The Mail-Journal, Volume 7, Number 18, Milford, Kosciusko County, 3 June 1970 — Page 4

Historical Wawasee Is Wonderful Place To Spend The Summer

Historical Wawasee is a wonderful place to spend the summer and thousands of people do just that every year. They come from Indianapolis, Muncie, Chicago, South Bend, Fort Wayne and other metropolitan areas to enjoy the cool breezes and the leisure life of the lake areas. They stay at Wawasee, Webster, Barbee, Papakeechie, Dewart and other lakes in the area. Wawasee of course is the largest and the most populated of all the lakes. It is located near the town of Syracuse with the town becoming a mecca of activity each summer. Wawasee is both beautiful and historical. This article .is our official welcome to all of you who come to the Lakeland area each summer. We missed you this winter and we’re glad to have you back. This article will also give us a chance to tell you a little of the history of Wawasee and the Lakeland area. The Lakeland area is composed of the towns of Syracuse. Milford and North Webster with the hub of activity taking place around Wawasee and Syracuse. Each year Turkey Creek township s population of some 6,200 swells until it reaches 35.000. Wawasee is Indiana's largest . lake Most of the cottages that surround its shores are owned by the people who occupy them. Only a few rentals are to be found. Indian Name The history books tell us that in the early days Wawasee was . called Turkey Lake or Nine Mile Lake The name Wawasee comes from the Pottawatomie Indian chief Wau-wa-aus-see or Wawas of Wawiassi. which ever you prefer as history books list his name with all three spellings But for the terms of an Indian treaty signed in 1826 and the burning of the Cedar Beach club house we might still be calling the lake Turkey or Nine Mile Turkey Lake came from the wild turkey that was common in the area m the early days of settlement while Nine Mife came from the size of the lake — it's nine miles long It's appropriate that the state's . largest natural inland lake should have a name that's romantic and has historical significance The name Wawasee has been explained many ways but in an old issue of The SyracuseWawasee Journal we found the credits going to the Cedar Beach club When the club house which was located on the eastern shores of

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the lake burned the members decided to build a new one, however, many of them did not like the name Cedar Beach for it was often confused with Cedar Lake, a resort which did not have the best of reputation at the time. As a result they chose the name Wawasee. Soon everyone was using the name and at one time Wawasee even had a post office of its own. Pickwick Park A widower, William Dillon, squatted on the land now called Pickwick Park several years ago. He was something of a recluse, but loved his life at Wawasee. Dillon spent his final years hunting, fishing and enjoying the natural setting around him. Even though he was considered a hermit he was kind and popular and had many friends. After his death the cabin in which he lived became the property of his widowed daughter who lived there until the early 1890’s She took in a few boarders during the summer months. About 1897 cottages began to spring up in Pickwick Park and today many beautiful homes and cottages dot the park's peaceful setting. Buttermilk Point Today a beautiful condominium, Bay Point, stands on the land that was for a long time called Buttermilk Point. Buttermilk Point was Jarrett Lake It was settled on by Lewis Jarrett who had come to Kosciusko county with his father Bently in the 1840 s looking for the best hunting and fishing land he could find. Bently moved his family into Turkey Creek township from Virginia In 1845 Lewis was 19 years old. He married Fannie Stiffler and settled on 126 acres of land extending from the south shores of Lake Wawasee and includ .ig two small lakes which e' ntually became part of Papakeechie. The Jarretts had 10 children After his first wife’s death he married Elizabeth Hathaway Smith Todd and became the father of two more children — Jess and Goldie Alice. It was Elizabeth who made Buttermilk Point famous After Lewis died she needed a way to support herself and her family so she used the means available to her the lake and its summer visitors The Jarretts had a milkhouse at the edge of the lake which was cooled by a spring from which flowed ice-cold water When the excursion boats came into being Buttermilk Point made a good place to turn

around. It also made a good place for the city folk to stop and rest so Betty Jarrett sold them buttermilk and other items from her milkhouse. By 1893 it was necessary to build landing docks and soon Buttermilk Point was famous. In 1914 the property was sold to Charles W. Johnson and a new era began at Buttermilk Point. Johnson converted the land into a Coney-Island type amusement park complete with mery-go-round and dance hall. He also built Johnson's Hotel." Now the condominium has been built and modern cottages all but fill the land where the city folk once stopped to enjoy a few minutes in the shade and a cool glass of buttermilk. Oakwood No one seems to know for sure when Bill Conkling and his wife moved to Conkling Hill on the west side of Lake Wawasee, however, they were there in 1844. Old Bill was a guide and was one of the best on the lake. He charged 25 cents per day for his services. Just as no one seems to know from where they came, no one knows what happened to the Conklings or when they left the lake. Their property was acquired by the Indiana Conference of the Evangelical Association in 1893 and has belonged to the church ever since. It is now part of the United Methodist church's North Indiana Conference. The Crows At Wawasee The Crows — Nathaniel and William — settled on the eastern shore of Wawasee in the 1850’s. Nathaniel owned what is now called the “Crow's Nest" while William settled on Cedar Point. One of the coolest, broadest, sandiest and best beaches on the lake is the Natticrow Beach. One doesn’t have to search long after reading about Nathaniel Crow to find where the name came from. It is a metamorphose of Natti and Crow. Along the beach one can find many fine cottages and homes. Here too is the cabana club which was opened a few years ago. Morrison Island About 100 yards off the eastern shore of Lake Wawasee stands Morrison Island with its commanding view of the full length of the main lake. The island takes its name from the family who settled there some years back. The island was owned by the William T. Morrison family who sold the property when the popularity of the lake created a demand for more lake front and land values rose to undreamed of figures. It’s really hard to feature the busy island today the way it was when the Morrison family lived there It was a quiet, peaceful place and was heavily wooded with wildlife and majestic soaring bald eagles. When the Morrisons lived on the island the only way it could be reached was by boat in the summer /nd crossing the ice in the winter. Today a bridge connects it with the main land. Another Island Another popular and well known Island at Wawasee is Kale Island. This island could only be reached by boat until sometime in the 1870’s when a bridge was built. There were a few squatters there before the Civil War. Two of them were Kale and Thomas Oram It was named after Kale. The brothers made their living by fishing; and sold their catch in Goshen. Their cabin was headquarters for those interested in fishing and was noted for its fishy odors and a certain concoction made of raw alcohol and lake water flavored and sweetened by a secret formula. The reputation of the establishment was not too good but the brothers were industrious. They cleared 20 acres of land, selling the lumber in Syracuse and making it into barrel staves and fire wood. Much of the lumber used in the older homes of

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HOUSE BOAT AVALON — The house boat Avalon was built in 1902 for William Fortune of Indianapolis. It was first anchored near the old Dillon place, now the Dr. Nourse cottage. During a storm there was trouble getting the anchors to hold. They were also afraid it would capsize so it was moved to the north

Syracuse came from Kale Island. The cleared land was planted in grapes Today Kale Island is row upon row of year around homes and summer cottages with an occasional business snuggled in its peaceful setting to meet the needs of the lake’s people. Here too is found the beautiful Chinese Gardens adding a touch of Oriental beauty to the area with their graceful arched bridges, wishing gate and the impressive tea house. Vawter Park The village of Vawter Park was plotted in 1887 and was soon settled by many upstanding people. The founder of the village was John Terrel Vawter. The park is located on the southern shores of the lake and is often referred to as South Shore. The Vawter family came to the United States from England. John was bom in Vermont in 1830 and moved to Wawasee in 1886. After plotting the village he built a hotel to attract the city people who were beginning to come to the lake for their vacations. He furnished the hotel with Victorian gentility and it is said to have been one of the most comfortable and homelike on the lake. The history of the hotels at Vawter Park is interesting, although the Vawter hotel changed managership, leaseholds and ownerships so frequently that it has been impossible to trace without digging deeper than time would allow. The original hotel burned to the ground between 1915 and 1919 and a new one was built This hotel too had a short life-span as it burned between 1920 and 1925 This same location was then chosen for the cite of the ill-fated South Shore Inn which was a very successful hotel until it too burned in November of 1964. The land stands empty today. The area around the hotel cite, however, is filled with summer cottages and year around homes. And. its residents are just as busy as the ones who live in Pickwick Park, the new condominiums at Bay Point, in Oakwood Park, at Cedar Point, on Morrison Island. Kale Island or elsewhere along the beautiful shores of historical Wawasee. The Town According to an article thought to have been written in the 1940’5, author unknown, the town of Syracuse lies in the northern part

of Turkey Creek Township. Built at first on the banks of the creek, and at the foot of a large hill, with swamp lands between the two; the town has grown to the banks of Syracuse lake on the east, far over the hill on the north, several blocks south beyond the creek and westward the same. ‘‘Syracuse lake,” according to the article, “receives the waters of beautiful Lake Wawasee of national reputation; and these waters are carried.off by Turkey Creek. “Gone are the marshes and back waters, so that now the shores of both lakes are dotted with beautiful homes and hotels. The town has come to include these communities, but not incorporated with it. Syracuse, according to the 1940 census has a population of 1346 and Turkey Creek township an additional 1112. Add to this several thousand visitors to our lakes each summer, and you will see we are not an isolated community. But Now to the Town’s Beginning “In August 1834, Turkey Creek township was surveyed. The southern part was reserved for Flat Belly Indians, a tribe of the Potawatomis. “Even before this, several families had moved into the section and found the land good, heavily timbered, the waters of both lakes abounding in fish, and the land in game, and above all. a creek affording good water power. So in 1833 came Samuel Crosson and Henry Ward to build the first house near the proposed site of a grist and saw mill on Turkey Creek. Prior to this a dam had been erected across the outlet of Syracuse Lake and by 1836 a grist mill and saw mill on Turkey Creek, were in operation. “On July 28, 1835, a large part of the land on which Syracuse now stands was purchased by these two men from the U.S. government. Two years later the town was platted for them by a surveyor and was officially, acknowledged before a newly appointed justice of the peace August 11, 1837. “These two men were ambitious not to build up their fortunes by clearing the land and tilling the soil, but rather hoped to do it by serving and furnishing means of sustenance for their neighbors; and by the ‘unearned increment' the settling up of the country would bring to their land.

"shore between the Blough and the George Metier cottages around 1905. It was beached on a promontory extending out in the lake, however, it was never used to any extent after this. The promontory was eventually dredged and used for fill.

“However, the lots sold slowly until 1845 when Crosson and Ward were forced to give up their land. For several years the lots sold for a few cents to a few dollars apiece. “About 1840 or 1841 the mill sank into the quick sands of the creek bed. Flood waters had weakened the dam and caused the destruction. Prior to 1846 a mill race was dug and a new mill erected at a new location. During this year the mill was enlarged and other industries began to locate. Besides two distilleries, an early industry was the manufacture of cowbells for shipment abroad. Barrel making was another industry, all of which have long since ceased to be. Naming Syracuse “And now as to the naming of Syracuse. A pioneer resident, one George Miles, in 1909 wrote a unique history of the town as he remembered it, and this is a paragraph from his account: And I wonder why they named their new town Syracuse; whether they came from the vicinity of Syracuse, N. Y., or had some knowledge of the city of that name in ancient Sicily, or whether they were prompted to do it as was the old lady who named her daughter Neuralgia because she thought it sounded pretty? “Tlie first public school was built on the hill in 1836. The

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Methodists began to organize about this time and in 1857 the Baptist started the first union Sunday school. In 1863, two Church of God missionaries came from Pennsylvania and established a large and thriving church. Two medical doctors settled in the town as early as 1835. Since disease in the form of ague (chills and fever j was the early settler’s greatest hardship, these doctors were needed to prescribe the only known remedies — quinine and calomel — outside of the native herbs. Today our community rates high in healthfulness. “The first cooking stove in the town was set up in the kitchen of the James DeFreese family in 1846. In the same year, a box stove was installed in the school house. What a luxury! “In 1836 a death occurred in the town, so Samuel Crosson dutifully donated an acre of ground for a cemetery just west of what had been fixed upon as the town plat. It has grown around these pioneer graves. “When the town was 30 years old, there were 12 acres of improved lots and 200 residents. “In order to eliminate the barnyard from Main street and to control the liquor business, a petition in incorporate the town was drawn up in September 1876 with 65 voters favoring it. An election was held the following

November 20 for the first town officials. Evan Miles was first president. His son-in-law Edwin Forrest Holloway, a most talented man of penmanship, was first clerk “The Baltimore and Ohio railroad built its line from a point in Ohio to Chicago through the town in September 1874, the first train was run over the road. Imagine the excitement ! The town had 490 inhabitants. Greatest Boom “The greatest boom to our town came in 1900 when a cement factory located here, taking marl form the Syracuse lake bed as a base for the product. This business flourished for a number of years until 1920 when the marl was exhausted ...” The article continues as it mentions the three fires in 1901, 1925 and 1946, wiping out the same block on Main street. The unknown author tells of the 100th anniversary observance on October 5 and 6, 1935 when residents celebrated the founding of the town. He also tells of the improvements made in Syracuse over the years. He or she closes the article with the following, “but the main attraction for the town remains the beautiful lakes, Syracuse, Wawasee and Papakeechie and their recreational advantages.” All we can add is Amen!