Prophetstown State Park is expanding under an agreement to purchase 134 acres of land on the southeast side of the park’s existing footprint. The land, part of the park’s original master plan, has been sought by the DNR since the 1990s.

The property will be purchased for $1.1 million from the Trustees of the Opal Hatke Trust with funding provided through the Natural Resources Foundation from proceeds of existing sand and gravel mining leases at the park.

The purchase allows the DNR to consider future relocation of power lines located in the park, which have no direct electricity customers, and currently run from a sub-station east of the park to the Battleground sub-station west of the park. The DNR plans to eventually develop a lake on the property into a recreational facility for the state park. Duke Energy worked closely with the DNR to provide viable alternatives for the power line relocation that would avoid the lines running through the lake.

Purchasing the Hatke land allows the park to avoid the drawbacks presented by the other power line routing options, as well as allow for the development of a lake that will provide guests with water recreational opportunities previously lacking in the immediate area.

Prophetstown State Park is the state’s newest park, created in 2004. In addition to traditional recreational opportunities, the park also provides hundreds of acres of restored tallgrass prairie and oak savannas, as well as abundant opportunities to learn about the Native people who once lived and traveled along the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers. Prophetstown State Park includes The Farm, a 1920s farmstead that focuses on farm life during the 20th century in Indiana and is a favored attraction of park guests.

Park admission is $8/car and includes admission to The Farm. For more about Prophetstown, see on.IN.gov/prophetstownsp.

To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.

Media contact: Marty Benson, DNR Communications, 317-233-3853, mbenson@dnr.IN.gov.