Tippecanoe County

The county was formed in 1826 and named for the Anglicization of “Kethtippecanoogi”, a Miami People term meaning “place of the succor fish people.”   This tribe was known as the Quiatenon or Weas.   In 1717, the French government established Fort Quiatenon across the Wabash River, 3 miles south of the city today.  The fort became the center for fur trappers, merchants and Indians.  An Annual reenactment and festival is held every fall and is known as the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon.  The county is most well known for Purdue University, the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe and the Courthouse structure in Lafayette, built in 1881, which is included in the National Register of Historic Places.