Stone Head, Indiana Explained

Official Name:Stone Head, Indiana
Mapsize:120px
Pushpin Map:USA Indiana Brown County
Pushpin Label:Stone Head
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Brown County
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Indiana
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Brown
Subdivision Type3:Township
Subdivision Name3:Van Buren
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Coordinates:39.13°N -86.1589°W
Elevation Ft:584
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:47201
Area Code:812 & 930
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:18-73448[1]
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:444206

Stone Head is an unincorporated community in Van Buren Township, Brown County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

History

Stone Head was named after the historic 1851 mile marker sculpture in the shape of a head. It was carved by Henry Cross.[2] Stone Head contained a post office from 1890 until 1891.[3]

Sculpture

In 1974 the entire piece, the base and the head, came up missing. Police found it four months later in an apartment in Indianapolis. Two teenagers were using it as a hat rack, according to a story published in the Brown County Democrat. The Thomas A. Hendricks House and Stone Head Road Marker was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

In November 2016, the carving was beheaded. It has not been found and no arrests have been made.[4] A monument honoring Henry Cross and destroyed Stone Head was placed in October 2017 by Casey Winningham, an Indiana master stone carver.

Kissing the stone head was said to bring good luck.[5]

References

  1. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. 2008-01-31.
  2. Book: Wissing, Douglas. Indiana. 2001. Globe Pequot Press. 978-1-56044-906-5. 60.
  3. Web site: Brown County . Jim Forte Postal History . 28 August 2014.
  4. Web site: Iconic Brown County statue beheaded .
  5. Book: Wolfsie, Dick. Indiana Curiosities, 3rd: Quirky characters, roadside oddities & other offbeat stuff. 10 November 2009. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-7627-6161-6. 197.