Vawter Park is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of shoreline and nearby neighborhoods located on the south shore of Lake Wawasee,

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 ...

, United States.

History

Vawter Park is located near N. Southshore Drive and E. Vawter Park Road. It was plotted in 1887 by

John Terrell Vawter John Terrell Vawter was an American businessman-banker from Franklin, Indiana, Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. He was the half-uncle of an architect of the same name, Major John Terrell Vawter (architect), ...

born in

Vernon, Indiana Vernon is a town within Vernon Township and the county seat of Jennings County, Indiana, United States. With a population of 318 in the 2010 census, it is the smallest town with that designation in the state of Indiana, lying just south of the ...

, in 1830. John Vawter was in the retail

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

business in Franklin, Indiana, and later got involved in

meat packing The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...

and was prominent among bankers, becoming a director and stockholder in a national bank in Franklin. In 1886 Vawter went to his farm on the almost completely unsettled southern shore of the lake to reside.

Vawter Park Hotel

Around 1888, the Vawter Park Hotel was constructed and was followed by a row of

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s extending to the southeast of the hotel. The hotel is said to have been built and furnished with

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

gentility. Those settling in this area were Ovid Butler of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Charles A. Sudlow of Indianapolis, Oran Dunn, Dr. Grayston, E.C. Miller, James C. Norris, the Fargo family, an E.C. Miller. In 1918 or 1919 Vawter Park Hotel burned to the ground. Around 1920 a new hotel was built on the site only to burn down between 1920 and 1925. The South Shore Inn would take its place in subsequent years.

Indiana University Biological Station

A biological research station operated by

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

was active just north of Vawter Park Village. This research station was involved in hydrographic mapping and the

bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water de ...

of Wawasee prior to 1895.Indiana Purdue Univ., Hydrology map 1895
/ref>

South Shore Inn

The South Shore Inn was a hotel built on the site of the old Vawter Park Hotel. It was a 2-story, 60-room building with a large central semi-circular veranda facing the lake with wings off to both sides. The south end had a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

and restaurant. The hotel had sidewalks descending a series of grass terraces with two goldfish ponds near the seawall flanking the sidewalk. During the great 1943 storm, it took in survivors nearly drown by 6 and waves. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the hotel attracted visitors and patrons with a water ski jumping show. The South Shore Inn caught fire in the early morning hours of October 29, 1964. Fire departments from Syracuse, nearby North Webster and

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

responded. By 3:53 am the South Shore lay in complete ruin. Loss of the structure was estimated at $250,000. The property lay abandoned for several years eventually becoming

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s. The location was just north of N. Southshore Drive and E. Vawter Park Road.

Sources

* Lilly, Eli. Early Wawasee Days. Indianapolis: Studio Press Inc., 1960. (most text). {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Indiana Geography of Kosciusko County, Indiana History of Kosciusko County, Indiana