Miami County Museum
Miami County Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
About
More than 75,000 items of historical significance include pioneer and Miami Indian artifacts, many circus relics, and Cole Porter memorabilia, featuring his 1955 Fleetwood Cadillac. A Victorian house, church, one-room schoolhouse, garage, shops and other period structures represent Peru in 1910.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
22 reviews
Excellent
14
Very good
5
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
0
570creative
San Antonio, FL31 contributions
Oct 2021 • Solo
What a great museum! I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. The exhibits are expertly curated and arranged with ample detailed information. I learned a great deal about the circus history there, the Native Americans, a famous native son and so much more. Anna was especially knowledgeable and helpful with directions to other interesting sites. Make this museum your first stop.
Written 25 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
catanhistory
Peru, IN15 contributions
Jul 2019
Circus, Miami Indians, Cole Porter, and more- this small hometown museum with friendly staff will not disappoint!
Written 15 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Niwotois
Saco, ME373 contributions
Oct 2017 • Family
Visiting this museum was a very nostalgic thing for me because I remember seeing much of the collection as a small boy, sixty years ago, when many of the things on display were in different locations around Peru. Peru was my mother's home town and my sibs and I would spend rainy Saturdays looking at the stuffed two-headed calf and six-legged piglet and other wonders on the dusty top floor of the courthouse. Now all this and more has moved to the old department store building next door. to the courthouse on Broadway in the center of Peru.
All the old childhood treasures still are there, but now the museum is three floors with many really interesting additions. Like Cole Porter's custom 1955 Cadillac, circus carvings, a stagecoach, the World's Tallest Man's overalls, a fantastic collection of rifles, Clyde Beatty's lion tamer's outfit, lots of farm and pioneer stuff and much, much more. It has a fantastic collection of beautiful arrow points over a 10,000+ year period.
This is a wonderful, well-spaced, well-lit and well-displayed collection of stuff from a proud old railroad and circus city. The circus materials are great. A fine place to pass an hour or two and the kids definitely would enjoy it.
Don't miss the orchestrion - a sort of player piano (and much more) with stained glass on the second floor. It's well worth the 25 cents to hear it play.
All the old childhood treasures still are there, but now the museum is three floors with many really interesting additions. Like Cole Porter's custom 1955 Cadillac, circus carvings, a stagecoach, the World's Tallest Man's overalls, a fantastic collection of rifles, Clyde Beatty's lion tamer's outfit, lots of farm and pioneer stuff and much, much more. It has a fantastic collection of beautiful arrow points over a 10,000+ year period.
This is a wonderful, well-spaced, well-lit and well-displayed collection of stuff from a proud old railroad and circus city. The circus materials are great. A fine place to pass an hour or two and the kids definitely would enjoy it.
Don't miss the orchestrion - a sort of player piano (and much more) with stained glass on the second floor. It's well worth the 25 cents to hear it play.
Written 31 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nancy M
7 contributions
Mar 2016 • Friends
I can say, as a former employee, that I heard many people over the years say that the Miami County Museum is a hidden gem of the community. Ther is so much to see and it is a good place to do local research.
Written 4 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
spacepilot500
Roswell, NM700 contributions
Aug 2019 • Solo
Bigger than it looks from the outside, they have done a wonderful job of transforming a former department store into an interesting exhibit hall. 3 floors are devoted to county history: the first deals with transportation as well as a general collection. Floor two has many themed rooms, and you will go back in time looking into the schoolhouses and shops of yesteryear. While I was there a grandmother was using the displays to explain to her child what life was like, and both seemed to enjoy the trip back in time. Floor 3 is devoted to the circus. Staff is friendly, and the lady working in the 3rd floor workroom greeted me and not only encouraged me to ask if any questions, but told me about other things going on around town, such as an event held that day by the local Indian tribe, which I attended thanks to her suggestion.
Written 25 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GOVIKING
Hobart, IN40 contributions
Dec 2017 • Family
Out of towners, we went here just looking to kill time before and event we had to be at, and it was actually a really nice small museum. Lots of interesting artifacts to review and learn about. Well put together and a very nice staff.
Written 8 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MoeTripper
Knoxville, TN962 contributions
Jul 2017 • Solo
There's not much going on in Peru. I stopped in on my way from Michigan to Indianapolis. Cole Porter was from here and Peru has finally (mostly) gotten over their embarrassment that he was a gay man and are now proud to display his hometown roots. They actually have a Cole Porter Festival now in June. There are lots of interesting things on display here in this museum but I was mostly drawn to Cole Porter's 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood and other personal items.
Written 10 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
waynew958
Lafayette, IN4 contributions
Dec 2016 • Family
Much bigger and better than I expected. A few unexpected and delightful surprises among their collection. Recommended!
Written 30 December 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bruce E
Peru, IN4 contributions
Apr 2016 • Friends
The county museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary and has frequently been called the best local museum in the state. Great collection of pioneer artifacts, and several items from Peru's circus heritage. There is also a wonderful Cole Porter display, including his 1950-something Cadillac.
Written 3 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Betty B
Arlington, Virginia, United States138 contributions
Jul 2015 • Friends
My friend and I were in town for the Circus Festival, mostly to see the amateur circus show that evening (which is AWESOME by the way but only happens in mid-July) and had some time to wander around Peru. Took in this museum and saw the first floor - some nice circus memorabilia and Cole Porter items - but the young lady at the front desk failed to tell us there was a whole second floor with displays that we had no idea about until I read about somewhere later! Not very helpful... it seemed the whole thing was on the ground floor. Sounded like some interesting stuff (recreations of history rooms and offices) upstairs, too. You won't have to pay to get in but the suggested donation is $3, and even the ground floor is worth that. But, if you go, do visit the second floor too and you will really get your money's worth!
Written 21 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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