Vawter Park Village facts for kids
Vawter Park is a small community located right on the southern shore of Lake Wawasee in Indiana, United States. It's a beautiful lakeside area with homes and neighborhoods.
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Vawter Park's Beginnings
Vawter Park is found near N. Southshore Drive and E. Vawter Park Road. This area was first planned out in 1887 by a man named John Terrell Vawter. He was born in Vernon, Indiana, in 1830.
John Vawter was a very successful person. He started in the business of selling medicines in Franklin, Indiana. Later, he got involved in packaging meat and became an important banker. He was a director and owner in a national bank in Franklin. In 1886, Mr. Vawter moved to his farm on the southern shore of Lake Wawasee, which was mostly empty back then.
The First Vawter Park Hotel
Around 1888, the first Vawter Park Hotel was built. After the hotel, a row of small vacation homes, called cottages, were built stretching out from the hotel. People said the hotel was built and decorated in a fancy style, typical of the Victorian era.
Many people started to settle in this area. Some of the early residents included Ovid Butler from Indianapolis, Charles A. Sudlow, Oran Dunn, Dr. Grayston, E.C. Miller, James C. Norris, and the Fargo family.
Sadly, the Vawter Park Hotel burned down in 1918 or 1919. Around 1920, a new hotel was built on the same spot. But this second hotel also burned down sometime between 1920 and 1925. Later, another famous hotel, the South Shore Inn, would be built there.
Indiana University's Research Station
Just north of where Vawter Park Village is today, there was a special science station. This station was run by Indiana University and focused on biological research. Before 1895, scientists at this station were busy mapping the lake. They studied its water and measured how deep different parts of Lake Wawasee were.
The South Shore Inn
The South Shore Inn was a large hotel built where the old Vawter Park Hotel used to stand. It was a two-story building with 60 rooms. It had a big, curved porch facing the lake, with sections extending out on both sides. The southern part of the hotel had a restaurant.
The hotel had sidewalks that went down a series of grassy steps towards the lake. Near the lake wall, there were two ponds filled with goldfish.
A Storm and a Show
During a very big storm in 1943, the South Shore Inn helped many people. Waves as tall as 6 or 7 feet (about 2 meters) crashed into the shore. The hotel took in survivors who were almost drowned by the huge waves.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the hotel was a popular place. It attracted many visitors with its exciting water ski jumping shows.
The Fire of 1964
The South Shore Inn caught fire early in the morning on October 29, 1964. Firefighters from Syracuse, North Webster, and Milford rushed to help. By 3:53 AM, the South Shore Inn was completely destroyed. The damage was estimated to be about $250,000.
The property was left empty for several years after the fire. Eventually, it was turned into condominiums, which are like apartments that people own. This location was just north of N. Southshore Drive and E. Vawter Park Road.
