Click on the name of the exhibit on the left to read more information about the exhibit and see images on the right.
Exhibits
The Cross Brothers
The Cross Brothers moved to southern Indiana in the mid 1800’s and would gain national acclaim: Henry with his paint brush and pallet and Ferdinand with his hammer and chisel.
We have a rotating display of Henry’s magnificent paintings, although our favorite shows the buffalo that carved the trails through Southern Indiana. You will also see the spectacular Cross columns; vivid examples of what Ferdinand could do with a chunk of raw limestone, working in a cave.
The Cross brothers (Ferdinand, left, and Henry, right) were once described as "Henry with his brush and pallet and Ferdinand with his chisel and mallet." On the ground behind the two is one of the columns carved by Ferdinand currently on display at the museum.
The Cross brothers are buried in a churchyard a few miles from French Lick. Ferdinand died in 1912; his fellow stone carvers made his monument - note the chisels and mallet at the bottom left.
Henry Cross died in 1918 and, at his request, was cremated and buried with Ferdinand. This detail photo shows the small additional stone with his birth and death dates.