Brown County State Park
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NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. 1. Name of Property Historic name: _Brown County State Park___________________________________ Other names/site number: _Brown County State Game Reserve; Brown County State Game Preserve; Brown County State Game Farm_____________________________________ Name of related multiple property listing: __New Deal Resources on Indiana State Lands, 1933-1942________________________ (Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Location Street & number: _1405 State Road 46 West_____________________________ City or town: _Nashville_ __ State: ___IN_________ County: Brown___________ Not For Publication: Vicinity: x ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of significance: ___national _X_statewide ___local Applicable National Register Criteria: __X_A ___B _X_C ___D Signature of certifying official/Title: Date Indiana DNR-Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government 1 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Brown County State Park Brown County, Indiana Name of Property County and State In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. Signature of commenting official: Date Title : State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: Public – Local Public – State x Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District x Site Sections 1-6 page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Brown County State Park Brown County, Indiana Name of Property County and State Structure Object Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _____45_ ____ _____54 _____ buildings _____ 4______ ___ 12__ ___ sites _____20______ _____14_______ structures _____ 0_______ _____ 3_______ objects _____69_______ _____83______ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register ___ 0____ ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) _LANDSCAPE, park _ _RECREATION AND CULTURE, outdoor recreation_ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) LANDSCAPE, park RECREATION AND CULTURE, outdoor recreation___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Sections 1-6 page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Brown County State Park Brown County, Indiana Name of Property County and State Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) OTHER: Park Rustic__ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) foundation: _STONE: Sandstone walls: _STONE: Sandstone _WOOD: Wood Log roof: _WOOD: Shake other: _WOOD: weatherboard Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph Located in south central Indiana, Brown County State Park (BCSP) comprises 15,815 acres of unglaciated terrain1 featuring dramatic undulating hills and wooded ridges and valleys. The park is situated just southeast of downtown Nashville, Indiana in Brown County’s Washington Township.2 It is bounded to the northwest by the portion of S.R. 46 linking Bloomington to Nashville; to the north by the portion of S.R. 46 connecting Nashville to Columbus; and to the northeast and southeast by S.R. 135.3 The property has a significant degree of historic integrity, retaining many original buildings and landscape features from its period of significance. 1 Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Brown County State Park. [map]. Scale not given. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 2014. 2 James Eagleman. “Washington Township: The Brown County Forest Story from 1780 to 1980” master’s thesis, DePauw University, 1980, 21. 3 Indiana DNR. Section 8 page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Brown County State Park Brown County, Indiana Name of Property County and State While there is no property type for a state park district, the individual components of Brown County State Park are assessed within the registration requirements established in the MPDF New Deal Resources on Indiana State Lands, 1933-1942, as part of descriptions below. ____________________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description Brown County State Park has two main entrances. At its north end, the park is accessible from the branch of S.R. 46 that runs between Nashville and Columbus.4 Sometimes referred to as the lower entrance because of its relatively depressed elevation,5 the north entrance is marked by a two-lane Burr arch truss covered bridge that was originally erected in Putnam County in 1838 and relocated to Brown County in 1932.6 The only remaining example of its kind in Indiana, the span known as the Ramp Creek Covered Bridge carries traffic southward over Salt Creek into the Park, and northward out of the park.7 Running just over a quarter mile, the north-south entrance road is divided by an esplanade at the location of the north gatehouse,8 which sits between the northbound and southbound lanes. To the west of the gatehouse and the north-south entrance road are a non-historic swimming pool and bathhouse, 9 which are near the location of the original pool and bathhouse, now demolished.10 Just southwest of the pool is the property manager’s residence, a noncontributing resource.11 At its southern terminus, the north-south entrance road bifurcates, feeding into a large looped road, approximately one mile in diameter, that encircles several of the park’s defining architectural and topographical features, including the Abe Martin Lodge12 and associated guest cabins upon Kin Hubbard Ridge13 and a saddle barn just northeast of the Lodge.14 The north road loop also encompasses the park’s Lower Shelter House (constructed by the CCC in 1935)15; the North Lookout Tower (a 1980s reconstruction of the 1930s original, which was condemned after an infestation16); an outdoor hillside theater (constructed by the CCC in 1935)17; and a CCC-built loop trail with impressive 4 Ibid. 5 Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of State Parks, Lands & Waters. “15th Annual Report of the Department of Conservation of the State of Indiana, for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 1933. 1933, 48. 6 Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory (IHSSI): Brown County Interim Report. Indianapolis, IN: Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana,