Many people might not realize that they pass by one of the nation’s most important landmarks every day.
On Bluffton Road, a modest brick home sits within easy reach of modern traffic, modern neighborhoods, and modern routines. Step closer, though, and the place asks the community to slow down. The Chief Richardville House at 5705 Bluffton Road is not simply old. It is one of the most consequential historic structures in northeast Indiana, tied directly to the Miami Nation, treaty-era decision making, and the complicated origins of the region itself.
According to The History Center, the house was built in 1827 near the St. Marys River and is associated with Chief Jean Baptiste de Richardville, known in the Myaamia language as Pinšiwa. The same source has described the building as the oldest Native American building in the Midwest and the only surviving treaty house in the nation. Those are big claims, and they explain why this property stands apart from the many historic markers that blur into the background of daily life…