Sunken oasis in Huntington

HUNTINGTON — On the north side of Park Street, there is a giant hole in the earth.

It seems as if an enormous excavator scooped a chunk, about the size of half a block, out of the west side of the city to clear space for an unusual oasis.

The Sunken Gardens provide a place for a leisurely post-lunch walk or a relaxing break before a drive home after a trip to Huntington, where visitors can learn about Native American and pioneer culture at Historic Forks of the Wabash and see animals from all over the world at Sheets Wildlife Museum.

Situated next to Memorial Park, The Sunken Gardens were, in fact, the result of excavation. It just didn’t happen all at once.

The landmark, which features a U-shaped pond, was constructed in a former stone quarry in the 1920s. Over the years the gardens fell into disrepair, but in 1964 the city began a four-year project to restore them.

Now a brick path runs from the parking lot at Memorial Park, past the tennis courts and to a stone stairway that provides one of three entrances to The Sunken Gardens. Apple trees line the side of the stone steps, and there are a variety of trees, including a weeping willow, flowers and other plants throughout. A gazebo sits on the peninsula that juts into the pond, which is spanned by two stone bridges.

Stones, enormous ones, are also a feature at Historic Forks of the Wabash, located where the Wabash and Little rivers meet on the west side of Huntington. The stones were once part of a gate used to drain excess water from the Wabash and Erie Canal.

The site also includes three historic buildings — the council house of Miami Chief Jean Baptiste Richardville (Peshewa), a log home built by Huntington’s founding family (the Nucks) and a school house.

Don Mathias, who volunteers at the site, said most of its visitors are school groups.

“In the schoolhouse they have a teacher, and in the Nuck house they have someone who is (impersonating) Mrs. Nuck and telling the story of the family coming here,” said Mathias of the school tours, which he said bring in about 4,000 children each year. “They have some people who come and do some singing with period songs. And then there is someone two discuss the canal and its operation.”

The grounds at the Historic Forks are always open, but tours are by appointment only.

Tours will also be available during Heritage Days, which runs from 1 to 4 p.m. June 23 and 24. The site will also have all of its buildings open for a Fourth of July celebration, which begins at 9:45 p.m.

Less than a mile away from the historic site is Sheets Wildlife Museum, which displays a collection of nearly 200 animals and fish that were hunted or caught by lifelong Huntington County resident Sumner Sheets, rural Markle, from the 1960s through the mid-’90s.

An 11-foot-tall polar bear (3 inches short of a world record) greets visitors as soon as they step into the exhibit area. The collection includes a wide variety of animals and fish from the world, including a lion, tiger, hippopotamus and hammerhead shark.

Also on display is a web-footed swamp deer killed by Sheets that is one of only three of its kind ever brought to the United States. One of the other hunters to accomplish the feat was President Theodore Roosevelt.

Museum manager Shirley Schug said the site, which opened in 2005, appeals a variety of visitors.

“We get a lot of school kids, and actually we get a lot of preschools,” said Schug, noting that before the museum opened Sheets had all of the animals in his home. “We get a lot of seniors. This week there has been a home-ec group … and yesterday we had people in from Bulgaria.”

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and if visitors call ahead Schug will also provide a tour guide.

“Passports” are available at both the Historic Forks and Sheets museum, giving visitors discounted admission to those sites as well as the Dan Quayle Center United States Vice Presidential Museum and the Huntington County Historical Museum.[[In-content Ad]]