Turkey Run State Park recently joined a number of state park properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation recognizes the park’s unique cultural value to Indiana as well as its national history. The park had to meet specific criteria to be listed on the register including its significance, age, and integrity.
To be considered for the National Register, the property must be associated with events, activities or developments – as well as with the lives of people – that were important in the past. For Turkey Run, that was its association with Parke County recreation and its intact state park architecture. Generally listings on the register are at least 50 years old and look much the way they did in the past.
The Lusk Home at Turkey Run was already listed on the register, but this new listing includes more. The historic district starts north of Sugar Creek, to Narrows Road on the east, to State Road 47 on the south and Cox Ford Road on the west. Trails and the Lusk Home are the farthest north resources and Ford Covered Bridge is the farthest west.
Pokagon, Mounds, Shakamak and Fort Harrison state parks already have historic districts within their boundaries. Other individual buildings listed within state parks include the Stanley Schoolhouse at Chain O’Lakes State Park and Tepicon Hall at Tippecanoe River State Park, among others.
Turkey Run’s state and national register certificates will be presented to property representatives at the State Fair in August.
Turkey Run State Park (on.IN.gov/turkeyrunsp) is at 8121 E. Park Road, Marshall.