As a kid, my favorite things to read were coffee table books that described courthouses, cathedrals, and famous shipwrecks. One day, I was given a copy of Oddball Indiana by Jerome Pohlen. The book sensationalized some of Indiana’s offbeat sites more than I cared for, but I read it cover to cover. I was intrigued!
It’s been twenty years since I last poured through Oddball Indiana. Since then, I’ve ventured to every county courthouse in the state, every old schoolhouse in East-Central Indiana, and every community -extant and extinct- in the eight counties surrounding Delaware. I’ve burned through several cars and a lot of Diet Mountain Dew, but a few Oddball Indiana highlights still elude me. Here are four I hope to go see soon.
Stone Head
Brown County is a tourist Mecca today, but things were different a hundred and seventy years ago. Back then, officials expected landowners to work on roads that crossed their property! An engraver named Henry Cross lazily fulfilled his requirements by carving a trio of signposts that directed travelers through the hills to far-off places like Columbus and Fairfax1. As a joke, he turned his signposts into caricatures of a township trustee. Word of his work soon spread2.
Two signposts were destroyed early on, but one stood near the Thomas A. Hendricks House in rural Van Buren Township for more than 150 years. Eventually, the crossroads community became known as Stone Head, while the marker itself was hilariously referred to as the Indiana Sphinx3! Stone Head’s stone head was kidnapped in 1974, but it was returned to its rightful spot four months later4. Unfortunately, it was decapitated in 2016. It seems I missed my chance to see it in person, but a modern marker commemorates the original stone head.
Dunns Bridge
The unincorporated community of Dunns Bridge sits in rural Jasper County, where a farmer named Isaac Dunn owned land near Kouts5. The Kankakee River divided his parcels, so Dunn decided to bridge them6. Legend says he obtained parts of the first Ferris wheel from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago to use as trusses.
Unfortunately, the provenance of the bridge is unlikely or even impossible. The first Ferris wheel also operated at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis after the bridge was built. Experts say the arches were probably salvaged from a different structure, like the Exposition’s Machinery Hall7. That’s still cool, though! Regardless of the story, few bridges come with such an intriguing story. I hope to finally see it in the days ahead.
The Nancy Kerlin Barnett Grave
Indiana is home to several cemeteries bisected by roads, but I only know of one road bisected by a tomb. East County Road 400-South in rural Johnson County splits at the seams to accommodate the final resting place of Nancy Kerlin Barnett, who died in 1831. Her last wish was to be buried on a hill that overlooked Sugar Creek. Seventy-four years after she perished, county officials decided to relocate the cemetery to make way for a new road.
According to legend, highway workers were greeted by Barnett’s grandson, sporting a shotgun, who suggested the family wished for her grave to remain undisturbed8. Accordingly, the road was built around it. The site remained unchanged for more than a century until Barnett’s grave was exhumed to widen the narrow drive. To much surprise, at least seven souls were found to have been buried under the mound- two women, a man, and four children9! A couple decades after I read about it, I’d love to see what’s now called Barnett Cemetery.
The Century of Progress Architectural District
Forty years after the Ferris wheel debuted at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition, the city’s 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair promoted a “Homes of Tomorrow” exhibit. Modern architectural advancements were on display in twelve innovative homes10. After the fair closed, developer Robert Bartlett moved some of the houses to anchor his new residential development in Porter County, Beverly Shores.
Each of the homes was unique. The Armco-Ferro House was constructed of corrugated steel panels, and the Cypress Log Cabin showed the versatility of coniferous lumber. The Florida Tropical House blended interior and exterior living spaces, and the Wieboldt-Rostone House was clad with artificial stone later used in Indiana’s Fountain County Courthouse. The House of Tomorrow was a twelve-sided polygon with plate glass walls and an airplane hangar11! Today, all but the House of Tomorrow are restored and open for annual tours.
I preferred reading staid descriptions of courthouses and cathedrals as a kid, but learning about the places I’ve highlighted from Oddball Indiana was captivating! Each is a hidden gem with a story, but they’re not the sum of places I’d like to see.
I want to hike the ruins of Rose Island Amusement Park in Charlestown. I’d love to see the remnants of the unfinished Marble Hill Nuclear Power Station near Hanover. One day, I’ll fly my drone over the STUDEBAKER trees in New Carlisle.
I haven’t been to all of them yet, but reading about those bizarre sites was part of what ignited my curiosity about local history. I’ve spent a long time unwinding more nebulous parts of our state’s story, but all of these Oddball places contribute to the tapestry that create the Indiana we know today. I’m excited to find them!
Do you have any weird sites and sights you’d like to see? Let me know!
Sources Cited
1 Kay, J. (2017). Stone Head: The Making and Unmaking of a Local Landmark. Indiana University [Brown Art Gallery]. Web. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
2 (See footnote 1).
|3 The Stone Head, Brown Country, Indiana, circa 1925. Evan Finch Collection. The Indiana Album. Web. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
4 Higgins, W. (2016, November 17). Iconic Brown County statue beheaded. The Indianapolis Star. Web. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
5 On a mission in Tefft: 46380 (2013, March 28). Hoosier Happenings. Web. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
6 Historic Dunn’s Bridge on the Kankakee River (2015, December 10). Porter County’s Past: An Amateur Historian’s Perspective. Web. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
7 WHITE CITY LEGACY: The legend of Dunn’s Bridge (2003, October 9). Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
8 Ryckaert, V. (2023, October 13). A look at a ‘unique site’: Johnson County’s Cemetery in the Middle of the Road. WRTV [Indianapolis].Web. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
9 Ryckaert, V. (2016, June 14). Remains of 7 found in Grave in the Middle of the Road. The Indianapolis Star. Web. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
10 10 National Register of Historic Places, Century of Progress Architectural District, Beverly Shores, Porter County, Indiana, National Register #86001472.
11 Kim, B. (2019, February 20). Wanted: Someone with big bucks and a big heart to restore the legendary House of Tomorrow. Chicago Tribune. Web. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
Ted—a great non fiction book about the Chicago Exposition that at the end also tells the final story about the Ferris Wheel: White City
Henry Cross also hand carved tombstones that are all over the area of Brown Co. There have been books showing his carving. Grandview Cemetery has quite a few, as does Harmony, etc. There is a book called the Search for Henry Cross. Fascinating.
I had no idea! I’ll have to find the book. Thanks for letting me know!
I can loan you a copy.
Sent from AT&T Yahoo Mail on Android
I know you, Phil! Let’s chat at the next Lost and Found meeting!
W. Douglas Hartley published the book, The Search For Henry Cross. It was published by the Indiana Historical Society Indianapolis 1966. Great photos, maps and info. I do have two copies which I would be glad to lend you. I am a member of the Del. Co. Historical Soc. My email is philip.petro@att.net. My Phone is 765-289-3523.
Thanks Phil! I would love to take a look. I’ll hit you up to arrange something!