Billie Creek Village was a 70-acre open-air

living history museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recre ...

and park, filled with 38 historical buildings and structures, and hundreds of antiques and artifacts. It is located at near Rockville, Adams Township, Parke County,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in the area known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World" for the county's 31

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

s. It was formed in 1964/1965 by residents of Parke County, and opened its doors in 1969. The group Parke County, Inc. helped to form it, and a separate group, Billie Creek Village, Inc, was formed for operating it. The village took its name from nearby Williams Creek. The buildings are from the turn of the century and range from an 1830s Log Cabin to the 1913 Schoolhouse. The Billie Creek Inn sits across the road, and as of 2012, is separate from Billie Creek Village.

Covered bridges at Billie Creek Village

The three covered bridges are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Beeson Covered Bridge The Beeson Covered Bridge originally crossed Roaring Creek, northwest of Marshall, Indiana, on County Road 216, in Washington Township, Parke County. The bridge was moved to its current location in Billie Creek Village in December 1979. Construc ...

Burr Arch The Burr Arch Truss—or, simply, Burr Truss or Burr Arch—is a combination of an arch and a ''multiple kingpost'' truss design. It was invented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, patented on April 3, 1817, and used in bridges, usually covered bridge ...

design built in 1906 * Billie Creek Covered Bridge

design built in 1895 *

Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge The Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge is a single span double Burr Arch Truss covered bridge structure that was built by J. A. Britton, Joseph A. Britton & Son in 1899. Originally it had sandstone abutments but when it was moved to Billie Creek ...

design built in 1899

Historical buildings at Billie Creek Village

*Beeson-DePlanty Cabin - built in 1830s *Billie Creek Village General Store *Billie Creek Village Bank - former pre-1900 post office *Blacksmith shop *Burr Mill *Chautaqua Pavilion *Covered Bridge Courier Office - print shop - *Dr. Rice's Office - built mid-1800s *Farmstead with log barn *Gaebler Building - built pre-1904 *Governor Wright home *Machinery Shed *Maple Syrup Camp *Refreshment Stand - built 1911 *Schoolhouse *Sorghum Mill and Cider Shack *St. Joseph's Catholic Church - built 1886 *Union Baptist Church

Events at Billie Creek

*School Days In May *Parke County Covered Bridge Bike Tour - May *

Parke County Covered Bridge Festival The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival is a fall festival which takes place in nine communities in Parke County, Indiana, United States. It celebrates the county's 31 covered bridges, and is attended by more than 2 million people each year. It b ...

- October *Civil War Days - July *Ice Cream Social - 4 July *Steam Harvest Days - sponsored by The Antique Power Association - September

Demise and Reopening

Billie Creek Village had funding issues more than once, and for several years. In 2012, the site was offered for auction with a bid in the range of $800,000 - $1.5 million. The next step was to divide the site into multiple parcels and listings to sell it piece-meal. In the summer of 2014, Billie Creek Village reopened with a Grand Reopening occurring on August 10, 2014. This revival did not last and it was again closed. Operational Management was purchased by Gregg Larson in April 2022. It is under this new management that Billie Creek is yet again open to the public for events and daily exploration through the village.

References

{{reflist

External links

Current Billie Creek Village Facebook pageOld Billie Creek Village websiteBillie Creek Inn websiteRoyal Inn (Formally Billie Creek Inn)
Museums in Parke County, Indiana Open-air museums in Indiana Museums established in 1964 1964 establishments in Indiana