Thank you Roger for staying in your community and helping us learn more about our awesome beautiful state!! Your kindness and giving is like that of Mr. Borden. 😊😊😊
Ironically. I just stepped back in the car, from photographing William Borden’s grave, when I received your comment! Mr Borden, and his friend, Edward Travlers Cox, are my Indiana heroes. Those two men uncovered so much Indiana prehistory.
I've lived a stones throw from this building and Mr. Borden's house for almost 6 years now and never knew any of this. Thanks for the interesting history lesson!
I was somewhat shocked that people in Borden didn’t even know about William Borden, or his amazing collection. But, it has been nearly 120 years since he died!
My guess... giant humanoid skeletons. Lots of stories about giant human bones being found and then quickly scurried away by the Smithsonian. This was incredible and very well done. The items found at Rose Island really blew me away.
Thank-you kindly! I’m collecting stories about large skeletons found in Indiana, with unusual burial vaults. If you haven’t already, check out my video about The Lost City of Palestine. ET Cox found two large skeletons there, and was William Borden’s boss. In their time, they could choose to give their finds to museums or keep them as souvenirs, there were no laws against it. I found it interesting that the state of Indiana was aware of Palestine’s Dodd burial mound, but had no record of what ET Cox discovered: two large skeletons, copper ear rings, war whistle and arrow heads.
As a journalist and researcher, I have written about the Borden Institute and the museum. In the 1980s, there were calls to save and restore the Institute for any number of purposes, but within the town of Borden, there was generally apathy, and concern that the handful of teens who would sometimes sneak in the Institute building to smoke dope and drink would set it on fire. The William Borden family were meticulous caretakers of the town which they named New Providence, but philanthropy has a bad side; it often snuffs out initiative. After he died, there was no tradition of grass roots appreciation of the history and aesthetics with which his family had blessed the town. Regrettably, in small towns it takes an individual or core group of well financed preservationists, or the architectural and historical uniqueness will fall to mediocrity. That is not meant to sound snobbish; it is just what I have come to see is the case.
I’ve put in thousands of miles over the last 5 years, visiting small towns in southern Indiana. There’ll be a handful of people that care, but there isn’t any money to do anything about preserving history. Or, they’ll do a fundraiser, renovate a property, and then no one wants to pay rent. History is a hard sell.
Just yet another excellent presentation Roger. As a keen student of southern Indiana geology, history and natural history I am amazed at the topics you present that I had no knowledge of.
I'm 54 and live in NE Indiana. Been here since birth. I'm amazed at the rich history our state hold and I feel gets overlooked. Thank you for preserving and bringing it to light. If you ever run out of content, look into Fort Wayne's history and the surrounding areas.
Love Fort Wayne! I did some filming in Fort Wayne for a segment called, “Footsteps of the Ancestors”. I went back a month ago to tour the Allen County Museum.
@AdventureswithRoger I've watched it. The Fort has recently undergone renovations. I learned a little about the locks and canals that ran through here back in high school geography and the underground railroad. There's a house off us 24 in between Ft Wayne and Roanoak that was a station. So much more to learn. Bass manor (St. Francis College).
I lived in Indiana all my life until about 10 to 15 years ago and there is so much I never knew about that state until your videos. Now I have things to take my grandbabies to see and do when I come to visit thank you as you have excellent vidoes I have been sharing them with everyone I know
Thank-you for your kind words! I started the channel because co-workers were always asking me, “Where’s a good place to take my family?” I thought it would take a few months, but here I am, 5 years later, still roaming the countryside with a camera! I’ve found great satisfaction with starting many road trips, for families and people that just need a little peace. I’ve helped people reminisce, and go to places they used to love, but can’t visit anymore. I’ve also retold legends that are nearly forgotten, bringing wonder to new generations, and memories to those that grew up hearing them. I’d like to think these videos honor the legacy my Parents gave me, to explore what’s in my own backyard, and come back feeling better for it. I hope that rubs off on everyone, that visits my humble TH-cam channel, and provides a blessing to their day! 🙂
Hi Roger, I took my grandsons to a craft show at William Bordens museum today. Thank you for this video. I’m telling everyone around here about it and it’s shocking how many natives from Borden don’t know this marvelous history. Thank you for your information
It’s truly a story of chance encounter, how I came across the museum and gained a story. I just went for a joy ride, saw this beautiful old building, and a local man stopped by to talk. He then put me in touch with someone with the keys, and I gained a much deeper understanding of a forgotten hero, William Borden. 🙂
I was born and raised in Indiana. I've lived here my whole life. NEVER have i heard such a story as this. Why aren't we taught real history, instead of what they want to shove down our minds? Thank-you Adventurous Roger for bringing us this amazing story!
My pleasure, Tim! This story, like many I’ve covered, came together really odd. I was sitting at home, thought I’d drive around and look for new ideas. I ended up at Borden and saw this majestic looking building. It even said “Borden Museum” on it. I’d never heard it mentioned before, and knew it wasn’t on any of my maps. While I was doing some test shots, a local man came by to say hello. He told me that it hadn’t been a museum for a long time, but he and his wife had some great photos of it, from the 1800’s. He invited me over, I took lots of pictures of pictures, and asked who had the keys to the place. He knew just the person, got me a number, and it came full circle! It was one of those histories that would’ve been dead and gone, unknown to the world, if I hadn’t taken a joy ride. 🙂
@@timbenham516 I hadn’t ran into that one yet. Every year, I think about adding drone footage to these segments, then I don’t. The segments I tackled this season didn’t really need any, but it might happen in the new year.
I found this just by driving around one sunny afternoon! I’d never been to the town of Borden, and decided to drive over and see if there was anything interesting to see. The museum immediately caught my eye and I got out to take pictures. A guy saw me, told me a little about its history, and provided old pictures to get me started. He got me in touch with the trustee, and she was gracious to let me view the inside. Sometimes, these stories practically tell themselves! 🙂
So very unexpected! I was just driving through town, took pictures of this wonderful old building, and a local man told me some history. He ended-up putting me in contact with whom had the keys, and it was a wonderful experience!
I was wondering how you gained access. Very lucky! I belong to a group that researches and goes on ancient civilization hunts now and again.@@AdventureswithRoger
A very entertaining video Roger! Borden was a fascinating person. His museum is quite remarkable, and the collections he acquired must have been amazing in those days to have world-wide attention. After his death, and the museum's closure the priceless, unusual artifacts, didn't really "vanish into thin air", but were donated to various other museums? Am I understanding this correctly? Regardless, a very interesting piece, and your filming, editing, and narration are top class.
Thanks! We can only confirm that 135 fossils made it to the Chicago Field Museum. That isn’t very many, for a collection amassed over at least 70 years. He’d bought an entire fossil collection that a Louisville Dr had put together over decades, which amounted to hundreds of items, by itself. He also collected much more than just fossils, his own papers mention firearms, swords, rare books, manuscripts, coin collection and Native American artifacts. Both he and ET Cox were rumored to have found evidence of pre Colombian settlement. Remember my video about Palestine? ET Cox was said to have found two giant skeletons, in a vaulted tomb, with items to suggest they were perhaps from South America. It’s unclear what William Borden really had in total, but it was compelling enough for people to travel hundreds of miles, in a day without planes and highways. I would’ve loved to have seen it! 🙂
Grew up close to here and had several family reunions here when I was a kid. Back then I didn’t care about the old building so I never paid attention to the things there. Learning about it now is very cool.
I found the museum completely by accident! Got up one day and decided to just take a drive. Arriving at Borden, it was odd to have such a fancy building in a small town, so I got out and started taking pictures. A local man stopped by and we struck up a conversation. He was very kind to provide some old pictures, and give me the name of a person, whom had keys to the building. One of those wonderful discoveries that I’ll never forget! 🙂
You’d be surprised how often I hear things like that! Much history gets lost because people assume everyone knows it: why write it down? Over time, the people that knew it pass away, and future generations have no idea. I encourage people to record stories told by elderly relatives, and take pictures of ordinary things, like cars in a parking lot, grocery stores, town squares, things like that. Some day, all of that will be gold! 🙂
I remember when they closed the Borden tavern around 10 years ago. That place had a lot of neat history that you could see while having a drink with friends. But like most things it and it's history are dieing. So sad fewer people today care about the long history of these local treasures.
Sad but true story. And just like genealogy, a generation or three doesn’t care about the history. But then someone wakes up and wonders, and they have little or nothing to go on.
@@AdventureswithRoger Absolutely! As a resident of the Salem Indiana area it amazes me the amount of history that surrounds us yet it's slowly disappearing for new development. Your videos are great and very informative about this area we live in. Thank you very much for all your hard work and if you ever need a hand I would love to help you with documentation of the great history of Southern Indiana. Thanks again and have a wonderful day.
@@_Chuck You’ll be pleased to know that I recently wrapped-up filming of Salem for TWO segments. One is about Morgan’s raid, and the other about the hidden museums.
Well once again my eyes and ears were glued to another great and historical video of my great state of Indiana,I'm loving these videos it makes me realize that Indiana is full of history as much if not more than most states,But then I'm a believer that Indiana is the greatest state in the Union.Thanks once more Roger for another great adventure.
If you ever run across old Indiana geology / archaeology books, ET Cox, William Borden and John Collett’s work are in nearly all of them. These guys were like Indiana Jones, finding all kinds of rare relics.
I lived 10 miles from Bordon all my life . I am 64 now I went to Borden school I was a Borden Brave . And the school used the museum as a band room in the 1960's . The Borden grave yard was still active then . And the Borden mansion was lived in by the Sears family . Mr Sears was a preacher . You could not see the mansion it was hidden by big trees The Borden Institute was then the closed Borden school . I can not believe this history was not taught in a school on Mr Borden property . I think you for this information .
I did the best with what I had, but I’m sure there were things I missed. I have great gratitude for the people of Borden, that provided pictures, stories, and entry to the grand old museum. It’s one of my favorite memories! 🙂
We have several organizations in Indiana that refurbish historic structures, but I’m not sure they were around or cognizant of the impending demolition. Sometimes, places really are too gone to save. In my travels, I’ve ran across many abandoned, solid looking older buildings, particularly classically designed brick schoolhouses, and wish I could take them somewhere where they could be refurbished and appreciated.
I spent a lot of my life in borden and surrounding area. I know the best history, my step father actually spent all his life in the area. His stories are amazing
I met a local man, that had great pictures of the museums exterior, but he could not find interiors. I would love to see anything people have, for clues of what was in the museum. It had to be more than just tiny fossils, that drew people from the Smithsonian.
@@AdventureswithRoger it has a lot of great stuff in it from what I remember and then they stopped letting anyone use the inside anymore. I was actually just up there a few hours ago
I spoke with members of the town board, before I published the segment. The school had possession of the museum for some time, but it was determined that they had no legal right to it, and the town re-assumed ownership. Then, it was found that the upstairs safety barrier does not meet modern code (I think it needs to be higher so no one falls over). So there’s a quandary of destroying the beautiful, historic, upstairs safety barrier, or leaving it alone. So, they’ve basically not used it.
Welcome, Roman! I’m just now completing a huge Lawrence County documentary, hopefully it will be online in the next hour. I’ve done a ton of Lawrence County films, as six generations of my family have lived there.
@@AdventureswithRoger Can't wait to see it. Love history! My family is from Orange County, Lawrence and Martin. My grandfather was the first man in Orange County, 1806. Lived in a cave down by Valeen, Indiana.
Some of the artifacts of the "White Indians" or possibly the Welsh settlement are talked about at the Falls of the Ohio Museum. Or at least they were not long after the visitors center there opened. The Bronze Shield, Brest plate and sword were said to have been stolen from one of the familes of the kids who found them home in the 1880s and never recovered but there was a photo of them taken by a local newspaper before the theft. I had always wondered if they ended up as bronze parts scrapped and then sold as fittings in a Howard Steamboat which would have been a huge market at the time for that metal. The Roman coin Cashe was said to have been found on Corn Island near the Falls. The "stone fort" stones was said to have been dismantled and used in the pilings of the Big Four RR bridge. This was just stuff I found while digging for info on the subject back in the 90s.
I am slowly pulling together some of these great legends. Dana Olsen had written a book some time ago, “Prince Madoc”, and I’ve referred to it many times as I hear new things. My favorite story is how George Rogers Clark’s men were cleaning up Corn Island, as a fort and training camp, and were literally throwing skeletons into the water by the hundreds. He was talking to a local chief, and asked why all the skeletons. The chief spoke of the giant white Indians with golden hair, and how several Indian tribes banded together to kill all of them. Fast forward to the present, and the Army Corp of Engineers have built the lock and dam such that Corn Island is totally submerged. And yet, a family in Louisville owns it and pays taxes on it every year!
@@AdventureswithRoger I read that story about Corn Island also. More rumor was that some escaped and ended going up the Missouri River. and somehow tied into the Mandan tribe who protected them. I tried to get interest to do a DNA study to see if any of the Mandan tribe had any Welsh ancestors but that all fell on deaf ears.
Bob, I’ll bet we’ve read a lot of the same things! I love this stuff. I’d read a blurb from the Lewis and Clark expedition, that mentioned the Mandan’s with blue eyes. A later account has a guy confirming Welsh and Mandan word similarities, and the use of same kind of oval boats and dwellings. He was largely panned and accused of lying. The largest theory behind all these inconvenient finds is nations trying to establish a claim to the new world, and placing the artifacts there on purpose. “We were here first, here’s proof!” That’s plausible, but that doesn’t explain everything.
@@AdventureswithRoger Yep! I heard all that too. We did read the same things. I tried to get the Mandan tribe interested in the DNA thing but they wanted no part of it.
As for the Roman appearing items on Rose Island, that is uncertain. Roman coins have been found under the sand of New Albany's river shore, but it is believed someone in the early 1800s or so lost them in a boat capsizing. A similar mishap could explain what was reportedly found on Rose Island.
For the most part, I believe that settlers, from the old country, simply brought old family silver with them and lost it along the way. The artifact at Brandenburg, KY is a little harder to explain. It’s a rock with Welsh writing, found in a cornfield in the early 1900’s. Could it be a forgery? Always a possibility. Intriguing nonetheless.
My grandmother worked the kitchen side of the museum for meals on wheels for 30 years. I remember exploring it as a child, had a creepy aura about the place.
Now that’s something I didn’t know about the place! If someone had mentioned the use for meals on wheels, I would’ve mentioned it in the video! What do you remember about being there with your Grandmother? Was it much different than now?
There were definitely larger than average humans, throughout history, across the world. Sometimes the average height was five feet tall, so anyone 6 1/2 feet tall was a giant, and probably the leader. But there are also stories about humans of immense size and strength. The Jewish Torah / Christian Bible talks about half human / half Angel beings that were giants. The biggest roadblock is there are no known surviving skeletons, in the truly giant range. There are stories about huge, ancient skeletons, that have disintegrated when exposed to air, some of these found in southern Indiana along the Ohio River waterfront. There are others across the United States, supposedly unearthed and sent to the Smithsonian, never to be seen or heard of again. We continue to hear about amazing finds overseas, but none of them can be verified. While it’s somewhat difficult to estimate height by only bones, a huge skull and leg bones would tell a lot. Scientists and the scientific community are mostly conservative when describing ancient human remains. They’ve been ridiculed in the past, by identifying “new species” of humans, only to find out later that this was based on one bone, and from a pig. Once your credibility is gone, so is your career as a scientist. The evidence would have to be overwhelming and undeniable. No one wants to admit they’ve found a giant, they might as well say they’ve found the Loch Ness Monster.
Thank you for all of your great content. Very interesting stuff. Loved your stuff about Rose Island as well as Palestine. Do you have anything on Peru, the Wabash river or that area?
So did nobody visit the museum and see these items? If they were so wondrous it seems like somebody would have reported about it and we should be able to find something
For a fact, the fossil collection was second to none, and there’s good records of what the Chicago Field Museum have in their current collection. But despite Smithsonian acknowledgment of specimens sent there by Mr Borden, I couldn’t find a single catalog entry. We also have records that the Smithsonian was so interested in the collection, that representatives travelled all the way from the east coast to tiny little Borden, Indiana. The problem is that you can’t find what they were interested in, nor what they took. Combine that with Mr Borden and ET Cox’s prehistoric ruin finds at Rose Island, and there are a lot of questions, at least from me. If we only had newspapers describing what was in this collection, or catalog entries at the Smithsonian.
Never noticed that before. I can’t remember touching it. I will say that they had a large ceiling fan overhead, it might’ve moved that tiny lock. Hard to say. But, I rarely get a bad vibe when other people are really spooked. 🙂
Roger I noticed on the map of the excavation that Clark county was spelled Clarke. Any idea why the spelling was changed? Also how about a video of Indianas Stonehenge near where Elkinsville used to be?
No idea on the Clarke spelling, but I suspect it’s a carry over from early English. And you won’t believe it, but I just hiked Browning Mountain (Indiana’s Stonehenge) on Sunday, and wrote the script today! Hope to have it out this week! 🙂
It’s been studied by Indiana University and others, but it’s unclear what all they did. So far, I’ve not heard of any artifacts being pulled from the area.
In my opinion the town should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen to this wonderful place. It would seem the house he lived in should be restored to. Yes the Smithsonian hides many treasures. I heard that they have things from Noah's Ark they've hid away to....sad!
This was a truly amazing find. I just went out driving, found a small town, and someone saw me filming the outside. We spoke about the towns history, he invited me over to see old pictures, and then put me in touch with the towns governing board! William Borden was truly like an Indiana Jones, exploring and collecting some of the most incredible items. Glad I could find even a small part of his amazing curiosities!
Here in southern Indiana, the names “E.T. Cox” and “William Borden” are much like real life “Indiana Jones’s”. These two gentlemen lived in that classical period of exploration, where geology and archaeology were rolled together, and they were finding amazing things. Would’ve loved to have seen their amazing finds, in their prime!
@@AdventureswithRoger my grandfathers name is william borden and my uncle his firstborn is named william borden. we are related to the william borden who was a minister from yale who died on his way to china in cairo egypt⁵ sudddenly.. dunno if thats relevant or not.
@@steveborden12 I studied the story of William Borden, the evangelist to Cairo. What an incredible story of faith! My favorite story is where he kneeled and prayed with the homeless man, despite being a millionaire. William seemed like he knew his path, and money didn’t make a difference. It would honestly make a great movie, if it hasn’t already! I tried to make a connection to the two William Borden’s, and I believe the minister was a nephew. William that created the museum had rich relatives that lived in the Chicago area. They all had benefited from the silver mine claim out west.
@@AdventureswithRoger used to be a mill there an a small settlement it's just north of the town of North Vernon. Not to much left there as far as landmarks but lots of history in this county for sure , the river lent itself to a mill in that area it was just a perfect setup. Supposedly a very high flood washed the mill an the giants skeletons away . Huge amounts of native americans in southern Indiana to I've got a very large arrowhead collection. Greats videos to I enjoy the local history you dig up. Very cool .
I’ll bet there’s a Brewersville sign. How about the river next to where the mill was: can a person find / walk near the spot? I’ll look for a Jennings County Historical Society person, maybe they’ll know something, have newspaper clippings.
This building is clearly older than 1900. And it was "Founded" Not built or constructed but found. Where are the construction pics? Nice story? These buildings are ALL over America.
Just strange that they came all the way to a small Indiana town to see it, and despite receipts saying they received items, cannot be found in their catalog.
Thank you Roger for staying in your community and helping us learn more about our awesome beautiful state!! Your kindness and giving is like that of Mr. Borden. 😊😊😊
Ironically. I just stepped back in the car, from photographing William Borden’s grave, when I received your comment!
Mr Borden, and his friend, Edward Travlers Cox, are my Indiana heroes. Those two men uncovered so much Indiana prehistory.
@@AdventureswithRoger wow that is amazing! Thanks again for all you do! :)
I've lived a stones throw from this building and Mr. Borden's house for almost 6 years now and never knew any of this. Thanks for the interesting history lesson!
My pleasure! If you know Jerry C, tell him I said hello, and the video he helped me with has done well!
I'm from Clark County, and these videos are very well done and important for keeping this history alive. 👏
I was somewhat shocked that people in Borden didn’t even know about William Borden, or his amazing collection. But, it has been nearly 120 years since he died!
My guess... giant humanoid skeletons. Lots of stories about giant human bones being found and then quickly scurried away by the Smithsonian. This was incredible and very well done. The items found at Rose Island really blew me away.
Thank-you kindly! I’m collecting stories about large skeletons found in Indiana, with unusual burial vaults. If you haven’t already, check out my video about The Lost City of Palestine. ET Cox found two large skeletons there, and was William Borden’s boss. In their time, they could choose to give their finds to museums or keep them as souvenirs, there were no laws against it. I found it interesting that the state of Indiana was aware of Palestine’s Dodd burial mound, but had no record of what ET Cox discovered: two large skeletons, copper ear rings, war whistle and arrow heads.
@@AdventureswithRoger Oh wow. I will definitely check out the lost city video.
I believe there’s truth to them, and ET Cox, William Borden and John Collett found things that did not fit the accepted narrative.
Good guess
Way to dig deeper! This is amazing information! The giants were real and suppressed. Keep going!
As a journalist and researcher, I have written about the Borden Institute and the museum. In the 1980s, there were calls to save and restore the Institute for any number of purposes, but within the town of Borden, there was generally apathy, and concern that the handful of teens who would sometimes sneak in the Institute building to smoke dope and drink would set it on fire.
The William Borden family were meticulous caretakers of the town which they named New Providence, but philanthropy has a bad side; it often snuffs out initiative. After he died, there was no tradition of grass roots appreciation of the history and aesthetics with which his family had blessed the town.
Regrettably, in small towns it takes an individual or core group of well financed preservationists, or the architectural and historical uniqueness will fall to mediocrity. That is not meant to sound snobbish; it is just what I have come to see is the case.
I’ve put in thousands of miles over the last 5 years, visiting small towns in southern Indiana. There’ll be a handful of people that care, but there isn’t any money to do anything about preserving history. Or, they’ll do a fundraiser, renovate a property, and then no one wants to pay rent. History is a hard sell.
Just yet another excellent presentation Roger.
As a keen student of southern Indiana geology, history and natural history I am amazed at the topics you present that I had no knowledge of.
Thank-you, Drew! I love the deep history dives, just wish I could speed them up! 🙂
So very well done ! Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing it !
I'm 54 and live in NE Indiana. Been here since birth. I'm amazed at the rich history our state hold and I feel gets overlooked. Thank you for preserving and bringing it to light. If you ever run out of content, look into Fort Wayne's history and the surrounding areas.
Love Fort Wayne! I did some filming in Fort Wayne for a segment called, “Footsteps of the Ancestors”. I went back a month ago to tour the Allen County Museum.
@AdventureswithRoger I've watched it. The Fort has recently undergone renovations. I learned a little about the locks and canals that ran through here back in high school geography and the underground railroad. There's a house off us 24 in between Ft Wayne and Roanoak that was a station. So much more to learn. Bass manor (St. Francis College).
I lived in Indiana all my life until about 10 to 15 years ago and there is so much I never knew about that state until your videos. Now I have things to take my grandbabies to see and do when I come to visit thank you as you have excellent vidoes I have been sharing them with everyone I know
Thank-you for your kind words! I started the channel because co-workers were always asking me, “Where’s a good place to take my family?” I thought it would take a few months, but here I am, 5 years later, still roaming the countryside with a camera!
I’ve found great satisfaction with starting many road trips, for families and people that just need a little peace. I’ve helped people reminisce, and go to places they used to love, but can’t visit anymore. I’ve also retold legends that are nearly forgotten, bringing wonder to new generations, and memories to those that grew up hearing them.
I’d like to think these videos honor the legacy my Parents gave me, to explore what’s in my own backyard, and come back feeling better for it. I hope that rubs off on everyone, that visits my humble TH-cam channel, and provides a blessing to their day! 🙂
Hi Roger, I took my grandsons to a craft show at William Bordens museum today. Thank you for this video. I’m telling everyone around here about it and it’s shocking how many natives from Borden don’t know this marvelous history. Thank you for your information
It’s truly a story of chance encounter, how I came across the museum and gained a story. I just went for a joy ride, saw this beautiful old building, and a local man stopped by to talk. He then put me in touch with someone with the keys, and I gained a much deeper understanding of a forgotten hero, William Borden. 🙂
So interesting when a place I’ve been before pops up on my YT feed.
I was born and raised in Indiana. I've lived here my whole life. NEVER have i heard such a story as this. Why aren't we taught real history, instead of what they want to shove down our minds? Thank-you Adventurous Roger for bringing us this amazing story!
I found this amazing history by accident. Through the help of so many nice people, an incredible story came to life!
why dont they teach this in the school. Literaly in the town....
I live very close to Borden and never knew this at all, thank you sir.
My pleasure, Tim! This story, like many I’ve covered, came together really odd. I was sitting at home, thought I’d drive around and look for new ideas. I ended up at Borden and saw this majestic looking building. It even said “Borden Museum” on it. I’d never heard it mentioned before, and knew it wasn’t on any of my maps. While I was doing some test shots, a local man came by to say hello. He told me that it hadn’t been a museum for a long time, but he and his wife had some great photos of it, from the 1800’s. He invited me over, I took lots of pictures of pictures, and asked who had the keys to the place. He knew just the person, got me a number, and it came full circle!
It was one of those histories that would’ve been dead and gone, unknown to the world, if I hadn’t taken a joy ride. 🙂
@@timbenham516 I hadn’t ran into that one yet. Every year, I think about adding drone footage to these segments, then I don’t. The segments I tackled this season didn’t really need any, but it might happen in the new year.
I've lived in Borden for nearly 20 years. I had no idea !! So very interesting , thank you
I love it when this happens! 🙂 My pleasure, Jackie!
Fascinating history.
I found this just by driving around one sunny afternoon! I’d never been to the town of Borden, and decided to drive over and see if there was anything interesting to see. The museum immediately caught my eye and I got out to take pictures. A guy saw me, told me a little about its history, and provided old pictures to get me started. He got me in touch with the trustee, and she was gracious to let me view the inside. Sometimes, these stories practically tell themselves! 🙂
Not open to visitors. It was closed as a museum in 1906.
Thank-you kindly! I love Southern Indiana! So much to see
I drive through Borden all the time and NEVER knew!!!! Very cool!!!!
So very unexpected! I was just driving through town, took pictures of this wonderful old building, and a local man told me some history. He ended-up putting me in contact with whom had the keys, and it was a wonderful experience!
I was wondering how you gained access. Very lucky! I belong to a group that researches and goes on ancient civilization hunts now and again.@@AdventureswithRoger
A very entertaining video Roger! Borden was a fascinating person. His museum is quite remarkable, and the collections he acquired must have been amazing in those days to have world-wide attention. After his death, and the museum's closure the priceless, unusual artifacts, didn't really "vanish into thin air", but were donated to various other museums? Am I understanding this correctly? Regardless, a very interesting piece, and your filming, editing, and narration are top class.
Thanks! We can only confirm that 135 fossils made it to the Chicago Field Museum. That isn’t very many, for a collection amassed over at least 70 years. He’d bought an entire fossil collection that a Louisville Dr had put together over decades, which amounted to hundreds of items, by itself. He also collected much more than just fossils, his own papers mention firearms, swords, rare books, manuscripts, coin collection and Native American artifacts. Both he and ET Cox were rumored to have found evidence of pre Colombian settlement. Remember my video about Palestine? ET Cox was said to have found two giant skeletons, in a vaulted tomb, with items to suggest they were perhaps from South America.
It’s unclear what William Borden really had in total, but it was compelling enough for people to travel hundreds of miles, in a day without planes and highways. I would’ve loved to have seen it! 🙂
Recently discovered your TH-cam channel. Interesting videos with great storytelling.
Thanks Steve. Just when I think the well is dry, I find more! 🙂
William Borden was a distant cousin. He and I descend from Richard Borden (1595 Headcorn Parish, Kent, UK - 1675 Newport, R.I.)
He was a brilliant man, with vision beyond his time. I would’ve liked to have met him.
Grew up close to here and had several family reunions here when I was a kid. Back then I didn’t care about the old building so I never paid attention to the things there. Learning about it now is very cool.
I found the museum completely by accident! Got up one day and decided to just take a drive. Arriving at Borden, it was odd to have such a fancy building in a small town, so I got out and started taking pictures. A local man stopped by and we struck up a conversation. He was very kind to provide some old pictures, and give me the name of a person, whom had keys to the building. One of those wonderful discoveries that I’ll never forget! 🙂
Interesting.....thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! Really interesting place that I found by accident!
This is so cool!
Very interesting history that I wasn't fully aware of, and I graduated from Borden High School.
You’d be surprised how often I hear things like that! Much history gets lost because people assume everyone knows it: why write it down? Over time, the people that knew it pass away, and future generations have no idea.
I encourage people to record stories told by elderly relatives, and take pictures of ordinary things, like cars in a parking lot, grocery stores, town squares, things like that. Some day, all of that will be gold! 🙂
My dad also graduated from Borden High School ( class of 32 students total) back in the day lol
I remember when they closed the Borden tavern around 10 years ago. That place had a lot of neat history that you could see while having a drink with friends. But like most things it and it's history are dieing. So sad fewer people today care about the long history of these local treasures.
Sad but true story. And just like genealogy, a generation or three doesn’t care about the history. But then someone wakes up and wonders, and they have little or nothing to go on.
@@AdventureswithRoger Absolutely! As a resident of the Salem Indiana area it amazes me the amount of history that surrounds us yet it's slowly disappearing for new development. Your videos are great and very informative about this area we live in. Thank you very much for all your hard work and if you ever need a hand I would love to help you with documentation of the great history of Southern Indiana. Thanks again and have a wonderful day.
@@_Chuck You’ll be pleased to know that I recently wrapped-up filming of Salem for TWO segments. One is about Morgan’s raid, and the other about the hidden museums.
@@AdventureswithRoger Very pleased. I can't wait.
Well once again my eyes and ears were glued to another great and historical video of my great state of Indiana,I'm loving these videos it makes me realize that Indiana is full of history as much if not more than most states,But then I'm a believer that Indiana is the greatest state in the Union.Thanks once more Roger for another great adventure.
If you ever run across old Indiana geology / archaeology books, ET Cox, William Borden and John Collett’s work are in nearly all of them. These guys were like Indiana Jones, finding all kinds of rare relics.
@@AdventureswithRoger I definitely will be looking for these,Thank you for the info.
I lived 10 miles from Bordon all my life . I am 64 now I went to Borden school I was a Borden Brave . And the school used the museum as a band room in the 1960's . The Borden grave yard was still active then . And the Borden mansion was lived in by the Sears family . Mr Sears was a preacher . You could not see the mansion it was hidden by big trees The Borden Institute was then the closed Borden school . I can not believe this history was not taught in a school on Mr Borden property . I think you for this information .
I did the best with what I had, but I’m sure there were things I missed. I have great gratitude for the people of Borden, that provided pictures, stories, and entry to the grand old museum. It’s one of my favorite memories! 🙂
Greatly done Roger.
Thanks, Steve!
Oh that poor house. It bothers me when beautiful architecture falls into disrepair and has to be demolished.
We have several organizations in Indiana that refurbish historic structures, but I’m not sure they were around or cognizant of the impending demolition. Sometimes, places really are too gone to save.
In my travels, I’ve ran across many abandoned, solid looking older buildings, particularly classically designed brick schoolhouses, and wish I could take them somewhere where they could be refurbished and appreciated.
Excellent
I spent a lot of my life in borden and surrounding area. I know the best history, my step father actually spent all his life in the area. His stories are amazing
I met a local man, that had great pictures of the museums exterior, but he could not find interiors. I would love to see anything people have, for clues of what was in the museum. It had to be more than just tiny fossils, that drew people from the Smithsonian.
@@AdventureswithRoger it has a lot of great stuff in it from what I remember and then they stopped letting anyone use the inside anymore. I was actually just up there a few hours ago
I spoke with members of the town board, before I published the segment. The school had possession of the museum for some time, but it was determined that they had no legal right to it, and the town re-assumed ownership. Then, it was found that the upstairs safety barrier does not meet modern code (I think it needs to be higher so no one falls over). So there’s a quandary of destroying the beautiful, historic, upstairs safety barrier, or leaving it alone. So, they’ve basically not used it.
Just discovered your channel and subbed. Love it! We're in Lawrence County.
Welcome, Roman! I’m just now completing a huge Lawrence County documentary, hopefully it will be online in the next hour. I’ve done a ton of Lawrence County films, as six generations of my family have lived there.
@@AdventureswithRoger Can't wait to see it. Love history! My family is from Orange County, Lawrence and Martin. My grandfather was the first man in Orange County, 1806. Lived in a cave down by Valeen, Indiana.
Lots of great history in all those counties! Had never heard of the cave at Valeen though!
@@AdventureswithRoger My wife did the genealogy. I'll ask her for the specifics. It's interesting.
I live 5 minutes from there.. it is a crying shame the museum closed so quickly.
Some of the artifacts of the "White Indians" or possibly the Welsh settlement are talked about at the Falls of the Ohio Museum. Or at least they were not long after the visitors center there opened. The Bronze Shield, Brest plate and sword were said to have been stolen from one of the familes of the kids who found them home in the 1880s and never recovered but there was a photo of them taken by a local newspaper before the theft. I had always wondered if they ended up as bronze parts scrapped and then sold as fittings in a Howard Steamboat which would have been a huge market at the time for that metal. The Roman coin Cashe was said to have been found on Corn Island near the Falls. The "stone fort" stones was said to have been dismantled and used in the pilings of the Big Four RR bridge. This was just stuff I found while digging for info on the subject back in the 90s.
I am slowly pulling together some of these great legends. Dana Olsen had written a book some time ago, “Prince Madoc”, and I’ve referred to it many times as I hear new things. My favorite story is how George Rogers Clark’s men were cleaning up Corn Island, as a fort and training camp, and were literally throwing skeletons into the water by the hundreds. He was talking to a local chief, and asked why all the skeletons. The chief spoke of the giant white Indians with golden hair, and how several Indian tribes banded together to kill all of them. Fast forward to the present, and the Army Corp of Engineers have built the lock and dam such that Corn Island is totally submerged. And yet, a family in Louisville owns it and pays taxes on it every year!
@@AdventureswithRoger I read that story about Corn Island also. More rumor was that some escaped and ended going up the Missouri River. and somehow tied into the Mandan tribe who protected them. I tried to get interest to do a DNA study to see if any of the Mandan tribe had any Welsh ancestors but that all fell on deaf ears.
Bob, I’ll bet we’ve read a lot of the same things! I love this stuff. I’d read a blurb from the Lewis and Clark expedition, that mentioned the Mandan’s with blue eyes. A later account has a guy confirming Welsh and Mandan word similarities, and the use of same kind of oval boats and dwellings. He was largely panned and accused of lying. The largest theory behind all these inconvenient finds is nations trying to establish a claim to the new world, and placing the artifacts there on purpose. “We were here first, here’s proof!” That’s plausible, but that doesn’t explain everything.
@@AdventureswithRoger Yep! I heard all that too. We did read the same things. I tried to get the Mandan tribe interested in the DNA thing but they wanted no part of it.
Might not hurt to ask some individuals.
I spent many days/nights in the Borden Mansion growing up.
I didn’t want to bother the owners, but couldn’t help but wonder what it was like! Does anything about the mansion stand out?
As for the Roman appearing items on Rose Island, that is uncertain. Roman coins have been found under the sand of New Albany's river shore, but it is believed someone in the early 1800s or so lost them in a boat capsizing. A similar mishap could explain what was reportedly found on Rose Island.
For the most part, I believe that settlers, from the old country, simply brought old family silver with them and lost it along the way. The artifact at Brandenburg, KY is a little harder to explain. It’s a rock with Welsh writing, found in a cornfield in the early 1900’s. Could it be a forgery? Always a possibility. Intriguing nonetheless.
Very very interesting thank you
My grandmother worked the kitchen side of the museum for meals on wheels for 30 years. I remember exploring it as a child, had a creepy aura about the place.
Now that’s something I didn’t know about the place! If someone had mentioned the use for meals on wheels, I would’ve mentioned it in the video! What do you remember about being there with your Grandmother? Was it much different than now?
never send precious items to Washington
For a fact!
Great story no one has told this story but
You
I believe you’re right! I couldn’t find a single TH-cam video, other than this one.
A lot of giants skeletons being uncovered. A lot of our history we have been lied to.🥺
There were definitely larger than average humans, throughout history, across the world. Sometimes the average height was five feet tall, so anyone 6 1/2 feet tall was a giant, and probably the leader. But there are also stories about humans of immense size and strength. The Jewish Torah / Christian Bible talks about half human / half Angel beings that were giants.
The biggest roadblock is there are no known surviving skeletons, in the truly giant range. There are stories about huge, ancient skeletons, that have disintegrated when exposed to air, some of these found in southern Indiana along the Ohio River waterfront. There are others across the United States, supposedly unearthed and sent to the Smithsonian, never to be seen or heard of again. We continue to hear about amazing finds overseas, but none of them can be verified. While it’s somewhat difficult to estimate height by only bones, a huge skull and leg bones would tell a lot.
Scientists and the scientific community are mostly conservative when describing ancient human remains. They’ve been ridiculed in the past, by identifying “new species” of humans, only to find out later that this was based on one bone, and from a pig. Once your credibility is gone, so is your career as a scientist. The evidence would have to be overwhelming and undeniable. No one wants to admit they’ve found a giant, they might as well say they’ve found the Loch Ness Monster.
I've been in that old college before (early 80s) they tore it down. It sure did have a lot of pianos walking through it.
What else can you remember? Did it look like it used to be fancy? I wish I could’ve found more than the old laboratory photo.
The different buildings that were old that I remember seeing in Borden when I lived on Daisy Hill Rd have all been torn down.
I've thrown rare coins in may rural place during my travels just for fun to confuse the metal detectors, it makes their day
So YOU’RE the one! 😆
Lol
Thank you for all of your great content. Very interesting stuff. Loved your stuff about Rose Island as well as Palestine. Do you have anything on Peru, the Wabash river or that area?
My pleasure, Keith!
All very interesting and would have loved to have seen it before it was sold off
Me too. I was hoping to find old pictures of the collection, but exteriors were the only thing available.
Hey, that's where I went to kindergarten.
So did nobody visit the museum and see these items? If they were so wondrous it seems like somebody would have reported about it and we should be able to find something
For a fact, the fossil collection was second to none, and there’s good records of what the Chicago Field Museum have in their current collection. But despite Smithsonian acknowledgment of specimens sent there by Mr Borden, I couldn’t find a single catalog entry. We also have records that the Smithsonian was so interested in the collection, that representatives travelled all the way from the east coast to tiny little Borden, Indiana. The problem is that you can’t find what they were interested in, nor what they took. Combine that with Mr Borden and ET Cox’s prehistoric ruin finds at Rose Island, and there are a lot of questions, at least from me. If we only had newspapers describing what was in this collection, or catalog entries at the Smithsonian.
I was in that place
Hidden history is interesting.
Hidden history is of my favorite things on earth! I have really had a lucky streak, this last year, found many great stories.
13:10 marker the lock on the cabinet is moving 😮 look closely ❤
Never noticed that before. I can’t remember touching it. I will say that they had a large ceiling fan overhead, it might’ve moved that tiny lock. Hard to say. But, I rarely get a bad vibe when other people are really spooked. 🙂
@@AdventureswithRoger 🙌 safe travels & exploring
Hey I like that place
Roger I noticed on the map of the excavation that Clark county was spelled Clarke. Any idea why the spelling was changed?
Also how about a video of Indianas Stonehenge near where Elkinsville used to be?
No idea on the Clarke spelling, but I suspect it’s a carry over from early English.
And you won’t believe it, but I just hiked Browning Mountain (Indiana’s Stonehenge) on Sunday, and wrote the script today! Hope to have it out this week! 🙂
@@AdventureswithRoger Watched the Vid it was very well done. I'm surprised archeologist have not done an excavation.
It’s been studied by Indiana University and others, but it’s unclear what all they did. So far, I’ve not heard of any artifacts being pulled from the area.
I live in that town
Leave it to Washington to screw things up
In my opinion the town should be ashamed of themselves for letting this happen to this wonderful place. It would seem the house he lived in should be restored to. Yes the Smithsonian hides many treasures. I heard that they have things from Noah's Ark they've hid away to....sad!
This was a truly amazing find. I just went out driving, found a small town, and someone saw me filming the outside. We spoke about the towns history, he invited me over to see old pictures, and then put me in touch with the towns governing board! William Borden was truly like an Indiana Jones, exploring and collecting some of the most incredible items. Glad I could find even a small part of his amazing curiosities!
@@AdventureswithRoger Your doing a good job Roger! 👏 Your exposing me to some history I knew nothing about.
Hey we did not do any thing
The plumbing in the basement is Wrong.
my names steve borden. from ohio. dont know any of this
Here in southern Indiana, the names “E.T. Cox” and “William Borden” are much like real life “Indiana Jones’s”. These two gentlemen lived in that classical period of exploration, where geology and archaeology were rolled together, and they were finding amazing things. Would’ve loved to have seen their amazing finds, in their prime!
@@AdventureswithRoger my grandfathers name is william borden and my uncle his firstborn is named william borden. we are related to the william borden who was a minister from yale who died on his way to china in cairo egypt⁵ sudddenly.. dunno if thats relevant or not.
@@AdventureswithRoger my family is supposdley from indiana. my gransparents met at a frat partyy at indiani university
@@steveborden12 I studied the story of William Borden, the evangelist to Cairo. What an incredible story of faith! My favorite story is where he kneeled and prayed with the homeless man, despite being a millionaire. William seemed like he knew his path, and money didn’t make a difference. It would honestly make a great movie, if it hasn’t already!
I tried to make a connection to the two William Borden’s, and I believe the minister was a nephew. William that created the museum had rich relatives that lived in the Chicago area. They all had benefited from the silver mine claim out west.
It was FOUND in 1900. Not built then. Its an old world building
Wherrrre do you get that?
Look into the giants of brewersville . I'm a local Hoosier
On my dry erase board! Is there a local museum, landmark or other things left at Brewersville?
@@AdventureswithRoger used to be a mill there an a small settlement it's just north of the town of North Vernon. Not to much left there as far as landmarks but lots of history in this county for sure , the river lent itself to a mill in that area it was just a perfect setup. Supposedly a very high flood washed the mill an the giants skeletons away . Huge amounts of native americans in southern Indiana to I've got a very large arrowhead collection. Greats videos to I enjoy the local history you dig up. Very cool .
I’ll bet there’s a Brewersville sign. How about the river next to where the mill was: can a person find / walk near the spot? I’ll look for a Jennings County Historical Society person, maybe they’ll know something, have newspaper clippings.
@@AdventureswithRoger yes there's a sign and it's the Muskatuck river
@@rockkhound943 Very cool! I have been all around that area, but wouldn’t know where the mill was, or where the bones were found.
This building is clearly older than 1900. And it was "Founded"
Not built or constructed but found. Where are the construction pics?
Nice story? These buildings are ALL over America.
No it really was built in 1900, they have pictures and witnesses.
Oh i was wrong. Lol
If it was that great i bet the Smithsonian swooped in and got that stuff. Or it got sold alover
Just strange that they came all the way to a small Indiana town to see it, and despite receipts saying they received items, cannot be found in their catalog.