Significance of Paradise Spring Historical Park

Wabash’s Founders Festival celebration will be held in downtown Wabash on Saturday, September 17th! In the United States many small towns and cities celebrate their founding days as well. The origins of founder’s days and festivals go back to 1782 when the United States, in response to Great Britain's expected acceptance of its defeat in the American Revolutionary War. Formed a proclamation that the reign of Great Britain was over and the United States could finally have their own government, even though the Treaty of Paris did not get ratified by Congress until 1784.

In Wabash, our Founders Festival is celebrated in September simply because the weather is better than in October. The town of Wabash was actually platted in the spring of 1834 by Col. Hugh Hanna and Col. David Burr. It later became the First Electrically Lighted City in the World on March 31, 1890.