Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue
History & Genealogy

Culver, Marshall, Indiana

Kreuzberger's Park and Saloon

Section 16 - Union township, Marshall County Indiana, Uniontown, Marmont etc. down the line - till Robert Kreuzberger was deeded the property on 23 Mar 1894 is not fully documented as yet except by the except by the following plat maps of 1876 - we do know that: in 1876 - J. Castleman - had 190 acres in section 16 which included the property that Robert Kreuzberger was deed in 1894.

This is the cropped out section of section 16 for 1880:

In 1880 by the plat map part was platted area of the town of Marmont - and rest of the property on the lake front belonged to E. Parker 27 acres with the exception of 5 acres which belonged to R. R. Wall and the 15 acres of the Lake View Club and I. N. Morris had the property beyond what is the "Indian Trails" today. The land which is indicated by - the words: "All in the south forty acres of the west half of Section 16, Town _, Range One East...; using this description and breaking it down - the red line marks the east and west section line of section 16; the blue line outlines the "south 40" and an estimated guess as to where the Kreuzberger Saloon is located laid in the "Blue Dot":

Thus the Kreuzberger property laid within the platted part of Marmont - and probably entailed most of what E. Parker owned in 1880 except the portion the Vandalia Railroad had acquired along the lake front about 1882-3 for the railroad right-of-way.

Donna Dale stated in 1976 that: "they have no idea how old the building is, but they know the place was built before 1872 because of the land abstract they have". This could be true - but we do know that by the Vandalia Railroad records that the Vandalia Railroad reached Marmont on 30 June 1883. That with the arrival of the railroad Lake Maxinkuckee beauty and assets were discovered and shortly after that excursions trains began arriving on a daily basis. Also the Chautauqua's came to the area between 1889 and 1907 bringing in even more people.

Thus one can assume that the hotel was either built to accommodate the men working to establish the railroad through the area before 1883 and the railroad officials supervising the every day operations of the establishment of the rail line - or the hotel was built in anticipation of the railroad coming - or very soon after the railroad hit Marmont - on 30 June 1883. Another fact is that: Vandalia Addition was added on 13th of February 1884 by Peter Allerding. And also knowing that the Academy was Founded in July 1894 as Culver Academy by Henry H. Culver.

And if it was in existence when Robert Kreuzberger - bought it on 23 March 1894 - the stories of the upstairs being - "fancy ladies" may just be true - and possibly even after he had acquired it.

Kreuzberger's Park is said to have extended as far as to where Forrest Place is located, this is quite possible since by the division of the property given below it is stated: "All in the south forty of the West one half of Section 16, Town[ship] Range One East, which with other lands was deeded...". But we also know that the Vandalia Railroad had purchased part of this land for their tracks - and that they had established Vandalia Park sometime in 1883 yet another source says about 1890 and it encompassed an area of 3.2 acres.

This is the 1898 plat map of the area - that sheds no light on to the land holdings of Robert Kruezberger.

The area in green would be the location of Kreusberger's Park and Saloon. Also note the Toner Avenue [Lakeshore Dr.] did not exist by this plat map - even tho we find that the Toner Addition was added on 5 August 1886 by Albert D. Toner and became incorporated under the name in 1894.

Over the last few years it has simple become known as the "Old Brick" at the end of State Street.

It is said to have been built in 1894 and is in the Italinate style.

It was built probably before 1894, By the deed it was purchased 23 Mar 1894 by Robert Kreuzberger of Logansport, Indiana; and he died 29 Nov. 1906 - his son R. F. Kreuzberger ran it for his father.

In 1894 J. R. Watson, Prop. and 1898 an ad states that it had a billiard hall, a bowling alley and fancy ladies. R. F. Kreuzberger, prop. and Wm. Knoeble, manager/bartender.

This was found in one of the Marmont Herald's:

Kreuzberger's Park

This park is sisuated [situated] upon the west side of Maxinkuckee Lak [Lake], and presents a grand panoramic scene in nature and art. The park grounds are covered with magnificent shade trees and pleasure seekers can enjoy the cool breezes of the l ake while reclining upon rustic seats, hammocks, etc. On the grounds are situated Kreuzberger's wine pavillion [pavilion], beer garden, pool, billiard room, and bowling alley. This is one of the finest places on the lake, and is visited by the elite of all cities. Here can be found Kreuzberger's celebrated wine room, where nothing but a first class article can be had. The business is carried on under the able management of J.R. Watson, a man of years of experience as a caterer. Behind the bar can be seen daily, William Knoeble, of Indianapolis, who has an enviable reputation as an expert bar tender. No card playing or gambling is allowed at this place, and everyone is assured of the most courteous treatment.

Here is two ads from the 25 January 1895 issue of the Marmont Herald:

By these ad's every part of Kreuzberger's Park was a separate operation or proprietorship - These ad's concern the Restaurant which was under the proprietorship of D. A. Bradley; the Wine and Beer Hall under the proprietorship of Wm. Knoeble; then there was the Billiard Hall and Bowling Alley. The hotel portion of Kreuzberger's Park is not mentioned in either one of these ad's!

Yet the business card shown below - in connection with D. A. Bradley has the hotel it listed on it.

An ad in the 1 May 1896 Culver Herald - pronounced - Kreuzberger's Park - Lake Maxinkuckee Culver City , In. The best whiskeys, brandies, cordials, Rhine and Mosels wines, French Claret, ports, sherry, ales, beers, mineral water, a fine stock of domestic and Key West cigars., this ad was still running in the 1903 editions of the Culver Citizens.

In 1898 it was announced that Andy Vorhees was opening a billiard hall and club house in Kreuzberger's Park; it is assumed the was separate from the Saloon and hotel. It was alled - Culver Club House

There was a natural spring that ran through its basement; that is said to have kept the alcohol cool.

Kreuzberger was said to have been one of the largest importer's east of the Mississippi and it is said his business in Logansport housed a 100,000- gallon wine cellar.

By this card - not dated D. A. Bradley - had charge of the restaurant and the hotel. Rates for rooms were advertised at $1 per day.

This appeared in the 30 Jul 1903 edition of the Culver citizen:

D. A. Bradley has vacated the Kreuzberger Building and has a lot of furniture, dishes, tableware all good as new for sale call and see it.

The 4 June 1904 Issue of Culver Citizen - Rob't Kreuzberger is having a new brick walk put in along the park from the Vandalia Railroad grounds to the pop factory [Schlosser Bros.]. A new cross walk is badly needed

1906 by the Sanborn map Kreuzberger Park entailed all the area between what is Coolidge Street on the west, Scott/Toner Avenue now Lakeshore Dr. on the North and State Street on the East to the Railroad or the lake Listed on this piece of property is a restaurant at the corner of State and Scott Ave, the Saloon, and a Store Room - with indications it was covered possibly with a canopy between the buildings.

This is Outlot 3, Lot 7 and the 6 lots in front known as Kreuzberger's Addition in the maps below.

1907 - the town of Culver went dry - and the hotel was turned into a rooming house.

The following in the 1908 and 1922 plat maps for this section of town - showing the same plat as drawn out and described above. The 1908 map does not show the location of the hotel - but it is shown on the 1922 plat map.

Sometime before 1908 the property was sub-divided - the following give more details to the plat map of 1908 shown below.

The above is to be in Robert Kreuzberger's handwriting; some of the words are missing - on the right hand side - it reads:

This addition to the town of Culver City, formerly Uniontown, Marshall co[unty], Indiana is laid out in part of outlot number three (3) in the Vandalia addition t [o] Uniontown, Marshall County, Indiana and also a piece of ground adjoining th[e] same on the East, commencing at the North east Corner of Lot Number three (3), and runnin[g] thence East 132 feet to a sixty [60] foot street; thence south along said street one hundred [twenty] (120) feet; thence west one hundred thirty-two (132) feet, to the East line of said outlot three [(3)], thence North along the East line thereof one hundred twenty (120) feet to the place of beginnin[g]. to Robert Kreuzberger March 23, 1894 recorded in deed record 52 page 231, in the Recorder's Office of Marshall County,Indi[ana].

The Lots from number one to five are each forty by one hundred twenty feet; Lot [3] is 37 feet wide by 120 feet deep, and all front Toner Ave. The streets are laid out on the plat, Fifteen feet is dedicated fo[r] street purposes on the west making that street f--- wide The alley on the South is ten (10) feet wide.

I Robert Kreuzberger do certify that I am proprietor of this addition and the same was platted and laid out under my direction for the purpose of deposing of the same.

This is believed to be his death date:

Kreuzberger Robert M W 63 Nov 29 1906 Logansport C-12 19

In March 1910 S. E. Medbourn purchased it, $5,000.

1914 - Pool Hall - by the 1914 Sanborn Map; and this is the area by the 1914.

Janet Lynn Hand writes: We always stayed at the big house on the end of state street, near the railroad tracks, managed by the Mawhorters (sp.?). A very nice old couple, man's name was Rex, I think. this would be in the 1950's and 1960's.

In the late 1970's Harry and Donna Dale bought it and started to restored it. This is recorded by the Culver Citizen - of August 4, 1976 By JAN GARRISON, Special to the Citizen :

What was once a combination saloon, bowling alley, billiard hall and haven for "fancy ladies" is now the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dale.

The Dales bought the old Kreuzberger's Park and Saloon 21-2 ago. known as "Old Brick," it had been converted into an before the Dales apartment complex for two families bought it and before that it was used as a boarding house.

Restoring the house has been the Dales' plan . Mrs. Dale said when they first bought the house they figured it would take five years to restore it and make it comfortable. After two years, they have come a long way.

"We're going to beat the five-year plan; we're getting down to just decorating and some electrical now," Mr. Dale said.

The first major accomplishment the Dales achieved proved to be their first major setback. When they bought the house, there was no heating unit. So they installed a baseboard heating system and started drying the house out, said Mrs. Dale.

"We thought the ceilings were in good condition but when the house dried out, the upstairs ceiling fell in," she said.

They have also had to replace most of the windows . After close inspection, they found many had beebee holes in them or had weathered so badly a person couldn't see through them. All the windows had to be reglazed and caulked.

Doors also proved to be a problem. They are all oversized, and it was impossible to find replacements or storm doors. "You just don't go into Sears and buy one like that," Mr. Dale said. Finally, they had to have special doors made from converted screen doors.

In restoring the house, the Dales have knocked out six walls put in while the house was being used as an apartment building. They have also started stripping the varnish and paint off the old oak wainscotting and woodwork.

Matching the original oak's color was a problem when they put in the stairway to the upstairs, Mr. Dale said.. New oak is white and it took several coats of stain before they got a color similar to the original, he said.

The stairway itself proved to be a major operation which included architectural, drawing and major carpentry work. The family moved out of the house for five weeks while the project was being Mrs. Dale said. done this winter,

The Dales had to replace three walls damaged by water over the years. They discovered the walls' condition while pulling off the old wallpaper, Mr. Dale said. "There must have been 20 layers of paper. I think it was holding the walls together. We'd rip off some paper and a chunk of plaster would be stuck to it," he said.

Mr. Dale said that after putting in some electrical wires, they will lower the ceilings six inches. That will be just enough to cover pipes and wires. "The ceilings will be 11 feet upstairs and 13 downstairs," he added.

Mrs. Dale said after they bought "Old Brick" she dreamed of finding all sorts of treasures in the attic. They were in for a rude shock, though.

"Harry told me to go up and look in it first. When I got up there I said, `Harry, you know what I found up here?' He said, `What?' I laughed.

The Dales have one advantage. They will never need air-conditioning. The house sits on a hill, and a steady breeze is always with shade trees surrounding the house, the Dales have a huge amount of window space which includes working transoms. "With the breeze blowing and all the window space, we'll never need a air-conditioning," Mr. Another hilltop advantage and having all that window space is the magnificent lake view. In fact, the lake is what brought the Dales here from the Chicago suburbs. "We would have never tried this if we didn't love the lake so much," Mrs. Dale said.

The Dales have heard many stories about the house since moving here. One favorite concerns the upstairs being used by ladies of the evening during the 1880's and 1890's while the building was still the original saloon. A back stairway was supposedly built leading to the women's quarters, Mr. Dale said.

Their son once was asked where he lived by an old man, she said. When he told the man, the man's eyes widened "They and he said, used to keep fancy ladies there"' she laughed.

Other stories include the existence of a duck pin alley in the house. Mr. Dale said he has been told the picnic tables in the town park were made from wood which was used in the alleys. Another story concerns a beer garden in the back. Mr. Dale said the design of the structure in back and a solid cement floor makes it look like the garden did exist. Somebody built small apartments on the cement and rented them to fishermen after the tavern was closed. The Dales have taken the structure and turned it into a guest cottage.

A special doorway to the basement proved to be the spot where the beer was taken downstairs and placed in a large tank, Mr. Dale said. The tank was filled with water fed by an artesian well. After the tavern was forced to close, when the town went dry in 1903, the new owners capped the well and diverted the water into the drain which empties into the lake. "It runs all year round, the same temperature... he said.

Mrs. Dale said they have no idea how old the building is, but they know the place was built before 1872 because of the land abstract they have. The place has had several names. They include the original name, Kreuzberger’s Park and Saloon, and Lakeview Place. The name most often used is “Old Brick,” Mrs. Dale said.

There is a pipe which sticks out above the front door where they believe signs were hung. Mr. Dale said after they have the house finished he will hang a sign from it which says, "The Old Brick."

The building's construction is unusual. The walls are more than one foot thick. They consist of three layers of bricks with some air space between each layer. The floor joices, which are two inches by 12 inches thick, are built into the walls, so no supports are needed inside the hou se. The plaster was placed right on to the brick wall, Mr. Dale said. The place is absolutely still, even during the hardest storms, his wife added.

In 1984 the Marshall County Historical Society recognized it as a historical structure. Below are photographs of it while the Dale's had it and recent times.

303 State - Kreuzberger's Park & Saloon - "Old Brick" 1876 - J. Castleman
1880 - E. Parker
1908 - Lot 8
1910 - March S. E. Medbourn

The purchase was for $5,000. It included the hotel, a block of well timbered high ground excluding the lot and building owned by T. E. Slattery.

1922 - Kreuzberger Hotel or Tavern & Inn
1979 - Harry & Donna Dale
19__ -1987? Donna Dale

Split off PRC SW1/4 INT WLN STSTE ST WLY R/W LN in 1987

1989-93 - Doug Coursey
?-9 Dec 1999 - RObert B. & Joan Volkert
9 Dec 1999-2007 Jim and Diane Greene

GREEN DIANE TRUSTEE DECLARATION TRUST
101.5' S SE COR LOT 1 KREUS ADD S 48'

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