Godfroy Reserve
N 40° 33.240 W 085° 16.654
16T E 645834 N 4490674
Site of land reserved to the Miami Indians by the U.S. by treaty at St. Mary's Ohio in October, 1818.
Waymark Code: WMC4H
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2006
Views: 74
The Godfroy Reserve marker is difficult to miss. It is under a gigantic statue, shown below, of Miami Chief Francois Godfroy, at the SE corner of Main Street & Huntington Street/SR 18 in Montpelier.
Originally, lands were reserved here for the Miami Indians by treaty in October, 1818. They received 3,840 acres of land on the Salamonie River. The lands were sold in 1827 and 1836.
Some more details regarding the history of this statue:
The statue was made in Venice, CA in 1960 for the Tom Wood Pontiac dealership in Indianapolis. Later it was in front of the Indian Museum at Eagle Creek Park In Indianapolis. After the museum closed, the statue (of more a plains indian than a NE Indiana tribe)was obtained by Chief Larry Godfroy - a descendant who presented it to The City of Montpelier and they erected it as a monument in 1984.
(Thank you to Muirwoody for the additional information).
This statue is also featured on page 95 of a book called
Indiana Curiosities, by Dick Wolfsie.