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Curriculum Connections: The School at Crooked Creek This book is set on the 1820s Indiana Frontier.  Read other books about pioneers in Indiana during the early 19th century. Chambers, Catherine E. (1984)  Indiana Days: life in a frontier town.  Troll. Catalog Annotation: In the 1840's twelve-year-old Kristi travels from her family's sod house on the Iowa prairie to an Indiana town to stay with relatives and get an education. Sanders, Scott R.  (1993)  Here Comes the Mystery Man.  Macmillan. Catalog Annotation: The silly, superstitious-- and sometimes sensible-- medicine of the pioneers. Sanders, Scott R.  (1995)   The Floating House.   Macmillan. Catalog Annotation: In 1815, the McClures sail their flatboat from Pittsburgh down the Ohio River and settle in what would later become Indiana Sanders, Scott R. (1997) A Place Called Freedom.  Atheneum. Catalog Annotation: After being set free from slavery in 1832, young James Starman and his family journey from Tennessee to Indiana to start a new life and over the years they are joined by so many blacks that they start their own town.

Connect to Other Resources -- Web sites

• Conner Prairie Living History Museum   Take a tour of William Conner's house and barn.  Conner was an early Indiana settler.  This site also includes a virtual tour of Prairietown Village and a Lenape (Native American) camp.  
  
• This Far by Faith: Black Hoosier Heritage
  African Americans began arriving in the territory before 1850.  This site traces Indiana black history and the rich pioneer legacy of this community.  Information from the Indiana Humanities Coucil.
• Welcome to our Historic Past - Vincennes, Indiana
  Vincennes is the oldest city in Indiana having been founded as a French fur trading post, in 1732.  Site includes information about the era of the fur trader and the duties/life of the missionary priest at the Old French House and Basilica of St. Francis Xavier.
• George Rogers Clark National Historic Site
  The site of Fort Sackville commemorates the capture of the fort from British Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton and his soldiers by Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark and his frontiersmen on February 25, 1779.  The  site is maintained by the National Parks Service.
• What is a Hoosier?
  Why are people from Indiana called "Hoosiers?"  Where did the nickname come from?  From the Hoosier National Forest.
• Historic New Harmony, Indiana
  Two utopian communities comprised the development of New Harmony.  A group of Separatists from the German Lutheran Church founded Harmonie on the Wabash (1814-1824).  The WWW site allows visitors to view some log cabins and learn about their constuction and history.
• Canal Society of Indiana
  Indiana has several water canals.  The society presents information about canals in Indiana - why and how they were built. The history of the Whitewater Canal from White Water River State Park is of particular interesting.
• McCormick's Rock - White River State Park
  The first settler of Indianapolis is commemorated at McCormick's Rock located in White River State Park.

The School at Crooked Creek. Illustrated by Ronald Himler. (2004) Holiday House. ISBN: 082341812. 48 pg. Chapter Book/Historical Fiction.  $15.95.