The site was used for a number of major political rallies during its earlier years, those most significant being on May 29, 1840 in favor of William Henry Harrison's bid for the White House attended by 30,000 people.

[3] The location was attracting visitors by the 1850s, and the battlefield was bordered by the Louisville, New Albany, & Salem Railroad during that decade.

A refreshment stand was built adjacent to the site to accommodate visitors, and this land was later purchased by the Northwest Indiana Conference of the Methodist Church and used for the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute and later for a Methodist youth camp.

Local residents acquired the Methodist property upon its closure, and created a museum in the camp's lodge.

The citizen's group merged with the Tippecanoe County Historical Association in 1990 which took over operation of the museum.