I’m calling this a ruined whatsis because I can’t determine what the building’s original purpose was. It looks a bit like it might have been a firehouse. Or a library. Or a school. Or a municipal government building. There is a plaque on one side of the tower that bears the names of — presumably — the individuals responsible for its construction. This makes me assume it was built by or for a government entity — town, township, county, what-have-you. It’s dated “1913,” which makes me believe it’s roughly contemporaneous to much of the turn-of-the-twentieth-century municipal development in Indiana. I’m told that there are many buildings the like and from the same time frame all over the state.
Toni and I encountered this gem of derelict structures in October or November of 2022 as we returned back down Indiana State Route 1 from Grand Lake St. Marys to Southwest Ohio and home. This August, we found it again during a wander around eastern Indiana.
It’s visible from a good distance as you run down Route 1 at 55-60 MPH and the crossroad (South 200) is clearly visible, so it’s easy to get into a good position to shoot from the road. The county road is not heavily traveled and there is little habitation nearby, so you’re not likely to encounter other vehicles while sitting on the roadside, whether you shoot from the car or get out to walk for a better angle. The first time we saw it was late in the year — call it winter, if you will — soe the underbrush had either died back or been cut back. I can’t tell. Back in August was still high summer, so the underbrush was thick, as you can see, concealing the bulk and detail of the structure. The building stands in a large, open field and so there’s little to muddle the picture. Only having been there twice, I can’t say whether the field is cropped (though I’d imagine wheat or corn). It was empty both times we were there.
I’d intending to add all three images here — the earlier and the more-recent shots and the 2-card (for comparison) — in my Art Storefront as prints for sale.