Saint Joseph County appoints new historian

If you’re ever looking for a history lesson on Saint Joseph County, there’s one person you can turn to.

The Indiana Historical Society just appointed a new historian in Saint Joseph County for the first time in fifteen years. John Kovach, the previous historian, just retired.

Travis Childs, a history buff, is his replacement and is looking forward to serving the community.

“I would like to get more Saint Joseph County historical resources as far as the stories go per say all assembled into one place,” Childs said.

Instead of digging up information on your own, he wants to help the public find any historical information at the palm of their hands.

“Make it more accessible to people where they don’t have to necessarily, if they want to do primary research on something or somebody or some place, they wouldn’t have to physically come to the museum,” Childs said.

He currently works at the History Museum in South Bend as the Director of Education. He thought with his historical background, the role was perfect.

“It helps to have some end all be all person to say ‘yes that’s absolutely true’ or ‘no it’s not true’ I don’t know if it isn’t true but I’ll find out,” Childs said.

During his three-year voluntary role, Childs will serve as a liaison between statewide agencies and local organizations. Also, he will serve the public and wants the community to reach out to him.

You can ask him any questions you’d like about the history of Saint Joseph County. To contact Travis, you can call him at (574)-235-9664 ext. 242 or email him at [email protected]