Vawter Park Village

Coordinates: 41°23′14″N 85°41′30″W / 41.38722°N 85.69167°W / 41.38722; -85.69167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

1910 map of Lake Wawasee displaying Vawter Park area.

Vawter Park is an unincorporated area[1] of shoreline and nearby neighborhoods located on the south shore of Lake Wawasee, Indiana, United States.

History

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

meat packing 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.[2]

Vawter Park Hotel

Around 1888, the Vawter Park Hotel was constructed and was followed by a row of cottages extending to the southeast of the hotel. The hotel is said to have been built and furnished with Victorian era gentility. Those settling in this area were Ovid Butler of Indianapolis, 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 was active just north of Vawter Park Village. This research station was involved in hydrographic mapping and the bathymetry of Wawasee prior to 1895.[3][4]

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

condominiums
. 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).

41°23′14″N 85°41′30″W / 41.38722°N 85.69167°W / 41.38722; -85.69167