Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

November 20, 2025November 18, 2025 victoriavm Activities, Depot & Train Museums, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Santa in the Caboose, Sundays at the Depot, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Santa in the Caboose 2025

Mark your calendars for this year’s
🎅 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐄! 🚃
➜ 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 13: 10 𝒂.𝒎. 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎.
➜ 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 14: 𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎.
💸 Give a donation to see Santa (our 28th annual!) and support the upkeep (and heating!) of the Historical Park!
📸 Take as many personal photos & videos as you’d like!
🍪 Be sure to shop our Holiday Bake Sale and holiday stocking stuffers as well!
*𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴!

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

July 1, 2025March 2, 2026 victoriavm Depot & Train Museums, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Griffith History, History Notes, Society Saga, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Tales of the Town, The Tower, Volunteer

25th Anniversary of the Tower

𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝟮𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗝&𝗘 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places and the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures.

We made this video in 2003 as an entry for a prize from the show “The View” but it’s a great summary of what we’re about and why we do what we do!

More about the Tower: https://ghsinc.org/the-tower/

May 29, 2025March 2, 2026 victoriavm Activities, Depot & Train Museums, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Monarch Waystation, Sundays at the Depot, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Get to know us!

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁!
Come down to the Griffith Historical Park and visit the 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺𝘀!

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

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

May 2, 2025 victoriavm Activities, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Monarch Waystation, Sundays at the Depot, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

Get your butterfly-friendly plants!

🦋𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻?
🌻𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀!!
👋Join us on Sunday to get your butterfly-friendly plants, and learn more about these amazing creatures!
🚂Griffith Depot & Train Museums – Corner of Broad St & Ave A, next to the tracks!
🙏Thanks Scheeringa Farms & Greenhouses for helping us choose plants butterflies love!

April 21, 2025 victoriavm Activities, Barrel Train, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Monarch Waystation, Sundays at the Depot, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Butterfly Day at the Depot!

Join us to celebrate National Start Seeing Monarchs Day!
Visit Griffith’s very own butterfly garden, aptly named the Griffith Junction Butterfly Stop.
It’s the first anniversary of the garden, conceived and planted by Griffith Tri Kappa member Jeanette Bobos, and supported by the organization.
May 4th is one day after National Start Seeing Monarchs Day, when America celebrates those beautiful, endangered orange and yellow creatures.

It will be a fun and interesting Sunday afternoon at the Griffith Historical Park, where:
The Depot & Train Museums, and the Tower will be open to tour
Our barrel train, the Hess Express, will be running
Jeanette Bobos, the retired Master Gardner who planted our garden, will be on on hand to share her knowledge. We’ll have info on Monarchs and how they’ve become endangered.
Kim Moor, from The Wild Ones, will be with us sharing information about adding native plants to your garden.
Want plants to help butterflies, especially Monarchs? Through the courtesy of Scheeringa Farms, we’ll have a small selection of milkweed plants; black-eyed Susans, Griffith Centennial’s flower in 2004; plus some Heirloom Plants, as well.
Girl Scout Troop 15620 will be selling cookies, lemonade, and butterfly clips.
The Cub Scout Pack 622 and Boy Scout Troop 623 will be on hand with hotdogs, chips and pop.

December 27, 2024 victoriavm Blog Posts, Community Callout, Franklin Center Museum, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Meetings, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam, Volunteer

Special General Membership Meeting

Please join us for a Special General Membership Meeting.
Wednesday, January 8th at 5:30 pm
•Franklin Center – Community Room
•Enter Door A

As we plan for and move strategically into 2025, the Board of Directors is recommending changes in how we operate and represent the Griffith Historical Society Museums, not only in Griffith, but across the nation within a fraternity of hundreds of other Historical Museums.

To do this, we are proposing changes in our Bylaws regarding membership.

Please join us at this Special Membership Meeting to hear about the changes and vote on them, to secure the future of the Griffith Historical Society.

December 17, 2024December 17, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, Fundraiser, Santa in the Caboose, Sundays at the Depot, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

Santa in the Caboose THANK YOU!

✨THANK YOU THANK YOU!
🎅This year’s Santa in the Caboose was a huge success thanks to every visitor and so many volunteers!
🚂This event is fun for everyone and has a huge impact in funding the upkeep of the Depot and Train Park!

🎄Thanks to our old friends who come every year, and to the new friends who found us this year.
🍪Thanks to the Scouts and Leaders of Griffith Girl Scout Troop 15620 for baking cookies for us to sell at our bake sale and for being part of the fun with their holiday hair club and headbands.
🌭Thanks to Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 for again selling hot dogs and hot chocolate up at the Park during the event.
🥧Thank you TriKappa for donating baked goods!
🏫Thanks to the Griffith Public Schools for helping get the word out about Santa in the Caboose.
🌳Thanks to the Park Department for sharing the info at Central Park.
🏢Thanks to all the businesses that let us put flyers in their windows.
👋Hopefully we didn’t forget anyone!!
🙋‍♀️And a huge thanks all the Griffith Historical Society members who decorated the Depot and railcars, worked to promote the event, made goodies to sell, and made the event run smoothly!!
✨A special shoutout to volunteers/members Karen, Nancy, Martha Belinda, John, Laura, Valerie, Debbie, Jim and Beth for making this weekend a success!

🎅🤶And, of course, a big thanks to Santa and Mrs. Claus!

We had a wonderful time and we’ll see you next year!!

December 3, 2024December 6, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Santa in the Caboose, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

Santa in the Caboose!

Reminder, mark your calendars for this year’s

𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐒𝐄!

➜ 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 14: 10 𝒂.𝒎. 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎.
➜ 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝑫𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 15: 𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 3 𝒑.𝒎..

Give a donation to see Santa (our 27th annual!) and support the upkeep (and heating!) of the Historical Park!
Take as many personal photos as you’d like – you can even record the visit on your phone!
Be sure to shop our Holiday Bake Sale and the holiday stocking stuffers that Girl Scout Troop 15620 will be offering.

🌭☕️ Hot dogs and hot chocolate will be sold by Griffith Cub Scout Pack 622 and Griffith Boy Scout Pack 623.🚂🧲 Griffith train magnets will be available for sale.

*𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴!

September 22, 2024September 22, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

THANK YOU notes from ElmerJ Program!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 again to EVERYONE who donated to help completely fund this program for Griffith’s 3rd graders!

Our presentations and field trip days were a complete success, and this week, we’ll be sharing some of the THANK YOUs written by the 3rd graders to our volunteers who ran the event, and to YOU, who donated and made this program possible for EVERY 3rd grader to enjoy!

September 16, 2024September 22, 2024 victoriavm Activities, Blog Posts, Fundraiser, Griffith Depot and Historical Park, Support the History Museums, Parks, & Rail-Cam

Thank You!!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮!

Our goal was accomplished thanks to YOU!

The Griffith Historical Society is proud to announce that participation by Griffith Public Schools third-grade classes in the Society’s ElmerJ Program this coming September has been totally underwritten by donations from our members, Griffith Public School graduates, and others.

The two books and the cost of the bus for the field trip to our Griffith Historical Park will be free for all students!

The ElmerJ Program, named for town founders Elmer and Jay Dwiggins, was instituted in 2022 by the Griffith Historical Society to help students learn about the history of their town, which is part of their Social Studies curriculum. The program includes an introductory, in-school PowerPoint presentation, after which each class gets a guided tour of the Depot, railcars and Tower at the Griffith Historical Park.

Two books on railroad and Griffith history, created by the Society, are given to the students, as well as primary-source stories of growing up in Griffith, written by the grand-daughter of the town’s first settlers.

This is the first year we asked for donations to underwrite the ElmerJ Program, and we are so grateful to our members, GPS graduates, and others for their donations. From the beginning, Griffith townspeople cared about schools and the children who attended them, and it continues today.