Chain o' Lakes State Park History
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.
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| A Visit to Chain o' Lakes State 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
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.
