Farmstead
The farmstead structures are arranged to represent a farmstead typical of the 1900 era and are original to Parke County. This project was made possible by a $82,000.00 grant given by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana. The elbow work and dedication that accompanied the grant came from the Charles Bradfield family of Montezuma, Indiana. Charles Bradfield himself was a founding father of Billie Creek Village; and together with his family (and Lilly endowment funds) laid brick sidewalks, wallpapered rooms and virtually created everything you see here today.
The farmhouse was originally located on U.S. 36 East of Bellmore, Indiana, on the South side of the road. The Wallace Stokes family of Urbana, Illinois, donated the home to the Village in the mid-1970's. It was moved to the Village in three sections by the Elmer Buchta firm of Southern Indiana. Also included in the farmstead are a petting pen, corncrib, poultry yard, orchard, log barn, lye soap shed, springhouse, and an outhouse.
The formal dedication of the farmstead was on July 10, 1976. Then Lt. Governor Robert Orr delivered the principle address. The farmhouse is a center of constant activity. Geese honk, cats run, mule rides depart, lye soap brews and the quality of rural life is a constant reminder of why the founders of Billie Creek Village included the Farmstead as a central part of a living village museum.
Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge
The Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge, #25 on the Parke County Bridge Map and #14-61-25 according to the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, was built in 1899 by J. A. Britton. It is of Burr Arch construction and at 72 feet long is the longest of the three Village covered bridges. It is 16 feet wide and has a clearance of 14 feet.
It originally crossed the Leatherwood Creek northwest of Rockville. In the late 1970's it was condemned as being unsafe for public traffic. Thanks to a joint effort by Parke County, Inc. and Billie Creek Village it was dismantled and moved here to the Village in 1981. It now has been restored and is the centerpiece of our mule-pulled excursion ride which departs from the farmhouse.
Sorghum Mill and Cider Shack
The cider press is of the 1890 vintage and is powered by a 1920's vintage, one cylinder gasoline engine. A mixture of sweet and tart apples is fed into the hopper on top of the press where they are ground into pulp. The pulp then goes into small slatted barrels lined with burlap bags where it is squeezed to extract the juice which is collected in a bucket. After it is squeezed the cider is strained and it is ready to use.
Sorghum is a crop which looks a lot like corn until the seed heads appear. The crop is planted from mid May until the first of June and requires about the same fertilization as corn. When the sorghum is ready to harvest (from mid September to mid October) the leaves are striped off with long wooden sticks and the seed heads are cut off. The stalks are then cut and taken to the sorghum press. The sorghum press is powered by one horse or mule and has three large steel rollers which squeeze the juice from the stalks. The juice is then taken to the evaporator where it is boiled down to a golden brown color. When the right consistency is reached it is taken off the evaporator, filtered, bottled and ready for use.
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