Ripley Co. Tourism Awarded Funds To Highlight Changing Landscape In Rural America

A South Ripley School Consolidation exhibit will be set up at Town Hall during the Pumpkin Show this week.

(Versailles, Ind.) – A traveling Smithsonian-curated exhibit is coming to Ripley County.

Ripley County Tourism Bureau has been awarded $1,500 by Indiana Humanities to host a local program exploring themes from the traveling Smithsonian exhibit, called “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.”

In addition to Versailles, 10 other Indiana communities received $1,500 stipends to host programs and locally curated exhibits around rural change during the time of the tour.

Versailles will host their presentation at the Town Hall Building during the Pumpkin Show September 25-28. Hours will be Wednesday-Friday 6:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday noon to 8:00 p.m.

The exhibit will focus on South Ripley School Consolidation, exploring the one room schoolhouses in four townships to today’s one consolidated school system and the impact on the community.

“We are thrilled to provide funds to underserved areas in Indiana like  Versailles to explore the many themes of rural change that resonate with Hoosiers today, including identity, land, community, persistence and managing change,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities. “We look forward to using the themes of the tour to celebrate our rural past while sparking conversations about our future.”

Indiana Humanities also plans to partner with Southeast Indiana REMC to explore the electrification of rural America at a later date.