Fountain Park Chautauqua: A Longstanding Indiana Tradition

The historic hotel at Fountain Park Chautauqua in Remington. Photo copyright: Nicole Ramsey

Chautau-WHAT is how some people feel when first hearing the name associated with Fountain Park in Remington. In reality, it’s one of Indiana’s gems, with a rich history. In the late 1800s, a minister in New York set up a training camp for Sunday School teachers, but it soon transformed into something uniquely special. Different camps opened up all over the United States, with the goal of offering arts and culture to rural communities. And these communities loved this outlet. Tied to their farms and their fields, they couldn’t easily trek off to bigger cities to visit museums, scientific lectures, or concerts; instead, with Chautauqua, those things came to them. Musical groups, lectures by leading figures of the times (including African-American Booker T. Washington), art classes… all of these things were offered in small summer camps in rural areas.

As autos, radio, & movie theaters become more prevalent & the Great Depression intensified, the movement petered away. Today there are only 3 chautauquas still running in the United States, and Fountain Park in Remington is one of them. Started in the late 1800s (the hotel in my photo above was built in 1898 and is still in use!), they still hold a wide array of activities and entertainment for all ages. Many of them are held in their outdoor tabernacle, making social distancing easier in the year of Covid-19!.

This year’s schedule includes activities like a bluegrass concert, a silly safari with animals, a magician, escape artist, science presentations, and more. You can bring your own food into the grounds, but there’s also a food stand on site and you can eat meals in the historic hotel (menu + reservation information available here). There’s a daily admission charge of $5 to the park for anyone over the age of 4 — you can stay on the grounds for the programs, let your children play at the outdoor playgrounds, peek into the historic hotel, grab a summer treat…

…. and, of course, you can also go to the Remington splash pad which is just a few minutes from the Fountain Park Grounds! It’s free, and one of the best splash pads around! You can also grab delicious cinnamon rolls and a great iced coffee at The Homestead in Remington, making it a perfect day for the family!

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Remington operates on Eastern time (the same time zone as Lafayette), but this is not what your GPS will tell you. Ignore what your GPS says about timing if you want to make it to the programs! Remington is technically within the lines of of the Central time zone, but the whole town prefers to operate on Eastern time….