Michigan City's Barker Mansion opens Haskell & Barker Car Company exhibit
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the program to which Purdue Northwest's students belong. This story has been updated to reflect that they are students in the university's College of Technology.
MICHIGAN CITY — The Barker Mansion has opened a new permanent exhibit, “The Haskell & Barker Car Company and The Legacy of Freight,” at 631 Washington St.
A tribute to the Haskell & Barker freight car factory and workers, the exhibit features a scale model of the Haskell & Barker factory designed and created by students from Purdue Northwest’s College of Technology.
Founded in 1852, by 1908, the Haskell & Barker Car Company was the most complete factory for the construction of freight cars in the United States and employed more men than any manufacturing establishment in the state of Indiana. The plant covered more than 100 acres, with 3,500 men on payroll.
The company announced the closing of the facility in December 1970. A fire in July 1973 destroyed the entire complex. The factory site later became the Lighthouse Place outlet mall location.
December will feature tours of the new exhibit and the first floor of the mansion. On weekends, there will be visits with Santa Claus, a marionette show, special story times and more, including crafts for children and a hot cocoa bar.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT Tuesdays through Sundays and 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. CDT Fridays.
Admission is $16.50-$10; free for active military, veterans, and ages 1 and younger.
For more information, call 219-873-1520 or visit barkermansion.org.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Barker Mansion opens Haskell & Barker Car Company exhibit
