Avoca Park

Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township, is a recreation area in Lawrence County, Indiana that includes walking, hiking trails and picnic areas. Open year-round, dawn until dusk.

Avoca Park and Recreation
Previously known as Avoca State Fish Hatchery
1823 house
Avoca Park is located in Indiana
Avoca Park
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Avoca Park
Location3178 Avoca-Eureka Road Avoca, Indiana 47420
Nearest townAvoca, Indiana
Coordinates38°54′25.79″N 86°32′31.19″W
Area43 acres (17 ha)
Established2020
Operated byAvoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township

The park consists of approximately 43 acres (17 ha) of land including forests, 13 ponds, three buildings and a cemetery dating back to the Civil War.

The property has 13 earthen ponds fed by a natural spring. Grass levees circle each of the ponds providing a winding path around all the ponds. Wooded hiking paths allow access to the Civil War Cemetery and a WPA stone overlooks. A gravel path along a Works Progress Administration (WPA) built stone wall leads to the shelter house that overlooks the ponds.

A two-story colonial-style house built in 1823 sits near the spring. Stone structures, walls and a stone overlook, built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), give hikers a view of the old hatchery grounds.

History

A grist mill was constructed by a man named Fitzpatrick in 1819 and was later purchased by the Hamer brothers, two of the first settlers in Avoca, Indiana. Thomas Hamer.[1] and his 4 sons were pioneer settlers in the area including, Spring Mill State Park,[2] located 30 miles south of Avoca, where they lived and operated a still working grist mill. The mill was made possible by a spring-fed turbine water-wheel fitted with three sets of buhr stones to grind wheat, corn, and chop feed. In 1823, they built a two-story house on the property. The house later became an inn, stagecoach way station, post office, grocery store and finally the DNR property manager's residence. It was last renovated in 1923.

The property was purchased by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from Hayden Bridwell in 1919 and construction of fish hatchery ponds began in 1923. A service building was built in 1924.

The National Youth Administration was stationed at Avoca Fish Hatchery from 1935 to 1942 . During that period the improvements to Avoca Fish Hatchery was one of the longest National Youth Administration projects.[3] The National Youth Administration built the shelter house with limestone walls and a limestone fireplace.

The hatchery stocked Indiana's waters with largemouth bass, bluegill, red-eared sunfish and black crappie for years until Indiana DNR began the process of decommissioning in 2013 and it fell into disrepair.[4] During operation, the hatchery produced 500,000 to 1 million fish.[5]

In 2014, when the state and county had no interest in maintaining the property,[6] Bedford, Indiana Mayor Shawna Girgis tasked Bedford Parks and Recreation Director, Barry Jeskewich,[7] to develop a strategy to preserve this historic property for public use. Barry Jeskewich partnered with Dr. James Farmer and select students of Indiana University to conduct a feasibility study of the property.[8] The project was a collaboration between the IU students in SPH-0305: Integrated Resource Management and Avoca State Fish Hatchery as part of the 2017-2018 Indiana University Sustaining Hoosier Communities initiative within the IU Center for Rural Engagement.[9]

In 2019, Girgis and Jeskewich partnered with local forester, Sam Bond to establish the Lawrence County Park Foundation. Later that year, the group was awarded a $125,000 grant from the Regional Opportunity Initiative Inc, to preserve this beloved green space for the surrounding Town of Avoca and the Lawrence County community. Marshal Township has approved a tax levy that will help generate some revenue to help maintain park grounds.[10]

With the stewardship of Sam Bond and the Marshall Township Trustees, the citizens approved the establishment of the Marshall Township Park Board, thus allowing governance to receive the property from the State of Indiana in 2020. Avoca Park became Lawrence County's first public park, featuring a 1.5 mile loop trail, picnic tables, green spaces, a rentable shelter and event spaces.

Avoca State Fish Hatchery was renamed Avoca Park and Recreation and is now in the hands of the Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township[11]

  • Avoca Park Civil war cemetery
    Avoca Park Civil war cemetery
  • Avoca Park WPA stone wall
    Avoca Park WPA stone wall
  • Avoca Park 1823 house built by the Hamer brothers
    Avoca Park 1823 house built by the Hamer brothers
  • Avoca Park National Youth Administration built stone shelter house
    Avoca Park National Youth Administration built stone shelter house
  • Avoca Park 1823 house
    Avoca Park 1823 house
  • Avoca Park Creek and Falls
    Avoca Park Creek and Falls
  • Avoca Park WPA built bridge
    Avoca Park WPA built bridge
  • Avoca Park earthen pond once used as fish hatchery
    Avoca Park earthen pond once used as fish hatchery

References
  1. "Collection: Spring Mill State Park collection | ArchivesSpace Public Interface". archives.isl.lib.in.us. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  2. Parks, State (2021-01-29). "Spring Mill State Park". State Parks. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  3. "Avoca State Fish Hatchery Shelter House and Stone Works - Avoca IN". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  4. "Avoca Fish Hatchery to close". The Times-Mail. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  5. Tribune-Star, Howard Greninger /. "State brings thousands of Indiana-raised fish to Maple Ave. park". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. Staff, Indiana Public Media News. "DNR Phasing Out Avoca Fish Hatchery". news-2013 - Indiana Public Media. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  7. Raines, Bill (2019-07-11). "Acquistion [sic] of Avoca Fish Hatchery Still in Progress | WBIW". Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  8. Indiana University (January 1, 2018). "IU 2017-2018 Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  9. "Lawrence County". Center for Rural Engagement. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  10. "Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township take delivery of lawn mowers | WBIW". 12 April 2021.
  11. Raines, Bill (2020-11-09). "Ham & Bean Supper Raised Funds To Support Marshall Township Park & Picnic Area | WBIW". Retrieved 2021-09-27.
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