Spring Mill State Park, Indiana

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Just a bit south of Bloomington, Indiana is an interesting little place to visit, Spring Mill State Park. There's a quaint little historic village with a three story watermill (pictured above) and a bunch of other neat old buildings to explore, as well as the Gus Grissom Memorial with a Gemini 3 space capsule, a nature center, campgrounds, and caves. I was only there on a day trip so this post is just about the village and it's environs.

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Inside the watermill are exhibits telling about the history of the area and how life was like in times past there. One of the interesting things that I learned inside the mill was that the area that is now the park was rebuilt/restored by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) back during the Great Depression, most having fallen into a poor state of repair by that point in time.

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Shelves inside the Apothecary Shop

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Entrances to the gardens and some of the stone walls that surround it

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I call this the brain flower, anybody know its actual name? One of the many lovely flowers growing in the garden

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The 'Lower Residence' with the mill pictured earlier in the background

A spring from one of the caves in the park is the source of water that powers the grist mill.

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The aforementioned spring

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The flue that carries the spring to the waterwheel that powers the grist mill, alongside the old distillery building

This last photo is of the community meeting house, where everyone would gather for festivities or community events. I'd give y'all a little more history on the place but I only had a few hours to explore and I spent most of that taking photos instead of reading the exhibits. I wish I had had more time, it's a lovely place to spend a few days (there's also a lake in the park to play in) but circumstances conspired against me. If you're ever looking for something to do in Indiana and have a few hours to kill, drop by and take a gander!

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Spring Mill State Park, Indiana | Ecency