Conner Prairie

Conner Prairie, www.connerprairie.org, is a living history museum in Fishers, Indiana, just northeast of Indianapolis. The site manager there is an advocate of historic breeds and has a special interest in chickens, so the museum offers chicken events and makes its chickens available to visitors.

In this picture, costumed interpreter Mike Goss introduces young guests to a chicken in Conner Prairie's 1836 Prairietown. This chicken looks like a Light Brahma to me, which would be historically accurate for that period. Documentation for the breed indicates that birds of the breed, then called Brahma Pootra, were imported to the U.S. for the first time in 1846 from China. Their large size and regal bearing attracted many fanciers. They lay brown eggs and are known for their calm temperament, making them a good choice for their role as historic interpreters to the public.

We are traveling through Indiana and plan to visit Conner Prairie, which we first visited when we attended the Crossroads National Poultry Show in 2006. It is a wonderful site, well worth making time for a vacation visit.