Indiana Road Trip 2002 Part 1
Mounds State Park and Conner Prairie Settlement
Return to Indiana Road Trip 2002 IndexAll photos © 2007-2011 by Robert E Pence In September 2002 I set out on a road trip. My plan was to fairly-well cover the
southern half of Indiana, but there's so much more to see than I anticipated that
in the better part of two weeks and 2,000 miles I barely saw the southwestern
quadrant; even then, I skipped several places I would have liked to have visited. Had it not been for a detour early in my journey, I would have missed the rustic
charm of Frankton:
I remembered learning in grade school about the mounds near Anderson, and for years I'd been driving past the signfor the exit on the I-69. I decided that this was as good a time as any to stop and look. The Bronnenberg family, early
settlers on this land, deliberately protected and preserved the ancient mounds, and probably built this sturdy brick house
around 1850, according to most accounts. Recent archeological digs have turned up evidence of other farm structures
in the vicinity of the house, along with prehistoric artifacts.
The White River flows through the park. In this vicinity it's fairly shallow but lookslike there would be good spots for bank fishing.
The park contains several prehistoric earthworks. The most prominent and well known one is the Great Mound, a circularknoll surrounded by a trench and then an earth embankment.
I camped overnight at Mounds State Park, and the next day I continued on toConner Prairie Settlement, on Allisonville Road at Fishers, between Noblesville
and Indianapolis. Conner Prairie features living history experiences in an 1886
Lenape Indian village, 1836 Prairietown, and 1886 Liberty Corner and
Zimmerman Farm. There's more here than can be covered well in a day;
I spent all day just in Prairietown.
William Conner was a fur trader, Indian Agent and land speculator who settled here and eventually became a staterepresentative from Hamilton County. He built his brick home in 1823. Eli Lilly purchased the Conner Farm, and after
restoration he opened it to the public. Conner Prairie is comprised of about 1,400 acres. Lilly selected Earlham College
to be trustee for the property after his death, and in recent years that connection has been severed and Conner Prairie
Historic Settlement is now a distinct corporate entity. The home has been restored and furnished appropriately for its
time, and historic interpreters demonstrate pioneer skills like food preparation and preservation here.
Doctor's Residence
Potters working here with a wood-fired kiln produce items that are sold in the settlement's gift shop.
A covered bridge leads to 1886 Liberty Corner and the Zimmerman farm. These were still under construction when Ivisited, and not yet open to the public.
