Photo of the Day Cataract Falls and Covered Bridge

Photo of the Day
Cataract Falls and Covered Bridge
Cataract, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Bridgeton Covered Bridge and Grist Mill

Bridgeton Covered Bridge and Grist Mill
Perched on the banks of Raccoon Creek, Bridgeton Grist Mill is the oldest continually operating grist mill in Indiana. The mill has been open at some point in every year for over 180 years. It is not the oldest gristmill, but none has been in continuous operation for that long. The mill began as a log sawmill that eventually included a gristmill as well. That mill burned down in 1869. The mill reopened in a new building. After conversions to a roller mill in the 1880's and to an electric mill in 1951. In 1969 new owners converted it back to a gristmill with the installation of 200 year old, forty eight inch French Buhr Stones. This family owned mill is continually being updated and improved. The picturesque mill stands beside the pretty Bridgeton Covered Bridge which spans Raccoon Creek over the dam that provides the gristmills power.
The Bridgton Covered Bridge Festival occurs annually in mid-October and runs for ten days. There are other festivals throughout the summer.
For more information, contact:
8104 Bridgeton Rd
Bridgeton, IN 47836
(812) 877-9550
bridgetonmill@gmail.com
http://bridgetonmill.com/

Photo of the Day - Wabash River at Terre Haute, Indiana

Photo of the Day
Wabash River at Terre Haute, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Fowler Park

Photo of the Day
Fowler Park
Terre Haute, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Wabash River at Kimmel Park

Photo of the Day
Wabash River at Kimmel Park
Vincennes, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Trail 3 - Versailles State Park

Photo of the Day
Trail 3
Versailles State Park
Versailles, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Versailles Lake

Photo of the Day
Versailles Lake
Versailles State Park
Versailles Indiana

Sample Chapter - A Guide to Indiana State Parks - Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A Guide to Indiana State Parks -

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
The Civilian Conservation Corps built many of the trails, shelters and other facilities in the earlier state parks during the Depression years of the 1930’s.
History of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Established by executive order on April 5, 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the CCC served as one of the most important parts of Roosevelt's New Deal program to deal with the high unemployment during the Great Depression. The United States Army helped provide transportation for the men that would work on environmental conservation projects around the United States. By July 1, 1933, the CCC had established 1433 camps around the country, providing jobs for 300,000 men. By 1935, the CCC would have 2600 camps with almost three million workers. The CCC built 97,000 miles of roadway, planted 2.3 billion trees, developed 800 state parks and over 13,000 miles of hiking trails in those parks. Additionally, the men of the CCC stocked lakes and rivers with over one million fish and constructed 3470 fire towers. To enlist in the CCC the men had to be United States citizens, in good physical shape, single and between the ages of 17 and 23. The CCC later increased this age to 26. The monthly pay was $30.00 per month. They had to send $25.00 per month home to their families. The CCC added an educational program, which enabled over 40,000 illiterate men to learn to read and write.

Sample Chapter - A Visit to Dunes State Park - JD Marshall Underwater Nature Preserve

JD Marshall Underwater Nature Preserve

A Visit to Indiana Dunes State Park

On June 11, 1911, the ship JD Marshall sank in stormy seas just offshore of Dunes State Park. Four sailors died in the tragedy. The sunken ship still lies there, just offshore, its historic artifacts preserved by statute as the JD Marshall Underwater Nature Preserve.
JD Marshall
The JD Marshall was built in 1891 in South Haven, Michigan. The ship had a beam of thirty-three feet and a draft of twelve feet. The ship had originally hauled lumber and industrial goods from port to port in the Great Lakes. The ship had been converted to a barge to suck sand from the lake bed and haul it to port to use for construction. Historians believe the boat had 1000 tons of sand on board when it capsized.
The Wreck
The JD Marshall had been dispatched to salvage the wreck of the Muskegon, which had been in the dock at Michigan City. The Muskegon had caught fire and sank on June 10, 1911. The ten man crew of the JD Marshall had completed the salvage job and had anchored just offshore to patch a leak that had occurred. Three men dove into the water to repair the leak. An unexpected squall created twenty-foot waves, which overturned the loaded ship. The three divers drowned. Captain Leroy Rand escaped and swam to shore. He commandeered a boat to use as a lifeboat to save the rest of the crew. He managed to save five crew members. Rescuers found the first mate, Martin Donohue, dead.
JD Marshall Underwater Nature Preserve
The 100-acre nature preserve is Indiana's first underwater nature preserve. Intended to promote understanding about the JD Marshall and other Indiana shipwrecks, the Preserve offers archeological protections to the site.  DNR staff mark off the boundaries with buoys seasonally at the four corners, with additional markers along the north boundary. Boats are forbidden to drop anchor within the boundary to prevent anchors snagging and destroying underwater artifacts. DNR staff conducts periodic interpretation programs about the site throughout the year. Visitors can see a display of a reconstructed pilothouse as well as artifacts from the boat at the Nature Center in the park. For more information, contact Dunes State Park.
Link to Site
https://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/sp-JDM_FAQ.PDF

Sample Chapter - A Visit to Chain o' Lakes State Park -Chain o' Lakes State Park History

Chain o' Lakes State Park History

A Visit to Chain o' Lakes State Park

The massive ice sheets that covered most of North America during the Pleistocene Epoch, which lasted from approximately 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, formed the terrain that makes up Chain o' Lakes State Park. This event, commonly called the Ice Age, formed the landscape of northern Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and the rest of the Great Lakes states. The movement of the ice created the chain of kettle lakes that form the chain in the park.
Kettle Lake
Retreating glaciers form kettle lakes when they calve huge ice blocks. These massive blocks break away and carve depressions in the soft ground adjacent to the retreating glacier. When the ice melts, they leave behind shallow lakes that fill with sediment. Sudden breakage of an ice-dammed lake can also create a kettle lake. These lakes are seldom deeper than about thirty feet.
Chain o Lakes
The lakes in the state park formed between 13,000 and 14,000 years ago. Waters melting from the retreating glaciers carved the channels that connect the lakes.
Settlement
The Miami and Potawatami tribes inhabited the area at the time of white settlement. They had a village on the north shore of Indian Lake, now called Bowen Lake. The lake derives its name from the first settler, William Bowen.
William E. Bowen (Feb. 7, 1810 - May 5, 1881)
The son of Jonathan Bowen and Catherine Ermentrout, William was native to Lebanon in Berks County, Pennsylvania. He and Elizabeth Whitesell married in 1831. The couple would have seven children. The Bowens moved to Noble County in 1837, inhabiting the area now included in Chain O' Lakes State Park. William constructed a cabin on the north shore of Indian Lake in 1840. Bowen would serve as township justice of the peace, county sheriff and treasurer of Noble County. He and his wife are interred at Albion Cemetery.
Stanley School House

Constructed in 1915, the school is the fourth schoolhouse to occupy the site. The first structure, a log building, was built around 1845. A wood frame structure replaced the log one in 1855. This school burned down in 1880 and was replaced by a brick schoolhouse. This one burned down also and the current schoolhouse replaced it in 1915. It was common practice at the time to name a schoolhouse after a nearby farmer, thus the Stanley Schoolhouse derives its name from local farmer, Henry Stanley. The school remained open until closing in 1954. It was the last one room schoolhouse in Noble County and possibly one of the last ones in Indiana. After closing, the school stood vacant until Chain o' Lakes State Park opened in 1960. The park initially used it as a nature center until 2011. The National Register of Historic Places listed the schoolhouse in 2015, after the park restored it to its original appearance. 
Park Development
The precursor of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Conservation, recommended that the area around the chain of lakes be developed into a state park in 1955. The Indian General Assembly supported this in 1956. Commissioners from Noble, Whitley and Allen counties formed a joint board to purchase the land necessary for the park. This board acquired 1200 acres, with the State of Indiana purchasing an additional 300 acres. Dedication ceremonies for Chain o' Lakes State Park took place on June 12, 1960.

Photo of the Day - Early Morning at Spring Mill State Park

Photo of the Day
Early Morning at Spring Mill State Park

Sample Chapter - McCormick's Creek State Park - History of the Park

A Visit to McCormick's Creek State Park

Sample Chapter
McCormick's Creek State Park
History of McCormick's Creek State Park
Prior to settlement, many Amerindian tribes hunted the area's rich wildlife population and utilized many of the other food sources in the area. Tribes using the land included the Miamis, Pottawatomies, Eel River Indians and Delaware tribes. Game animals included white tailed deer, wild turkeys, bison, squirrels and rabbits. The forests yielded a rich supply of nuts and acorns while the forests floor provided blackberries, raspberries, plum, persimmons and grapes.
Too Poor to Farm
Early settler John McCormick homesteaded about 100 acres of land in the area around the waterfall on what became known as McCormick's Creek in 1816. Numerous attempts to build a gristmill failed because the creek's water flow was not sufficient. The soil was too poor to farm and the difficult terrain made transportation of the quarried limestone in the area almost impossible.
Sanitarium
Physician Frederick Denkewalter, impressed with the tranquil atmosphere of the site, established a sanitarium on the site now occupied by Canyon Inn in 1888. When Dr. Denkewalter passed away in 1914, the State of Indiana purchased his estate for the establishment of a state park.
First State Park
The founder of the Indiana State Park system Richard Lieber had become aware of the area and pressed for the property to be used as one of the state's first state parks. In honor of Indiana's centennial in 1916, the state established the state park system, with McCormick's Creek becoming the first state park on July 4, 1916. The park's dedication was part of the state's Centennial celebration. Originally, 350 acres, the park has grown to 1924 acres through the acquisition of surround farmland.
John Wesley McCormick, I (August 30, 1754 - April 18, 1837)
The son of Francis W McCormick and Ann Provance, John was native to Winchester Virginia. He served in three different regiments during the Revolutionary War, from 1776 through 1783. During the course of the war, McCormick moved to Pennsylvania, where he married Catherine Drennen. The couple would have fourteen children. In 1808 the family moved by wagon, then flatboat, to Preble County, Ohio. A short time after moving to Ohio, the family moved into the Indiana Territory. They first settled at Connersville, but moved away due to troubles with the natives. In 1816, McCormick settled in the area that is now McCormick's Creek State Park. John died on April 18, 1837, Catherine on February 22, 1862. A stone marker inside the state park marks the site of their cabin.
Dr. Frederick William Denkewalter (February 20, 1842 - June 28, 1914)
A native of Baden, Germany, Dr. Denkewalter immigrated to Indianapolis in 1870, where he opened a drug store. Denkewalter founded the Spencer Mineral Springs Hotel and Sanitarium in 1888 near Spencer, Indiana. He passed away in his home in Spencer, Indiana from heart failure.  And is interred at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis.
Richard Lieber (September 5, 1869 – April 15, 1944) 
Visitors to Turkey Run will find the Richard Lieber Memorial east of Turkey Run Inn behind the Log Church. The Memorial contains the ashes of the founder of the Indiana State Park system. Born in Düsseldorf, Germany to a wealthy family, he received his education from private tutors.
Immigration to Indiana
To fulfill his parent's desire to learn English, he traveled to London, England after graduating from college. In 1891, he came to Indianapolis, Indiana in to join two uncles who had immigrated there. He eventually became an American citizen. He worked as a reporter for the Indiana Tribune and married the owner's daughter, Emma Rappaport. After visiting Yosemite National Park, the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and Montana in 1900, he became an ardent conservationist. President Theodore Roosevelt held Conference of Governors in 1908, which Lieber attended as a delegate. He wrote a series of articles promoting Indianapolis as the site for the Fourth National Conservation Congress in 1912. He succeeded in his effort, and served as the chairman.
Founder of Indiana State Park System
As Indiana's centennial approached, Lieber began advocating for a state park system. Because of his efforts, Turkey Run and McCormick's Creek State Park were established in 1916. Lieber passed away while visiting McCormick's Creek in 1944. His ashes lie at Turkey Run State Park.

Photo of the Day - Mama and Baby

Photo of the Day
Mama and Baby

Photo of the Day - Chain o' Lakes State Park

Photo of the Day
Chain o' Lakes State Park
Albion, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Chain O' Lakes State Park

Photo of the Day - Chain O' Lakes State Park
Albion, Indiana

Versailles Market on the Square - Opening Day

Versailles Market on the Square - Opening Day
Weather permitting, I will have some books set up at the opening day of the Versailles Market on the Square in downtown Versailles. Vendors at the market will offer fresh vegetables, plants, craft items and handmade merchandise.
The Market is open from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
To see my complete list of 2019 Book Tour Dates, click this link.

Photo of the Day Bridgetown Covered Bridge and Mill

Photo of the Day
Bridgetown  Covered Bridge and Mill
Bridgetown , Indiana

Sample Chapter - Farm and Greenhouse Markets - Southeast Edition - Garden Shack

Garden Shack

Farm and Greenhouse Markets - Southeast Edition 

The Garden Shack has grown from its beginning in 1974 as a farm raising cows, pigs and corn. In 1980 the family added vegetables, fruits and melons they grew on their farm. The family sold its produce in Cincinnati. They used damaged crops to feed their animals and used the fertilizer the animals produced to fertilize the fields. By 1895 they began growing flowers in 1905 and opened their Batesville location in 1989. They opened a new location in 2006 in Milford, fifteen minutes from downtown Cincinnati. The Garden Shack sells vegetable transplants, bedding plants, perennial flowers, vegetables, pumpkins and fall mums at their retail stores and at various farmers markets around the area.

Garden Shack
5757 Hwy 46
Batesville, Indiana 47006
812-933-1155

Garden Shack
222 Wooster Pike
Milford, Ohio 45150
513-831-0517
https://www.facebook.com/thegardenandbeachshack/

Sample Chapter - A History of the United States Constitution - Richard Henry Lee's Resolution

A History of the United States Constitution

June 7, 1776 - Declaration of Independence - Richard Henry Lee's Resolution
On June 7, 1776 Richard Henry Lee introduced the resolution that helped lead to the Declaration of Independence almost a month later.
Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732 – June 19, 1794)
The son of Colonel Thomas and Hannah Harrison Ludwell Lee, Richard was native to Westmoreland County, Virginia. The Lee family had served as military officers and diplomats which provided the growing boy with a template for his later political life. During his early years he received his education from a tutor at the family home at Stratford, Virginia in Stratford Hall. Lee voyaged to England in 1748 to attend the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, in Yorkshire, England. After finishing school, he toured Europe and then returned to Virginia in 1753 to help his brothers settle his parents', who had died in 1750, estate.
Political Career
He received appointment as a justice of the peace in 1757 and gained election to the Virginia House of Burgesses the next year. At his legislature he met Patrick Henry. During the turbulent years after the Stamp Act in 1765, he became an early supporter of independence for the colonies. He was one of the originators of the Committees of Correspondence in Virginia and receives credit for writing the Westmoreland Resolution in 1766. He attended the First Continental Congress and later the Second Continental Congress. On June 7, 1776 he introduced the Resolution that helped lead to the Declaration of Independence less than a month later.
Text of the Resolution:
That these United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; that measures should be immediately taken for procuring the assistance of foreign powers, and a Confederation be formed to bind the colonies more closely together

Photo of the Day - Guilford Covered Bridge

Photo of the Day
Guilford Covered Bridge
Guilford, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Along the Michigan Road

Photo of the Day
Along the Michigan Road
Near Napoleon, Indiana

Photo of the Day - Lieber State Recreation Area

Photo of the Day
Lieber State Recreation Area
Cloverdale, IN 46120

Mossy Feet Books at the Dearborn County Fair

I will have a booth set up during the Dearborn County Fair this year.
Monday, June 18th - Saturday, June 22, 2019
Operation Times: Monday - Thursday 5:00 pm – 10:00pm
Friday 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Saturday - 4:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Photo of the Day - Cataract Falls State Recreation Area

Photo of the Day
Cataract Falls State Recreation Area
Cataract Indiana

Photo of the Day - Wabash River at Terre Haute Indiana

Photo of the Day
Wabash River at Terre Haute Indiana

Sample Chapter - O'Bannon Woods State Park - Battle of Corydon

Sample Chapter - 
O'Bannon Woods State Park
Battle of Corydon

Morgan’s Raid (July 8-13, 1863)
Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, in an effort to draw Union troops away from their campaign in Tennessee, crossed the Ohio River with over 2000 trained and seasoned Confederate troops. Fresh off two raids in Kentucky that rattled Union commanders in the area, he defied orders from his superior General Braxton Bragg, by crossing the Ohio River into Indiana on July 8 and 9, 1863.
John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864)
The eldest son of ten children born to Calvin and Henrietta (Hunt) Morgan, John's father migrated to Lexington, Kentucky after the failure of his pharmacy. He attended Transylvania College but the university tossed him out in 1844 for dueling. He enlisted in the Army in 1846 to serve in the Mexican-American War. He had an avid interest in the military and raised a unit in 1852, which the state legislature disbanded. When tensions began rising during the years before the Civil War, he raised another unit in 1857, which he trained well. When war broke out, he did not immediately favor secession. But when the southern states began seceding, he and his men joined the cause. Using his corps of "Lexington Riflemen" as a nucleus, he soon raised a unit, the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment. This unit fought at the Battle of Shiloh. On July 4, 1862, Morgan launched the first of his Kentucky raids. This successful action resulted in the capture of over a thousand Federal troops and the requisitioning of tons of Union supplies and hundreds of horses. A second series of raids against Union Major General William S. Rosecrans supply lines disrupted the Union troops and created havoc in the Union command in Kentucky. The success of these raids encouraged his foray into Indiana.
The Crossing
Morgan launched his raid from Burkesville, Kentucky, which is near the Tennessee/Kentucky state line. The beginning of this raid coincided with General Lee's Battle of Gettysburg far to the northeast. From Burkesville, the troops rode north to Brandenburg, Kentucky. He had already scouted the Ohio to find suitable places to cross and had settled on this site. His soldiers commandeered two riverboats on July 7 and by the next day; they moved north towards Corydon and the only Civil War battle to occur on Indiana soil.
The Battle of Corydon

A Visit to O'Bannon Woods State
Park and Corydon Indiana

A force of about 400 Indiana militia and citizen volunteers, commanded by Col. Lewis Jordan, engaged John Hunt Morgan's raiders. Morgan deployed his 2,400 cavalrymen along a wooded ridge a mile south of Corydon. The Hoosier defense caused General Duke, Morgan's second in command, to comment, "They resolutely defended their rail piles." Three Hoosiers and eight Confederates were killed in the battle. Morgan then brought up his cannon and flanked the militia forcing Jordan to retreat. After Morgan surrounded and began shelling Corydon, Jordan surrendered with all his men. After the battle resident of Corydon used the Presbyterian Church on Walnut Street as a hospital. When the Confederates recovered from their wounds, the residents released them to travel back south. Morgan pardoned his prisoners after he departed, after extracting a promise that they would not attack him or his men again. Although considered a Confederate victory, the outnumbered Hoosiers delayed Morgan enough to allow Union Forces to close in on their pursuit. During the remainder of the raid, Union forces would dog him, keeping him on the move until his eventual capture in Ohio.
After Corydon
Morgan did not rest after his victory at Corydon. He continued east, crossing Harrison, Washington, Scott, Jennings, Jefferson, Ripley and Dearborn counties. Corydon’s townspeople cared for Morgan’s wounded soldiers from the battle, using the old Presbyterian Church as a hospital.
The Indiana portion of the raid has been mapped into an Auto Tour. The John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail traces the route of Morgan’s Raiders through Indiana as it fled through the countryside into Ohio.
Find out more Morgan's Raiders in Indiana here.

Photo of the Day - Stryker Lake

Photo of the Day
Stryker Lake
Fowler Park
Terra Haute, Indiana