This may be the epicenter of a wildly popular tourist attraction but you’d
never know it as you drive into town. One minute you’re on a shaded highway,
the next minute you’re in town. Nary a sign announces that you have arrived.
Heck, there’s not even a billboard or neon sign, residents proudly point
out.
But that lack of pretense does not mean that there is any lack of Hoosier
hospitality.
And, indeed, each weekend the streets of Nashville (Pop. 873) are clogged
with hordes of strolling shoppers in search of handmade treasures in this
historic artist’s colony about an hour’s drive south of Indianapolis.
The original artists, of course, are long gone, but their inspiration lives
on in the scenic views that make up the pitched and leafy landscape that
comprise Brown County.
Among all of Indiana’s popular tourist destinations — Indianapolis, Amish
country in northeastern Nappanee, the covered bridges of south-central Parke
County, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, to name a few — Brown County is
arguably the leader. The scenic state park just outside of town attracts 3.5
million visitors each year.
Almost a century ago, the area was largely unsettled and the unspoiled
natural setting attracted numerous painters who founded what is often called
the Hoosier Group of regional impressionists. These artists, much like today’s
tourists, came from big cities, including Chicago, in search of nature.
We decided to follow in those historic footsteps during a recent weekend
jaunt by searching for the area’s artistic roots among the country crafts,
angel memorabilia and clanging wind chimes that fill the stores.
We began our pilgrimage by staying — where else? — at the Artists Colony
Inn, a bustling destination located at the corner of Van Buren and Franklin
Streets in the heart of town.
The Artists Colony Inn is not original, but it is a decent re-creation of
the past, the kind of place where, perhaps, artists might have stayed in their
day. The dining room is adorned with a massive stone fireplace, the floors are
wide planks with square nails, and the guest rooms are decorated with
Colonial-style lamps and pegs for clothing.
Befitting its name, each room is an homage to an early artist.
Hung on the wall in our room was a tribute complete with photos to one
Adolph Robert Shulz, an early settler and artist who had studied in Chicago,
New York, Paris and Germany.
Shulz made his way to Brown County by rail and foot. A nature lover, he had
heard about the area by reading an article in a Chicago newspaper. But once he
got south of Indianapolis, he had to walk much of the rest of the way because
there were no road through the hills.
Appropriately inspired and armed with a good night’s sleep, we began our
search for artists on Saturday, the morning after we arrived.
We started with a visit to the Brown County Art Guild and Gallery, housed
near the inn in a historic building.
Here, one can find good examples on canvas of good art that has made Brown
County famous. We greatly admired the interesting and rich portraits of Marie
Goth, one of the gallery’s founders and a local painter for 52 years.
Her half-smiling, self-portrait hanging in the foyer seemed to welcome us
as we walked in the door. Typically, in small-town fashion the gallery is
free; only a small donation — 25 cents — is asked for.
From there we meandered from store to store, admiring handmade oil lamps,
in particular a blue double-wicked one that now graces our living room.
A prize find was the Waldron Gallery, tucked into the back of a streetside
mall at 41 S. Van Buren St.
Artist Wayne Waldron wasn’t in, but his wife, Peggy, was more than happy to
show us around.
Waldron’s stunning watercolors of song birds spoke volumes about his
talent, as did a painting behind the counter of a shadowy, twisting and
turning staircase in an old cabin at Spring Mill State Park, in nearby
Mitchell, Ind. It was not for sale. If it had been we’re sure it would no
longer be hanging on that wall but be in someone’s living room.
The Waldrons, who are from Bedford, Ind., were drawn to Nashville because
of its artistic community.
“We’ve been visiting here for years and like the town and the setting,”
said Peggy, whose almost-mystical photographs of Indiana scenes grace the
gallery’s walls alongside her husband’s work.
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“And what better place for inspiration can you find than here? People come
here from all over the world,” she said.
Peggy’s advice was that if we really wanted to get to the root of the
area’s artistic history we should head for the hills.
Specifically, she was referring to a hilly homestead a few miles west of
town, the former home of founding artist Theodore Clement Steele, or T.C.
Steele as he was known.
And seeing how the streets in town were getting crowded and uncomfortable,
we took her advice. What we found must be one of the most beautiful sites in
the state.
The T.C. Steele Historic Site, 9 miles west of town on Indiana Highway 46
at the end of a winding lane, is the old homestead of the famous artist.
Steele and his second wife, Selma Neubacher, arrived in 1907, purchasing
several hundred acres of the hilly land. Their house — named the House of the
Singing Winds — still stands today on 211 acres surrounded by gardens and
footpaths.
Ironically, when Steele and other artists arrived, there were far fewer
trees than there are today. Unbelievably, the trees had been cleared to make
way for farming — an industry that was shortlived, the steep hills being
unsuitable for farming.
Steele and his wife used Brown County as a summer home, living in the
winter in Indianapolis. Other artists were attracted to the county to meet
Steele, and many of them stayed.
We ended up spending about two hours at the historic Steele site, lulled by
the peacefulness of the wind, the singing of birds and the sun-dappled earth.
That natural beauty is one of the things that drew potter Larry Spears back
to Indiana. Spears, who grew up in nearby Columbus, Ind., recently transported
his workshop from Gatlinburg, Tenn., and set up shop a few miles south of town
on Indiana Highway 135 southeast of town on the road to the historic community
of Story.
Spears’ gallery is in an outbuilding next to a one-story house that sits in
a postcard-perfect valley complete with a horse in the pasture and friendly
tail-wagging dog in the driveway.
It is filled with fired ceramics. On the wall is a thank-you note from
Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Christmas ornament that was exhibited on the
White House tree.
Spears said he was drawn back to the area last year, in part, because he
and his family wanted a less hectic and commercial lifestyle than they could
find in the busy Smoky Mountains.
“A lot of people would say that little Nashville is the same way,” he said,
“but Nashville has kept its quaintness.
“I did hear,” he added, “that they might make a small little sign that
says, `Welcome to Nashville.’ “
If they do, he said. “It would be one of the biggest changes I’ve seen here
in a long, long time.”
Nashville is 240 miles southeast of Chicago, about a 4 1/2-hour drive.
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For more information, call the Brown County Visitors and Tourism Bureau at
800-753-3255; www.browncounty.com. For information on the T.C. Steele Historic
Site, call 812-988-2785. The Brown County Studio and Garden Tour will be June
26-27, when more than 15 local artists and craftsmen will open their workshops
to visitors. And, finally, for general tourism information on Indiana, call
800-469-4612.