By STEVE MARTIN
Sheridan Historical Society
The Sheridan Historical Society has begun opening offering Saturday open hours for the George Boxley Cabin up on the hill in Veterans Park. Society docents will be available to offer a tour of the cabin and its environs to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through Labor Day weekend.
The restored cabin was the original home of Sheridan founder George Boxley in 1828. Sheridan community members are familiar with the Boxley story. He was an abolitionist who fled to the Indiana frontier to escape a death sentence in West Virginia in 1815 for inciting a slave rebellion. While he was pursued for years because of a huge bounty on his head, he managed to hideout with his family among the frontier Native Americans who told him that the hill in Veterans Park was far enough off the Lafayette Trace trail to be safe for him escape notice and survive.
Boxley was Sheridan’s first settler and responsible for establishing the community now known as Sheridan. The Sheridan Historical Society invites you to visit the Cabin and learn more about George Boxley.
In addition to Boxley Cabin in Veterans Park, the Sheridan Historical Society’s Museum at 315 S. Main St. will also be open on Saturdays this summer at the same hours the Cabin is open, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The museum offers community members and visitors alike an opportunity to learn more about Sheridan. There are multiple interesting exhibits to see including salutes to the basketball teams of Coach Larry Hobbs and the football teams of Coach Bud Wright.
If you have never been to either the Boxley Cabin or the Museum, you now have an excuse to visit downtown Sheridan. The Sheridan community is preparing for an exciting growth spurt in the years ahead as more people move here to enjoy the benefits of an increasingly urban Hamilton County; but, as we like to point out, Sheridan is still just on the country side of Hamilton County. It’s a wonderful place to live and raise a family. Won’t you come visit us?