Indiana’s Brown County State Park added to National Register

NASHVILLE, Ind. – Southern Indiana’s popular Brown County State Park has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, making it the state’s largest historic district.

The park’s recent addition to the National Register is “a great honour” said Patrick Haulter, the interpretive naturalist for the 16,000-acre park, which features rugged hills, ridges and fog-shrouded ravines.

“It really speaks to how important this park is, not only to the people who live here, but to everyone,” he said in a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Brown County State Park opened in 1929 near Nashville, a rustic town that’s the county seat. It’s Indiana’s largest state park and one of its most popular, particularly in the autumn when hordes of visitors converge on the forested park to witness its vivid fall foliage.

Indiana Landmarks staff authored the park’s National Register nomination in partnership with the DNR and supported by the local preservation group Peaceful Valley Heritage.

That nomination documented nearly 70 buildings, sites, and structures that contribute to the park’s historical significance, including structures built in the 1930s by the Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

The park includes the Abe Martin Lodge and overnight cabins, along with shelters, vistas, trails, and Ogle Lake, as well as a lookout tower.

“The natural and built environment blend seamlessly at Brown County State Park, making it a place that is cherished by all Hoosiers,” said Mark Dollase, Indiana Landmarks’ vice-president of preservation services.