The longtime owner of one of Brown County’s oldest and most “inconvenient” tourist destinations has died.
Richard “Rick” Hofstetter passed away Oct. 1 in Greenwood. He was 63.
Hofstetter was a partner in the Story Inn, a bed-and-breakfast, restaurant, tavern and wedding venue operating in several historic buildings of the former town of Story.
He and another partner, Frank Mueller, bought the town in 1999 in order to preserve its historical integrity. Its slogan became “One Inconvenient Location since 1851,” as it sits in the far-south part of the county where the state park meets the Hoosier National Forest.
In February this year, the town was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, accomplishing one of Hofstetter’s long-term goals for it.
Jacob and Kate Ebel became Hofstetter’s partners in the operation of Story Inn in the summer of 2015. They continue to run the business.
In March, the land and historic buildings under the Story Bed & Breakfast LLP went up for sale with a list price of $3.8 million. As of Oct. 3, the real estate listing was still active. The listing was for the buildings and land only, not for Story Inn as a business.
Kate Ebel said last week that it was too soon to know for sure what impact Hofstetter’s passing would have on the future of the Story Inn, but “the goal is that it will not shut down,” she said. “He loved this place. He loved all of Brown County.”
Hofstetter told The Democrat in March that selling the property and untying it from the business was a “difficult, but necessary” decision, as the ownership structure made “no long-term sense.” “This town is a lot bigger than I am. It needs to be wrapped in a protective cocoon and preserved for generations of people yet unborn,” he said.
Hofstetter majored in history at Indiana University, where he was a “world-class swimmer,” then went to law school at Duke University, said his youngest daughter, Anna Hofstetter of Nashville.
“He always had this passion for historic buildings,” she said. His three favorites in Indiana were the Athenaeum in Indianapolis, the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden, and Story as a whole.
In the early 1990s, Hofstetter and Mueller had worked to save the Anthenaeum from demolition. Hofstetter served as the first president of the Anthenaeum Foundation Inc., earning the Rick and Sandi Servaas Award for Historic Preservation in 1992.
In the late 1990s, when the owner of Story at the time was facing bankruptcy, Hofstetter represented her. She had bought it from Benjamin and Cynthia Schultz, who had built much of what Hofstetter continued to add to. That’s how he and Mueller happened into that business opportunity, Anna Hofstetter said.
Mueller managed the day-to-day business at Story while Hofstetter continued to practice law. He bought a country home between Greenwood and Morgantown and moved from a high-rise Indianapolis firm to a home office.
They transformed the once-abandoned town into a destination for foodies, wine lovers, horsemen and couples seeking an off-the-beaten-path experience.
“He was so proud of every inch of Story,” Anna Hofstetter remembered. “Every time I would go back after any period of time had elapsed, he would just love taking me on a tour and showing me all these little things that had changed since I was last there, and it would be anything from a new paint job to a new roof to a new bathroom or a complete renovation, or ‘We just got the driveway regraveled!’ … He just loved to walk around and show off the thing he’d been working on.”
He seemed happiest when he was the center of attention, she said.
In the early 2000s, Hofstetter started an annual Indiana Wine Fair at Story, which attracted as many as 5,000 visitors as it grew in popularity.
Around the same time, he and another county resident, Dan Bright, sought to grow Story’s footprint by building condominiums, stables, a creamery and a wastewater treatment plant near the historic village. Neighbors protested the plan, calling themselves CARD, or Citizens for Appropriate Rural Development. That development was never built.
Hofstetter also worked as a law professor and had written at least two books. He had another in progress when he died. He had a distinct writing voice which shone through in his colorful press releases about the annual election of the Story Village Idiot — a title he had proudly earned for himself in 2006.
He also had served on the Brown County Election Board, the Brown County Convention and Visitors Commission, on Indiana’s tourism council, and was a two-time winner of the Brown County Rotary Club’s “HoHoe!” award, being the person who “cultivates the most laughter, goodwill and fellowship” at club activities.
When the buildings at Story went up for sale this past spring, Hofstetter spoke about his work over the past 20 years in the village. “I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished here, but Story the town is unfinished business,” he said.
“It will take a special person to truly love this unique place and fully comprehend its potential. If I could wipe 20 years off of my odometer, I would be delighted to step into my own shoes.”
Read his obituary here.
