Posted September 27, 200816 yr Bristol, Indiana and Bonneyville Mill Park Bristol stands at the intersection of two state highways just a stone's throw from the Indiana Toll Road. Truck traffic through the town is relentless, possibly because Indiana 120 is a favored route for truckers wanting to avoid tolls. Bristol has its charms and sweet spots and some contrasts. Have a look around, and see what you think. 1953 Masonic Temple hosts a sporting goods store on the first floor. In the 1830s Edward Bonney established a grist mill and sawmill on the Little Elkhart River, planning to grow a thriving community along what promised to become a major transportation route. The transportation didn't evolve according to his expectations, and he sold the business and became a tavern keeper. Later he was accused of counterfieting and fled the area. The mill was equipped with a turbine that allowed it to produce more power with less water flow and pressure than a vertical wheel, but the stone buhr mills were never replaced with the more efficient steel roller mills introduced in the 1880s. Bonneyville Mill still grinds flour with stone mills, and the mill and its surroundings are an Elkhart County Park. Lucid Energy Technologies, of Goshen, Indiana, has installed a generator driven by a Gorlov Helical Turbine in a duct mounted to the dam's bypass gate. The generator wasn't operating when I was there.
September 28, 200816 yr This is a very cute house, done in a pattern that I have yet to see. Great work as always Rob!
September 28, 200816 yr Small town report card: Bristol, IN Gazebo +1 Historic marker +1 "Historic" street lights +1 Angled Main Street parking +1 Masonic Temple or IOOF Lodge +1 Curves +1 Barber shop with pole +1 (next to Curves) No Subway -1 No cool churches or town hall -1 (-2 if that garage with a cross on it is a church) Total Score: +5 Nice Job Rob! You're on a roll...
September 28, 200816 yr Wow Rob, you are rolling them out lately! Great little town! Bristol has contrasts, from tattoed, gun-totin' Harley-riders to the man honored with the gazebo and memorial plaque. I never knew him, but I doubt if he hung out much at the gun shop or the tattoo parlor, and the plaque doesn't mention a loud motorcycle. Less than ten years ago Bristol's quaint little downtown had little commercial activity and was getting down-at-the-heels. I was quite surprised at the turnaround. Bristol is home turf for Mike Montagano, the young attorney who hopes to unseat Congressman Mark Souder this time around. I think I've mostly caught up with recent travels, and I'll probably take some time off from creating new threads in order to attend to maintenance on my own sites. www.robertpence.com is way overdue for some TLC. This is a very cute house, done in a pattern that I have yet to see. Great work as always Rob! That was a new one on me, too. I thought at first that someone might have gotten inventive with vinyl, but I got up close and then zoomed in on it, and it sure looks like real wood, and somewhat worn at that. I think it's the real deal. Small town report card: Bristol, IN Gazebo +1 Historic marker +1 "Historic" street lights +1 Angled Main Street parking +1 Masonic Temple or IOOF Lodge +1 Curves +1 No Subway -1 No cool churches or town hall -1 (-2 if that garage with a cross on it is a church) Total Score: +4 Nice Job Rob! You're on a roll... Bristol was the wrap-up of a three-day road trip that included doctors' appointments in Chicago, and I was wearing down by then. I think there was an old church, but I just didn't get to it. There was a contemporary United Methodist Church that looked very well maintained with good landscaping, and the brick building in the photo just after the tattoo parlor is being renovated into their community-outreach center as a replacement for the boarded-up red garage building with the cross. I don't know about a town hall; it may have been in the dark red house in the first couple of photos, but I'm not sure about that. Two local cafes > Subway.
September 28, 200816 yr Wonderful photos, Rob! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 28, 200816 yr nice job -- the mill is very interesting. and it's hard not what a 100% beautiful day that was.
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