Frank M. Hohenberger photos courtesy The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
The Browning store, 1946.
hickory nuts, and walnuts were plentiful for families and neighbors. Women shared cuttings with each other to get herbs and flower beds established. They shared a healthy way of life, which was good since medical attention was several miles away. In the 1900s men traveled to nearby towns for employment so that children could be raised in the proverbial warm arms of the townsfolk and the natural beauty of the countryside. Jobs in manufacturing were had in Columbus at Cummins and Arvin. Surrounding Bloomington were many stone mills and quarries. Nashville had a limited number of service type jobs. Winter called for neighbors to donate labor to shovel out ditches to drain water from the roadways. Saturday nights in the summertime were the best. Merchants paid for a free outdoor movie in Freetown. Folks brought their surplus eggs and farm produce to sell and bought items they needed. Battery powered radios provided a news source until electricity was available in 1948. Employment could be found in construction work, or at Bessire Orchards and the Randsburg Tree Farms. The Bohall family made baskets. The Elkinsville school closed in 1958 and students then went to Van Buren School. The Van Buren High consolidated that same year with Nashville High School and the first combined class of seniors graduated in the spring of 1959 from Nashville High School. In the 1940s and early 1950s the growing communities of Bloomington and Indiana University required a greater water supply. Lake Lemon could not
cover the need, so the Department of Natural Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers decided to dam up Salt Creek in the area of Harrodsburg and make Lake Monroe, the state’s largest man-made lake. The first step was the Flood Control Act of 1944, which authorized construction for dams for flood control. Authorization by law was given on July 3, 1958 to start building the reservoir. Purchasing land and homes was started the following year. Lake Monroe and dam were built in 1960 and the lake started holding water in 1964. A memorial to the families who had to leave Elkinsville is at the old cemetery. It is engraved with this epitaph: That day we moved, we’ll never forget As goodbyes were said and the sun was set. Never again in these hills we’ll roam But in our hearts, this is always home. “May Our Enchanted Valley Give You Peace” Elkinsville is located 18 miles from Nashville, south of the Brown County State Park. Taking State Road135 to Story, it becomes the Elkinsville Road at the Story Inn. Since 1987, former residents’ families and friends come back to Elkinsville for a reunion held at the foot of Browning Mountain. Heritage and nostalgia are the order of the day and a table-bending pitch-in supper to please all tastes. Recommended reading for those wishing to learn more about Elkinsville: County of Brown, Indiana,1884, by Weston Arthur Goodspeed. Elkinsville, Indiana The Town That Was, 2000, by Robert Cross, Oliver and Nancy Deckard. The Dusty Road Leads to Elkinsville, 2002, by Robert E. Cross.
Brown County
History Center Displays and Exhibits
Pioneer Village Museum
Bringing Brown County’s Past to Life
Looking for event space? or more info 812-988-2899 Open Thurs.–Sun. 11–4, Archives: Tues. and Fri. 1–4 North of the courthouse • Donations welcome
Sept./Oct. 2018 • Our Brown County 57
