Spring Mill State Park is a state park in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 ...

. The park is located to the south of Bloomington, about east of the city of

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

on Indiana Highway 60. It contains a settler's village, the Gus Grissom Memorial (with the accompanying

Gemini 3 Gemini 3 was the first crewed mission in NASA's Project Gemini and was the first time two American astronauts flew together into space. On March 23, 1965, astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young flew three low Earth orbits in their spacecraft, ...

space capsule), a nature's center, and campgrounds. The park is located on the Mitchell Karst Plain, which allowed the park's

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

and

sinkholes A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

to 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 the

Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages In ...

, which travels about into the cave. A portion of the park is

virgin timber An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, protected in the Donaldson Woods Nature Preserve. The Mitchell Karst Plain 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 the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

in 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

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

village can also be found in a valley in the park, featuring a historic

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

and 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, total, was purchased for the state park from a cement company for a single dollar.http://www.in.gov/dnr/3245.htm Official (Indiana) DNR Historical Timeline Constant flowing water allowed watermills to be erected anywhere. Restoration of the village was spearheaded by

Richard Lieber Richard Lieber (September 5, 1869 – April 15, 1944) was a German-American businessman who became the father of the Indiana state parks system. At his death, he could be considered the most powerful spokesman in the United States for the con ...

and 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 Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American engineer, pilot in the United States Air Force, and member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercur ...

, one of the original

Mercury Seven The Mercury Seven were the group of seven astronauts selected to fly spacecraft for Project Mercury. They are also referred to as the Original Seven and Astronaut Group 1. Their names were publicly announced by NASA on April 9, 1959; these sev ...

astronauts, who died in the

Apollo 1 Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was intended to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbita ...

accident. The memorial features the spacecraft from Grissom's

space flight, nicknamed by Grissom the ''

Molly Brown Margaret Brown (née Tobin; July 18, 1867 – October 26, 1932), posthumously known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", was an socialite, American socialite and philanthropist. She unsuccessfully encouraged the crew in Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic# ...

'' (after the play '' The 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 live snakes, 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 a ''

Rescue 911 ''Rescue 911'' is an American informational docudrama television series that premiered on CBS on April 18, 1989, and ended on August 27, 1996. The series was hosted by William Shatner and featured reenactments (and occasionally real footage) of e ...

'' segment that aired on October 17, 1989, about a man that became trapped and was later rescued in Donaldson Cave.

Gallery

Image:Spring Mill Inn.jpg, Spring Mill Inn Image:Spring Mill Gristmill.jpg, Water Mill at Spring Mill State Park Image:CabinSpringMill.jpg, Small village house overlooking north village garden in summer 2004. Image:Twincave.jpg, Twin Caves boat tour Image:AmishSpringMill.jpg, Amish family members walking through Spring Mill village Image:LeatherShopSpringMill.jpg, Village leather shop Image:Gemini3 Capsule.jpg, Gus Grissom's and

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

capsule, nicknamed ''Molly Brown''

References

Indiana Department of Natural Resource's official Web page
*

External links

Spring Mill State Park collection
Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library {{Authority control

Canyons and gorges of Indiana This category contains canyons in the U.S. state of Indiana. 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 ...

Civilian Conservation Corps in Indiana Grinding mills in Indiana State parks of Indiana Living museums in Indiana Mill museums in Indiana Museums in Lawrence County, Indiana Protected areas of Lawrence County, Indiana Nature centers in Indiana Bodies of water of Lawrence County, Indiana