Lusk Home and Mill Site

Infobox_nrhp | name =Lusk Home and Mill Site
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Marshall, Indiana
lat_degrees = 39 | lat_minutes = 53 | lat_seconds = 29.35 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 87 | long_minutes = 11 | long_seconds = 8.23 | long_direction = W
locmapin = Indiana
area =
built =1826
architect= Britton,J.A.
architecture= Greek Revival, Federal
added = October 29, 1974
governing_body = State
refnum=74000017 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Lusk Home and Mill Site was the first Euro-American development in present Turkey Run State Park, Indiana's second oldest state park.

Vermonter Salmon Lusk was awarded this land for serving in the Battle of Tippecanoe under William Henry Harrison. The Lusk's werely largely self-sufficient. Captain Lusk built a log cabin in 1822, and lived there with his spouse, and eight children lived until 1841. Then he and his sons made bricks, carved walnut woodwork, and built the brick house. He dug a coal mine to heat his house. Lusk built a gristmill in 1826 with a foundation of stone-cut stone. A horizontal waterwheel was powered by water diverted by a dam down a race. A settlement grew around Lusk's house and mill, until a Sugar Creek flood on New Year's Day, 1847 washed away every building except Lusk's brick house. Salmon Lusk's wife lived there until 1880, when John Lusk inherited the property. He was inactive managing the site except for preventing woodcutting.

After John Lusk died in 1915, the property was put up for sale. A logging company, Hoosier Veneer, paid $30,000.00 for the site. Richard Lieber and the State Parks Commission raised $40,000.00 to buy the land from the lumber company after last minute support from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on November 11, 1916. The Lusk parcel was the first land obtained for Turkey Run State Park.

The Lusk Home is open for tours during the summer. [ [http://www.countyhistory.com/parke/ourstories/022.htm Captain Salmon Lusk ] ] There is a fee for parking vehicles within the state park, but visitors may avoid the fee by parking on a nearby public road, and walking to the Lusk Home. The coal mine is a bat habitat today. [ [http://www.in.gov/dnr/reclamation/protect_resources/bats/index.html Division of Reclamation - Protect Resources, Bats and Mines ] ] This is farther inside the park, so visitors must negotiate Turkey Run's rugged hiking trails to gain access to avoid fees.

ee also

* Arch in the Town of Marshall
* Richard Lieber Log Cabin, within Turkey Run State Park
* Beeson Covered Bridge
* Parke County Covered Bridges
* List of Registered Historic Places in Indiana
* Parke County Covered Bridge Festival

References