Spring Mill State Park

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Spring Mill State Park, Indiana, USA
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Spring Mill State Park, Indiana, USA
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Spring Mill State Park
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Spring Mill State Park
Location Lawrence County, Indiana, USA
Nearest city Mitchell, Indiana
Coordinates 38°44′00″N 86°25′12″W / 38.733333, -86.42
Area 1,319 acres (5.34 km²)
Visitors 627,566 (in 2003-2004)
Governing body Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Spring Mill State Park is a 1,319-acre (5 km²) state park in the state of Indiana. The park is located to the south of Bloomington, about 3 miles (5 km) east of the town of Mitchell on Indiana Highway 60.

The park is located on the Mitchell Karst Plain, which allowed the park's caves and sinkholes to form in the limestone. The caves include: Bronson Cave, Twin Caves, Donaldson Cave, Hamer Cave, and others. A boat tour of Twin Caves is run by the DNR, which travels about 500 feet (150 m) into the cave. Donaldson Cave has a wet and dry side; the dry side is open for exploration. Donaldson can be dangerous if explored against regulations. In July 1985, a young man was trapped for 3 days after exploring the cave against regulations. The story was aired on Rescue 911 in 1989 (see).

A portion of the park is virgin timber, including the Donaldson Woods Nature Preserve and the Mitchell Karst Plain Nature Preserves. Many of the park's features were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, including the Spring Mill Inn, Spring Mill Lake, campgrounds, and several shelters and trails.

A pioneer village can also be found in a valley in the park, featuring a historic grist mill, blacksmith shop, tavern, distillery, gardens, and several other structures. A stream runs through the village, which is fed by a spring in Hamer Cave and powers the grist mill. Interpretive naturalists play pioneers from the 1860s and demonstrate trades of the day. The Hamer Cemetery is located south of the village and the graves of several village residents from the mid-1800s are found there, as well as many more modern graves. The area, 295 acres total, was purchased for the state park from a cement company for a single dollar.[1] The village had been prospering in the mid 1800s, but when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad bypassed it later in the century, it had become a ghost town. After acquiring the property, Richard Lieber and E.Y. Guernsey began reconstruction of the village, with six buildings being original, six being reconstructed, and four being moved to the property.[2]

Also of interest is a memorial to native resident of Mitchell, Gus Grissom, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, who died in the Apollo 1 accident. The memorial features the spacecraft from Grissom's Gemini 3 space flight, nicknamed the "Molly Brown" (after the play The Unsinkable Molly Brown) by Grissom, as well as a short video about the life of Grissom, and artifacts such as a space suit, helmet, and electronics.

The campground features 188 Class A campsites which include 30 amp electric, a fire ring and picnic table for each site. 35 primitive campsites and a youth camping are also available. Four "comfort stations" are located in the campground, which include modern plumbing, restrooms and showers. A camp store is accessible both inside and outside the campground.

[edit] Gallery

Grist Mill at Spring Mill State Park

Small cabin overlooking the village garden in summer 2004.

Twin Caves boat tour

Amish family members walking through Spring Mill village

Village leather shop

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.in.gov/dnr/history/ Official (Indiana) DNR Historical Timeline
  2. ^ http://www.gbl.indiana.edu/crm/reports/roi0319.pdf

[edit] External links

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Indiana State Parks
Indiana State Parks