Indiana’s newest state park, Prophetstown is located where the Tippecanoe River meets the Wabash near the town of Battle Ground northeast of Lafayette. The park's landscape has been shaped by ice from glaciers, moving water, fire, and human hands that helped maintain the vast tall prairie grass. Native American people hunted and lived along the two rivers for thousands of years. The park is named for a Native American village located between the rivers established by Tecumseh, who was Shawnee, and his brother Tenskwatawa (The Prophet) in 1808. Tecumseh led his band there from Ohio, where pressure from white settlers had forced him to leave. Tecumseh believed the only way to repel the advance of European settlement was to form an alliance with other tribes. More than 14 tribes set aside centuries-old disputes to stop their common enemy. They met at Prophetstown and heard The Prophet speak. Tecumseh anticipated their sheer numbers would be enough to stop the westward settlement. William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, was alarmed by the numbers at Prophetstown and moved 1,200 troops to the site while Tecumseh was south gathering additional support. Wanting to avoid a fight, yet fearing an attack, The Prophet decided to strike first in the early morning hours of Nov. 7, 1811. The battle lasted two hours. As darkness faded, the villagers withdrew through the marsh back to Prophetstown, then fled to Wildcat Creek. Harrison's men burned Prophetstown to the ground. Through our unique partnership with The Farm at Prophetstown, visitors can discover 1920s farm lifestyles, Native American culture and take a stroll through 900 acres of restored prairie. We are restoring native habitats such as wetlands, wet slopes called fens, prairie, and open woodlands. Please review our commenting guidelines at https://on.IN.gov/dnrsocial. This property is in the Eastern time zone.
