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BRI's
headquarters, the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead, is now on the National Register
of Historic Places.
The
listing comes 16 years after Daisy Hinkle Garton had her beloved family
farm placed on the State Register, prompted by a proposal to widen East
Tenth Street that would have destroyed trees and encroached into her front
yard.
Cynthia
Brubaker, the consultant who prepared the state nomination 16 years ago,
did the National Register nomination. The work was funded primarily by the Bloomington Historic
Preservation Commission. Brubaker is a long-time BRI member and former
board president.
The
farmstead dates to 1886. John Henry and Laura Ann Rawlins Hinkle built
their Queen Anne style home in 1892. The Hinkle’s built a smaller, Free
Classic style home on the property around 1910 for their son, Henry Ernest
Hinkle, and his wife, Bertha Elizabeth Rogers. Three children resulted from
this union with two surviving into adulthood, Daisy Estella Hinkle and John
Henry Hinkle, Jr.
It was
Daisy and her husband, Joseph Nathan Garton, who were the last residents of
the property prior to it passing to BRI in December 2004.
The site
received its National Register listing based on two areas of significance:
its architectural and agricultural contributions. As an intact group of
farm buildings from the Queen Anne era, it is the only such group in Bloomington and one of the few in Monroe County.
Now 11.08 acres, the farmstead includes a Midwest
three-portal dairy barn, grain crib, early garage, and blacksmith shed. It
is surrounded by mature trees and plantings, including remnants of Henry’s
popular flower business. At its peak, the farmstead had 82 acres.
BRI’s offices occupy the second floor of the main
house. The first floor has museum exhibit and public program space. The
space can be rented for meetings and special events. BRI members receive a
10% discount on rentals.
Re-creation
of the historic vegetable garden and reclamation of the remaining flower
beds are some of the projects underway outside. The house is open for
visitation the last Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. For more
information call BRI at 812-336-0909 or see the farmstead pages of this
website.
The
National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s list of cultural
resources worthy of historic preservation.
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