Twilight at Conner Prairie The Creation, Betrayal, and Rescue of a Museum

by Duck, Berkley W., III

• ISBN13: 9780759120105
• ISBN10: 0759120102
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-04-22
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Conner Prairie, among the finest outdoor history museums in the country, recreates life in 19th-century Indiana. It also was the site of one of the most significant controversies that an American museum has faced. Twilight at Conner Prairie follows the development of the museum, the conflicts of interest created by the terms of founder Eli Lilly's gifts, and the breakdown of the relationship between the museum and its trustee, Earlham College. Author Berkley Duck, who served on Conner Prairie's independent board of directors when the board and CEO were dismissed, provides an inside look at what went wrong at Conner Prairie and how it was put to right. Twilight at Conner Prairie is essential reading for anyone concerned with the survival of museums and the ethical obligations of preserving America's past.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The Development of Conner Prairie	p. 4
The Development of Earlham's Endowment Management Policies	p. 30
The Origins of the Governance Dispute	p. 44
The Governance Discussions Shift to Autonomy for the Museum	p. 57
The Governance Discussions Become Confrontational	p. 61
The Mediation Effort	p. 68
The Negotiations with Earlham's Lawyers	p. 78
The Sun Goes Down over Conner Prairie	p. 90
Retreat and Reorganization	p. 98
The Issues Take Shape	p. 107
Waiting and Thinking	p. 121
The Attorney General Rolls Out His Strategy	p. 129
The Hamilton County Lawsuit	p. 150
Positioning the Dispute for Resolution	p. 160
Sunrise	p. 167
The Organization of New Conner Prairie	p. 174
Assessments	p. 179
Epilogue	p. 197
Operative Terms of the Lilly Gifts	p. 202
Draft of Amicus Curiae Brief Prepared by Save the Prairie, Inc.	p. 204
Index	p. 215
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