Bear Branch, Indiana is one of those very small Indiana towns that you may have heard of but probably have never been to. It’s not a “Ghost Town” but it definitely was a much busier town in the past.
Original settler George French died in 1857 and is buried on a local farm. His two sons, Peter & John French are buried at the Olive Branch Cemetery just South of town.
Bear Branch and Pike Township are still very rural but over the years the township has been home to several general stores, a casket maker, several blacksmith shops, a telephone exchange, a flour and feed mill, two churches and at least 4 school houses.
Here’s what I’ve been able to find out...
A fairly large general stored last owned by Robert Turner stood at the Northeast corner of the Bear Branch intersection. It served as a grocery store, dry goods store, hardware store, telephone exchange and living quarters. A barber shop and pool table was located on the second floor. The store burned down in 1951. After the fire the Chevrolet dealership across the road was purchased and remodeled into a store. That store ran until the early 2000s and then sat vacant for years. It has recently been purchased but is no longer in use as a store.
The Kammon General Store was built on the south side of Bear Creek along Bear Creek Road by the Kammon Family. Word has it that this establishment held the first tavern license in the State of Indiana although it was and is so far out in the middle of nowhere, I’m not sure how the state even knew this place existed. The store carried groceries, dry goods, hardware and farm tools. Supplies were hauled in by wagon from the railroad that ran through Dearborn County. They also ran a horse drawn huckster wagon throughout the community selling groceries and delivering the mail. Business continued here until 1917 when the Kammon Family moved to Cross Plains, Indiana and purchased a flour mill built in 1906 and which still stands today. Once vacated the Kammon Store was used by many different families over the years as a private residence. The house still stands although the barn has collapsed.
Around 1846 a grist mill was operated in the area by Hugh Anderson. Later a flour and feed mill was run by Albert Pate. A saw mill was operated by Jack Rimstidt about 1/2 mile north of Bear Branch until the mid 1940s.
In 2024 the Bear Branch Supply Feed Mill is the only business in town and employs 6 people. It began in 1953 by Harry Althoff and Howard Wiesman and was named the AW Feed Mill. These 2 men operated the mill until 1998.
Prior to the feed mill John French made caskets at this site. Caskets were not made until after a death and then the casket would be constructed overnight to be ready the next morning.
Over the years at least three blacksmiths operated in the Bear Branch area. One by Will Selmeyer in 1920, John Althoff had a blacksmith shop across from the Freedom School and Henry Althoff also had a blacksmith shop at the north end of Cutter Road around 1950. This was the last blacksmith shop in the area.
A Good Templars Grange Hall stood at the northwest corner of Aberdeen Road and Cutter Road. Unfortunately it’s long gone now.
Albert Pate operated a flour and feed mill next to the current firehouse. This was originally a 3 story building cutdown to 1 story for use as a garage.
Two Cream Stations operated in the Bear Branch area in the 1950s by Mary Elder and Bertha Althoff.
The softball diamond was established in 1950 with organized leagues playing until 1983.
There were also 2 doctors in the Bear Branch area, Doctor Fuller and Doctor John Elder.
A Ghost Town
The Watts & Hart Families moved into the norther tip of Pike Township along Laughery Creek in the early 1800s. A small village soon formed at this location called Watts Mill. At this site there were 13 houses, the Bear Creek Baptist Church, a mill, a trading post, a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, a cooper shop and a broom maker. There were two cemeteries for the town, the Watts-Hart Cemetery and the Bear Creek Cemetery. In 1867 a church fire destroyed the Bear Creek Baptist Church. The town is completely gone but the mill race along the creek is still visible.
7 июн 2024
