the car, loaded by Henry Schnell at Mentor. The hogs became hot and would scatter into the horseweeds and search for water.When we got there one big 340 pounder lay down and died. We both rode the big, black horse home and I received three quarters.
The house was a beautiful two story T with one part extending toward the front with a portico above trimmed with fancy wood decorations. The farm was sold to Hiram Gattfried and his wife, the former Anna Limp and here were born three sons, Virgil, William and Arthur. They sold the farm to a widow and her son Felix. She was Martha Whittinghill that I shall write about when I tell of that farm near Elon. Felix died here and later the beautiful home burned and the farm became the property of Naomi Clark.
Next from the creek there is a small inlet that leads to the east. The present owner of the farm taken by this inlet is now owned by Hollis Wininger and his wife Grace. The first owner was James Pinnick, others were Clad Murray and John Bufford. The farms belonging to Chester Dillard,Fredonia Pruitt, Ben Seng on the north and east will be taken for the lake and park but those on the south will still be in private hands
On toward the south is an interesting farm first owned by Conrad Gattfried and his wife Catherine (Lawrence). Here still stands the typical pioneer home probably built 150 years ago of hewed logs. It has the long porch extending all across the front. Here they reared a large family. A son, Peter Gattfred and his wife Laura
Limp next owned the farm and then their son, Jacob is the present owner. This farmer and his predecessors were noted for their good corn crops and good livestock. They had the best Durham Dairy and beef cattle. It was on this farm that in the early days a Mr. Wells operated a water mill and the old wheel and burrs were found there. (can be seen in the yard) Across from this house to the west is the Dr. Coble farm which will not be a part of the park.
The next farm now owned by the Knies brothers and Ralph Norman and extending from the Gattfried farm is one of the most fertile and historic ones. In the early 1900’s when I was a boy of ten this was called the Depaw Woods or land. It was really a primitive forrest with very large Sycamore, oak, elm, walnut, beech, sugar and other kinds of trees. Ginseng, yellow root, blood root, mayapple and other herbs were abundant. It was the limberlost of Dubois County. A muddy, shady, winding road led through it and past to the east at a little farm house that had been made into a little country general store by a Mr. Bradley.The people gave it the name Bradleyville. The young men of the community enjoyed going there on Sundays and buying all his candy, cheese and crackers so that his shelves were bare.This Depaw land had been deeded to the school by a McFall family.About 1904 the school sold the land and timber to a lumber and sawmill owner for a large sum.He established a typical lumber camp that existed three years. It attracted many rough characters that played cards, fought one another, bet on their skill in moving big logs out of the creek and frequented the saloons at Birdseye. . . .