Butterfly Day 2026

๐Ÿฆ‹Join us to celebrate the return of the monarchs, as they migrate up from the south!
๐Ÿ—“๏ธSunday May 24, 2026
๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ 1 – 4 pm

๐Ÿซ Visit the Griffith Depot & Train Museums (everything will be open to view!) and enjoy our Monarch Waystation garden!
๐Ÿš‚ Our barrel train, the Hess Express, will be running ๐Ÿšƒ
๐Ÿฆ‹Learn about Monarchs, their amazing migration, & how they’ve become endangered. Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge.
๐ŸLearn about adding native plants to your garden.
๐ŸŒปBuy plants that help butterflies, especially monarchs! Weโ€™ll have a small selection of milkweed plants & other native plants.

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธFlowers for 250 Years!

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ ๐–๐ž’๐ซ๐ž ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ ๐’๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐ง๐ข๐š๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐ž๐š๐ซ!
โ€ฆโ€ฆโˆโ˜…โˆโ˜…โ€ฆโ€ฆ(๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ?)
โค๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™Griffith Historical Society’s America 250 Committee worked with Imagine Griffith and citizen volunteers to plant red, white and blue flowers throughout downtown Griffith. The flowers were provided courtesy of the Parks Department.
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธWe hope you enjoy them this summer as we continue to celebrate America’s 250th birthday!

Thanks for a great Santa in Caboose!

๐ŸŽ„Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from the Griffith Historical Society!
๐ŸŽ…Thank you to everyone who braved the cold and came out to Santa in the Caboose!! From our volunteers to those of you who visited and left a donation, we couldn’t do it without you!
๐Ÿš‚As a non-profit, volunteer-run organization, all of your donations go directly to the upkeep of the Train & Depot Museums and the Town History Museum at the Franklin Center. We appreciate you and your support!

Santa in the Caboose 2025

Mark your calendars for this year’s
๐ŸŽ… ๐’๐€๐๐“๐€ ๐ˆ๐ ๐“๐‡๐„ ๐‚๐€๐๐Ž๐Ž๐’๐„! ๐Ÿšƒ
โžœ ๐‘บ๐’‚๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’…๐’‚๐’š, ๐‘ซ๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 13: 10 ๐’‚.๐’Ž. ๐’•๐’ 3 ๐’‘.๐’Ž.
โžœ ๐‘บ๐’–๐’๐’…๐’‚๐’š, ๐‘ซ๐’†๐’„๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 14: ๐’๐’๐’๐’ ๐’•๐’ 3 ๐’‘.๐’Ž.
๐Ÿ’ธ Give a donation to see Santa (our 28th annual!) and support the upkeep (and heating!) of the Historical Park!
๐Ÿ“ธ Take as many personal photos & videos as youโ€™d like!
๐Ÿช Be sure to shop our Holiday Bake Sale and holiday stocking stuffers as well!
*๐˜ž๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ป๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ. ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ด, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ฑ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด!

Want to volunteer for the event? Email us at [email protected]!

Donate your Halloween stuff!

๐ŸŽƒ๐——๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜† ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐˜† ๐˜€๐˜๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐— ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜‚๐—บ๐˜€!
โ˜ ๏ธWe are planning something spooky and fun for 2026 and we could use your help!
๐Ÿ‘ปCan’t fit all those Halloween items into the garage? Consider donating them to us! ๐Ÿฆ‡Email [email protected]!

News From the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop!ย 

ย The Superfantastical Monarch Journeyย 

The monarch butterflies fluttering about arenโ€™t just casual flutterers. They are the  last to be born in 2025, and they are โ€˜super monarchs.โ€™  

Right now, they are busy sipping up nectar they, so as to build up fat reserves in  their bodies. You see, these particular butterflies were born to do a seemly  impossible job. 

They, and millions of other super monarchs, fly 1200 miles to a fir treeย  forest in central Mexico between August and November. And the continuation of their existence in theย  northeastern states depends upon their safe arrival.ย 

These butterflies do have some โ€˜super powersโ€™ to help them accomplish their  task. 

– Because of this journey, a super monarch will live far longer than the 2 toย  5 weeks normal monarch butterflies do.ย ย 
– These butterflies are born with larger wings and are capable of flying 50 toย  100 miles in a single day, weather permitting.ย ย 
– It is believed they were born with an internal sun compass or magnetic ย compass to guide them to Central America.ย 
– They can fly at speeds of 5 to 25 miles an hour for 4-6 hours a day, glidingย  on currents of warm air called thermals, to conserve energy when possible.ย ย 

At the end of each day of their journey, the butterflies will seek out nectar from  the flowers to fuel their next-day trip. Once that is accomplished, they will spend  the night in trees, clustered together for protection.  

It will take the monarchs who leave from Indiana 5 to 7 weeks to make the trip to  that Mexican forest Oyamel fir tree forest.  

Once there, they, and millions of other super monarchs, will blanket the fir trees  for warmth and to conserve energy. Thereafter, they will enter a state of  dormancy, allowing them to survive the winter. 

We wish all these spectacular insects a safe trip.

๐Ÿฆ‹Join us in May 2026 to celebrate these incredible creatures at our 2nd Annual Butterfly Day at the Griffith Historical Park, featuring our Monarch Waystation, the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop.

(If you come visit our Monarch Waystation at the Depot, we ask that you do so respectfully. Please don’t touch the plants, insects, or disturb the habitat in any way. Thank you!)

photos by Jeanette Bobos and Ken Krick

This weekend!

It’s a busy weekend for the Historical Society!!
๐Ÿš‚Friday – LAST Barrel Train at Central Market for the Season!
๐Ÿš‚Saturday – Barrel Train at Safety Day at Central Park!
๐Ÿ›๏ธSaturday – The TOWN HISTORY Museum at the Franklin Center will be open!
๐Ÿ›ค๏ธSunday – Visit the Depot and Train Museums! Tour guides will be available. Parents of Beiriger 3rd Graders – come see what your kids learned this week!

Get to know us!

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜!
Come down to the Griffith Historical Park and visit the ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐— ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜‚๐—บ๐˜€!

Get to know us and learn a little bit about the history of the railroads and the town that came to the tracks.

โ€ข 1 – 3 pm
โ€ข 201 S Broad Street
โ€ข At the tracks, on the corner of Broad Street and Avenue A

No rain can keep us from having Butterfly Day!

โ˜”๏ธ๐—ช๐—˜๐—”๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐—จ๐—ฃ๐——๐—”๐—ง๐—˜:
๐Ÿฆ‹๐‘ฉ๐‘ผ๐‘ป๐‘ป๐‘ฌ๐‘น๐‘ญ๐‘ณ๐’€ ๐‘ซ๐‘จ๐’€ ๐‘ฐ๐‘บ ๐‘ถ๐‘ต!!

โ€ข The Barrel Train will NOT be running
โ€ข The Depot and Train Musems WILL be open
โ€ข Our flower & butterfly experts will be inside
โ€ข The rest of the fun will be inside!

๐‘ต๐’†๐’Š๐’•๐’‰๐’†๐’“ ๐’“๐’‚๐’Š๐’, ๐’๐’๐’“ ๐’„๐’๐’๐’…, ๐’๐’๐’“ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’…๐’” ๐’•๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐’ƒ๐’๐’๐’˜ ๐’˜๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’Œ๐’†๐’†๐’‘ ๐’–๐’” ๐’‡๐’“๐’๐’Ž ๐’‰๐’‚๐’—๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ ๐’๐’–๐’“ ๐‘ฉ๐’–๐’•๐’•๐’†๐’“๐’‡๐’๐’š ๐‘ซ๐’‚๐’š!

Get your butterfly-friendly plants!

๐Ÿฆ‹๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป?
๐ŸŒป๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€!!
๐Ÿ‘‹Join us on Sunday to get your butterfly-friendly plants, and learn more about these amazing creatures!
๐Ÿš‚Griffith Depot & Train Museums – Corner of Broad St & Ave A, next to the tracks!
๐Ÿ™Thanks Scheeringa Farms & Greenhouses for helping us choose plants butterflies love!