Spring Mill State Park

Spring Mill State Park
IUCN categoryIII (natural monument or feature)
Map of theU.S. stateofIndianashowing the location of Spring Mill State Park
Location	Lawrence County,Indiana,USA
Nearest city	Mitchell, Indiana
Coordinates	38°44′00″N86°25′12″W
Area	1,358 acres (5.50 km2)
Visitors	675,880 (in 2018–2019)
Governing body	Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Spring Mill State Parkis a 1,358-acre (5 km²)state parkin thestateofIndiana.The park is located to the south ofBloomington,about 3 miles (5 km) east of the city ofMitchellon Indiana Highway 60. It contains a settler's village, the Gus Grissom Memorial (with the accompanyingGemini 3space capsule), a nature center, and campgrounds.

The park is located on the MitchellKarstPlain, which allowed the park'scavesandsinkholesto form in the limestone. The caves include Bronson Cave,Twin Caves,Shawnee Cave(Donaldson Cave), Hamer Cave, and others. A boat tour of Twin Caves is run by theIndiana Department of Natural Resources,which travels about 500 feet (150 m) into the cave.

A portion of the park isvirgin timber,protected in the Donaldson Woods Nature Preserve. The MitchellKarstPlain Nature Preserve is notable for its large number of sinkholes, more than 1000 per square mile. Many of the park's features were constructed by theCivilian Conservation Corpsin the 1930s, including the Spring Mill Inn, Spring Mill Lake, and most of the trails. The park attracts about 675,000 visitors annually.

The park is 1 of 14 Indiana State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with the park experiencing 3 minutes and 21 seconds of totality.

Pioneer village

Apioneervillage can also be found in a valley in the park, featuring a historicwatermilland nineteen other structures. A stream runs through the village, which is fed by a spring in Hamer Cave and powers the watermill. Heritage interpreters demonstrate crafts and skills from the 1860s. The Hamer Cemetery is located south of the village. The area, 295 acres (1.19 km²) total, was purchased for the state park from a cement company for a single dollar.Constant flowing water allowed watermills to be erected anywhere. Restoration of the village was spearheaded byRichard Lieberand E.Y. Guernsey (employed by Indiana's Department of Conservation) in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Gus Grissom Memorial

Also of interest is a memorial to Mitchell, Indiana-native,Gus Grissom,one of the originalMercury Sevenastronauts, who died in theApollo 1accident. The memorial features the spacecraft from Grissom'sGemini 3space flight, nicknamed by Grissom theMolly Brown(after the playThe Unsinkable Molly Brown), as well as a short video about the life of Grissom, and artifacts such as a spacesuit, helmet, and many personal effects.

Other

A Nature Center is open from spring through fall and features livesnakes,a bird-watching window, natural history displays, and a children's area. During the winter, a small Nature Nook is available instead at the Spring Mill Inn.

The campground features 188 Class A campsites which include 30 amp electric service, a fire ring, and a picnic table for each site. Thirty-five primitive campsites and youth camping are also available. Four "comfort stations" are located in the campground, which includes modern plumbing, restrooms, and showers. A camp store is accessible from both inside and outside the campground.

In popular culture

The park was the subject of aRescue 911segment that aired on October 17, 1989, about a man that became trapped and was later rescued in Donaldson Cave.

Gallery

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  Spring Mill Inn
• 
  Water Mill at Spring Mill State Park
• 
  Small village house overlooking north village garden in summer 2004.
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  Twin Caves boat tour
• 
  Amish family members walking through Spring Mill village
• 
  Village leather shop
• 
  Gus Grissom's andJohn Young'sGemini 3capsule, nicknamedMolly Brown

References

• Indiana Department of Natural Resource's official Web page
• United States Geological Survey."Spring Mill State Park, USGS Mitchell (IN) Topo Map".TopoQuest.RetrievedJune 29,2008.

External links

• Official DNR Web page for Spring Mill State Park
• Spring Mill State Park collection,Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library