To frequent visitors, the stone walls, timber shelters, towers and overlooks of Brown County State Park may just seem like part of the scenery.
To a group of local and state preservationists, the park is a treasure trove of historic landmarks that should command more attention.
Indiana Landmarks is working to get the park onto the National Register of Historic Places. Its staff has identified nearly 60 park features they said they believe would contribute to the park’s significance, from horse trails that used to be county roads, to the iconic vistas, to structures built by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and ’40s.
The group has submitted a Determination of Eligibility to the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, which is the first step toward getting on the register, said Mark Dollase, vice president of preservation services for Indiana Historic Landmarks. The major task of actually researching and writing the nomination is well underway, he said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The staff at Brown County State Park, leadership at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and local group Peaceful Valley Heritage all have played a part in this project, he said.
Brown County State Park is not the state’s oldest park, but it is its largest, at 15,776 acres, and one of its most visited, at about 1.5 million visits annually.
Dollase said the primary purpose in trying to get the park on the National Register is to recognize its significance, but that recognition also could open doors to fundraising and grants that may not have been available before.
It was established in 1924 as the Brown County State Game Preserve by the efforts of Lee Bright, a frequent visitor to Brown County, and Richard Lieber, often referred to as the father of Indiana state parks. Though it wasn’t intended as a park at that time, “its picturesque qualities were an attraction to the general public, and portions of its acreage came to be used informally as a park — especially the ridgetop known as ‘Weed Patch Hill,’ with its sweeping views and iconic fire tower,” the National Register draft says.
The Abe Martin Lodge, a large swimming pool and cabins were built in the early 1930s to serve campers. Between 1932 and 1933, attendance ballooned from 6,836 to 44,056.
This was the Great Depression, and the park fed many needs.
In 1934, unemployed men were put to work by the federal government in the park, building trails, lakes, shelters and other structures, and planting more than 1 million trees to replace the forests that had been wiped out by aggressive harvesting of old-growth timber in the later part of the 19th century.
“While many institutions suffered in the face of the grim economy, the simple pleasures of enjoying the outdoors prevailed — not only because they were relatively affordable but also because the newly unemployed and underemployed masses found themselves with unprecedented amounts of free time,” the National Register nomination says.
The popularity of the park had a major hand in the growth of Brown County’s art colony and in establishing its tourism-based economy, the report says. Today, they are still closely connected.
However, all that traffic has taken a toll on the park over the past 93 years. And while the majority of operating costs are paid from user fees, ongoing maintenance is not. That money comes from the state, and it’s never enough to clear the long to-do list.
“Now that we’re 100 years old, a lot of these buildings … the CCC-era structures … those things are all in need of a lot of help and a lot of love,” Director of State Parks and Reservoirs Dan Bortner told the Brown County Democrat last fall.
Dollase said the primary purpose in trying to get the park on the National Register is to recognize its significance, but that recognition also could open doors to fundraising and grants that may not have been available before.
“(It’s) sort of like a three-legged dog,” added retired naturalist of 40 years, Jim Eagleman of Brown County. “You get by as best you can with what you’re given, realizing that this is an ongoing problem, never to be solved.”
