Tuesday, 6 Sept
We left Chain O Lakes State Park around 9:15 am and headed south through Indiana.
We took US-33 South toward Fort Wayne, connecting with I-69 toward Indianapolis. As we made our way around Fort Wayne, we saw a lot of billboards for Fat Daddy Brewery that kept us laughing. In Indianapolis, we took I-74 before we exited at Batesville for the last 20 miles to Versailles State Park.
Versailles State Park
We arrived at Versailles State Park around 2 pm. The park is located in the beautiful rolling hills of southeastern Indiana and is Indiana’s second-largest state park. There was a 230-acre lake in the park, but unfortunately, it was not near the campground. We had to pay a $9 non-resident day pass at the entrance gate, where she gave us our pass and directed us to our site. The ranger was very friendly and welcoming. The campground has 226 electric-only sites and nine equestrian sites divided into three loops. The road through the park was nice, and all the sites appeared to be paved. We had to stop at the dump station to get water, but since we were only going to be there overnight, we only got 15 gallons.
We had site 36 in loop A, which was a pull-through. I booked it online, and because of all the additional fees, it cost $41.75 ($25 + $6 Transaction + $1.75 tax + $9 park entrance fee). Those additional fees made it rather expensive. It was on a slight grade and not easy to pull into from the direction we had to drive on the one-way loop. Since the park was mostly empty, we drove the wrong way on the one-way loop. As soon as we started driving the wrong way, someone appeared, but we successfully negotiated the passing and got the trailer parked and set up successfully.
COE and Brookville Lake
We set up quickly because I wanted to get to a Corps of Engineers office to get my Senior Lifetime National Park Pass. Less than a week before, I realized I was now eligible for this pass. I had thought the age cutoff was 65. I planned to use it at least once to get 50% off camping fees at a COE campground before the end of our trip. The closest office I could find on our route was almost an hour north of Brookville Lake.
We got some patchy rain as we drove north, but we soon outran it. When we arrived, we found the COE office closed. We had called ahead to ensure they would be open, so when Lisa knocked, someone came to the door and let us in. They were busy in the back office finishing up paperwork for the end of the fiscal year.
Once I got my pass, we drove over to the Brookville Dam Overlook. The Brookville Dam was constructed in 1974 with a height of 181 feet and 2800 feet long at its crest. It was built across the East Fork of the Whitewater River for flood control and stormwater management and forms Brookville Lake. The outlook had a nice view and a swinging bench that we tried out.
Metamora
We then drove about 15 minutes west to Metamora. This small town was once a stop along the Whitewater Canal and is now primarily dependent on tourism.
The Whitewater Canal only carried boats from 1839 to 1865, but the canal was maintained to supply hydraulic power until 1936 for mills processing cotton, grinding flour, and making paper.
Duck Creek Aqueduct
The first place we stopped was at the Duck Creek Aqueduct. This is the only wood aqueduct still in service. It was built to carry the canal 16 feet above Duck Creek. It has a clear span (length) of 70 feet. The water cross section is 17 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
Whitewater Canal & Mill
We then drove down toward the center of the canal district and stopped at the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site and Grist Mill. Everything was closed because of the late hour, a weekday, and after Labor Day. Though the water in the canal was muddy and nasty, we enjoyed walking around the canal and seeing the grist mill waterfall and the historic buildings around it. There were lots of information signs scattered about the history of the area.
The historic Odd Fellows Hall looked like it had been converted into a haunted house. It had a plaque mounted on it that stated:
Erected 1853. Built of brick, it is the only three story building in Metamora. Ground floor was a general merchandising establishment operated by 3 generations of the Gordon Family: Milton, Noble and Donald. Metamora Post Office once located in Gordon Store. Second floor originally a town hall, later occupied by Knights of Pythias Lodge. Odd Fellows Lodge located on third floor and was instituted by General P.A. Hackleman, Franklin County native and Union General, killed in action in 1862. Local Masonic Lodge formed in this building on May 23, 1857.
A plaque on another building said:
Two story frame of Federal style. Built by Jonathan Banes in 1848.
First known as the firm of Jenks Banes & Calvin Jones.
Harry & Alvin Blacklidge 1852-57
Mahlon & Milton Gordon 1857-92
Wm. N. Gordon started banking business in west half 1910. Later relocating across the canal. East half was Caroline Gordons Candle Shop. Back addition was an old icehouse. Upstairs was Community Hall for dancing, roller skating and yearly traveling medicine show.
There was also a historical marker for the last carrier pigeon. It is amazing how fast animals can be made extinct. The marker reminded me of a display I had seen that stated that the last reported deer in Indiana was seen in 1893, and it wasn’t until 1934 that deer were reintroduced in the state.
Known for flocks that darkened the sky, the passenger pigeon was once the most abundant North American bird. The population in the billions as late as 1860 was nearly zero by 1900. Communication and transportation advancements enabled market hunters to kill unprecedented numbers for food and sport. Species became extinct when the last captive bird died on September 1, 1914. Before extinction, vast numbers of passenger pigeons migrated through Indiana, with many nesting in the state’s forests in the spring. Pigeon roosts, which spread over miles and could damage and topple trees, often attracted amazed onlookers and hunters. The last verified passenger pigeon in the wild was shot about five miles from here near Laurel on April 3, 1902.
Stockheughter Covered Bridge
We then headed south and drove through Oldenburg, known as the “Village of the Spires” because of the tall church spires on its skyline. Its German influence was unmistakable with bilingual street signs (German and English), and fire hydrants reflecting German themes. The town’s shops and multiple pubs reflect an Old World atmosphere in their architecture.
We then continued south to the Stockheughter Covered Bridge, deep in the remote countryside. The bridge was built in 1891 and measures 101 feet, 10 inches long, 13 feet high, and 13 feet wide.
Big 4 Cafe in Batesville
We searched Google for a historic restaurant along our route and settled on the Big Four Cafe in Batesville. Located in the heart of downtown Batesville, the Big Four Cafe is named for The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railway, also known as the Big Four Railroad and commonly abbreviated CCC&StL. The Railroad chose Batesville as one of its train stations because it could fill its steam engines with water from the well directly in front of the RomWeber Marketplace’s Depot Street entrance. To this day, the well still actively provides fresh water.
The original 1853 Big Four Tavern was catty-corner to the original train station. It was damaged beyond repair in 2011, but elements of the tavern, including its entrance doors and bar, were moved to the Big Four Cafe in the historic RomWeber Campus. The RomWeber Campus was apartments and marketplaces created from the ruins of one of America’s oldest furniture manufacturing plants, the RomWeber Furniture Company. Other historical elements include the nearly century-old lights overhead used in the old furniture plant that once resided on the property. Table tops and the wood-paneled walls were remanufactured from floor joists obtained when the space was renovated. A train bell in the hallway dated to the mid-1800s was used to call crew building new tracks to chow. The artwork in the Big Four Café was reproduced from original marketing materials used by the Big Four Railroad and its successor, the New York Central.
We got there about an hour before closing and were the only customers. The food and the service were excellent. We enjoyed talking with the waiter about the cafe and the town’s history. He also shared some of his life goals, his grandmother living in Metamora, and how much he enjoyed going there.
Versailles State Park
At the entrance of the park was the 1885 Busching Covered Bridge. The bridge is 15.5 feet wide, 16.5 feet high, and 176 feet long. Windows with awnings are located on either side of the bridge at the halfway point, allowing visitors to stop and briefly admire the beautiful Laughery Creek. The Busching Bridge was located on the Versailles-Dillsboro turnpike and served as the gateway to Versailles for people traveling from the east. In 1930, a new entrance to the Versailles State Park was built, which included a new concrete bridge a half-mile south of the bridge bypassing the Busching Covered Bridge.
It was almost 7 pm when we got back to Versailles State Park, but we decided to drive around the park before going back to the camper.
Also near the park’s entrance is a statue that was dedicated in 2010 to the work done by the CCC to improve the park.
We then drove down to the Versailles Lake Reservoir and Spillway. Some steps took me up to the top of the spillway, where I could view the spillway and the 230-acre lake formed in 1954 when a dam was built across Laughery Creek.
We got back to the camper around 8 pm.
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Wednesday, 7 Sept
We packed up, dumped, left the campground around 10:15 am, and headed to Cove Lake State Park in Tennessee.