Monroe Lake Open Houses To Highlight Salt Creek Valley Cemeteries, Sept. 10 And 11

Monroe Lake will dive into the history of several local cemeteries during two open houses. The events are part of Salt Creek Valley History Week, a celebration of the Salt Creek Valley’s past that runs Sept. 10 – 16.

The first open house on Sept. 10 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. will share information on three small cemeteries that are located south of Monroe Lake in Hoosier National Forest and named after the Hays family. The open house will be at the Paynetown Activity Center, 4850 S. State Road 446 in Bloomington. 

If you have photos, documents, stories, or other records pertaining to people buried in one of the Hays cemeteries, Monroe Lake naturalist Jill Vance encourages you to bring them to contribute to the park’s history. Vance will be able to digitally scan items during the open house, so you can keep your original records.

On Sept. 11 from 10 – 11:30 a.m., Monroe Lake will host a second open house, “Before the Water Rose”, at the Allens Creek Cemetery at 7650 E. Allens Creek Road in Bloomington.

When Monroe Lake was constructed, seven cemeteries were relocated to create the Allens Creek Cemetery. Attendees can walk through the cemetery sections with Vance to learn about where these cemeteries were originally located, how they were moved, and hear stories about some of the people buried there.

Susan Snider Salmon, a trained headstone restorer, will demonstrate the proper technique for safely cleaning historic grave markers. Attendees can also talk with Kel McBride, a cemetery coordinator with the Monroe County History Center, who will share the best techniques for photographing gravestone details.

For further information on these open houses, as well as a list of other programs scheduled during Salt Creek Valley History Week, see bit.ly/SCVhistoryweek2022.

Both open houses are free to attend; however, an entrance fee of $7 per vehicle with Indiana license plate and $9 per vehicle with out-of-state plate applies for Paynetown SRA.

Questions should be directed to the Paynetown Activity Center at (812) 837-9967 or email [email protected].

To view more DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.