Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1916 — TURKEY RUN THE FIRST UNIT IN STATE PARK SYSTEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TURKEY RUN THE FIRST UNIT IN STATE PARK SYSTEM

TURKEY RUN, without doubt the scenic wonderland of Indiana, is to be made the first unit in the centennial state park system which is to be founded by a special committee that is working under the Indiana Historical Commission. The park idea is to raise as large a fund as possible by public subscription and devote the money to buying scenic and histories beauty spots which the people of Indiana will give to their state as a centennial gift. Of the many beauty spots that the state committee hopes to buy, Turkey Run is the only one chosen at this time. There are two reasons for its selection. Hoosiers by tens of thousands know of the scenic charm of this place and have long desired that it be made a park. Another reason is, Turkey Run belongs to an estate that is to be sold at auction by order of court on May 18, to close an estate, and, if the state committee does not have the money to buy it, this beauty spot will go to timber speculators who

will cut the magnificent trees for timber and ruin it for park purposes. Turkey Run, since 1818 has been owned by the Lusk family. Salmon Lusk obtained it from the government and when he died years ago it went to his son John, who lived there for some 75 years. Salmon Lusk and his wife, who married in their youth, left Vincennes in bitter winter with their meager possessions on a hand-sled which they dragged over the ice of the Wabash river in search of a place to make a home. They had a son about a year old with them. They tugged up the Wabash to the mouth of Sugar creek and turned up that stream, coming to a wild scenic spot in Parke county, now known as Turkey Run, or Bloomingdale Glens. In Sugar creek they found a huge rock which Lusk selected for a grist mill site «nd on a knoll nearby he built a cabin. In the forties he made and burned brick with which to build a large home, which he finished inside with black walnut and with floors of poplar. The house is still well pre-

served. The mill was destroyed by * flood in 1847. After his parents died, John Lusk occupied the home and lived the life of a hermit. Neither he nor his father ever permitted the natural beauty of Turkey Run to be disturbed, although the hundreds of stately trees are worth perhaps 150,000. Turkey Run abounds in rocky gorges and 100-foot cliffs of sandstone. Sugar creek has carved some striking scenery out of the rock, and the whole place is a paradise of trees, flowers and native birds. Turkey Run has delightful bathing beaches and cool camping grounds in its woodlands. It is within easy reach of a great population of Hoosiers who annually visit it t and hundreds of Illinois families also camp there. After Turkey Run is acquired as a state park, and there is no doubt the public will subscribe a great fund for state park purposes, the state committee will give attention to the selection of other beauty spots that are U> make up he centennial park system.

Lusk Homestead and Views in Turkey Run.