Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Chinworth and Groninger bridges are being restored and will be part of the Lake City Greenway (bicycle and hiking) Trail that begins near Dewamac Park and the City-County Athletic Complex west of Warsaw on Old Road 30. The Chinworth Bridge is being preserved.
Proceeds from the Kosciusko County Historical Society's tours the past few years have gone toward the cost of the bridge's restoration. The bridge site plus six homes and a country club are listed on the 2004 county tour set for Sept. 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Long-time former chairman of the event Neal Carlson is assisting Maureen Hall, this year's chairman. Carlson said he has enjoyed chairing the event for the past six years and believes it is a worthwhile project.
"The purpose is to encourage historic preservation and through this project, the Historical Society is able to raise funds for restoration projects such as the Chinworth Bridge," he said.
There are six homes and the Tippecanoe Country Club open during on the tour. Tickets are available at the Old Jail Museum as well as at the main branches of the following banks: 1st Source, Lake City, Mutual Federal Savings & Loan, National City and Teachers Credit Union. Pre-sale tickets are $10, $12 the day of the tour. The rain date is Sept. 26.
The Kosciusko County Historical Society, organized in 1965, has its headquarters, genealogy section, library and museum in the former Kosciusko County Jail at 121 N. Indiana St., Warsaw. In the nearly 40 years of preserving Kosciusko County's history, the society membership has grown to approximately 300 members.
Many opportunities to volunteer are available, including assignments for the home tour. The home tour committee includes: Hall, Carlson, Kent and Nancy Adams, Sue Brennan, Dan Coplen, Elnora Cox, Mary Ettinger, Caroline Fawley, Jerry and Julia Frush, Avis Gunter, Jeanne Jones, Dorothy Poor, Tim and Nancy Shoemaker, Teresa Smith, Marge Warren and Jeanne Weirick. Tickets also are available from any of the committee members.
People who have opened their homes in previous years are active in helping with the project. Jerry Frush, whose home was on the 2003 tour, said he and his wife enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many people after all the preparation.
In addition to the 1987 bridge and the stylish 1926-built Tippecanoe Country Club, the former home of long-time Warsaw football coach and state representative George Fisher, now owned by Mike and Wendy Meck at 2889 E. CR 750N, Leesburg, is on the tour. The Greek Revival-style home dating to about 1850 owned by Joe and Myra Sands, 8162 N. CR 200E, Milford, is on land purchased by Samuel Stephenson from the U.S. government in 1834.
Two homes in the Clunette area include a home built in 1909, occupied for many years by Arthur and Lillian Anglin, being restored by recent owners Tom and Carolyn Robinson at 4355 W. CR 600N.
An 1871 house of Italianate design, the only house in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is owned by Mike and Jodie Hall, the sixth generation of the Hall family to live at the 3968 W. CR 600N address.
The tour includes two homes in Warsaw. Roger and Sharon Dinkel, 823 E. Center St., is the owner of the house built in the mid-1920s and home to several prominent people including the original owner, Allen Widaman, Dr. Hillary and Jerry Lessig, Sharon's father. The other Warsaw home belongs to Rebeccca Coplen, 751 E. Fort Wayne St., built in 1867 by Alfred Wilcox, who owned much of the land that is now the town of Winona Lake. In later years it was occupied by the Everett Rasor family.
