly endowment was allocated between Conner Prairie and the college and the museum became completely independent. Conner Prairie now has its own board of directors and maintains its own finances and endowment fund. In 2009 Conner Prairie became an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program.
On December 17, 2010, Conner Prairie was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service and a $10,000 prize in a ceremony at the White House.
The living museum opened its newest exhibit in June 2011. The 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana documents Morgan's Raid with live action, video, and interactive activities.
Read more about this topic: Conner Prairie
Famous quotes containing the words history and/or development:
“I assure you that in our next class we will concern ourselves solely with the history of Egypt, and not with the more lurid and non-curricular subject of living mummies.”
—Griffin Jay, and Reginald LeBorg. Prof. Norman (Frank Reicher)
“Ultimately, it is the receiving of the child and hearing what he or she has to say that develops the child’s mind and personhood.... Parents who enter into a dialogue with their children, who draw out and respect their opinions, are more likely to have children whose intellectual and ethical development proceeds rapidly and surely.”
—Mary Field Belenky (20th century)