Pronounced with a long "oo" (OO-lit-ic), Oolitic, Indiana is probably my favorite so far among the quaint small towns that we have visited since we moved here. Named after the oolitic limestone that covers Southern Indiana, the town sprung up and received its name during a "stone rush" in the early 1900s.
The most notable thing in town is the statue of 1930s-40s film hero Joe Palooka who resides right next to the cottage-like town hall (not pictured). Erica LOVED the Oolitic Antique Mall, which was by far the largest commercial building in town (at least 5 or 6 spacious rooms) and varied in its offerings--but she refrained from buying anything. Despite not receiving our patronage, the antique mall does seem to be doing quite well, judging by its Main Street location right across from the town hall cottage and its ownership of the adjacent Oolitic Park (unfortunately not pictured). The mall also owns the only bench in the park. It probably also built the small fence to enclose the tiny space; the park is roughly equal in size to the town hall cottage. We also took a necessarily brief car ride through the town and saw most of the houses first-hand, as well as the now-closed-but-formerly-K-12 Oolitic Public School.
The most notable thing in town is the statue of 1930s-40s film hero Joe Palooka who resides right next to the cottage-like town hall (not pictured). Erica LOVED the Oolitic Antique Mall, which was by far the largest commercial building in town (at least 5 or 6 spacious rooms) and varied in its offerings--but she refrained from buying anything. Despite not receiving our patronage, the antique mall does seem to be doing quite well, judging by its Main Street location right across from the town hall cottage and its ownership of the adjacent Oolitic Park (unfortunately not pictured). The mall also owns the only bench in the park. It probably also built the small fence to enclose the tiny space; the park is roughly equal in size to the town hall cottage. We also took a necessarily brief car ride through the town and saw most of the houses first-hand, as well as the now-closed-but-formerly-K-12 Oolitic Public School.
Maybe next year the Oolitic school will hold a Haunted House event like the also-shuttered public K-12 school in Mecca, Indiana--"Home of the Mecca Arabs" did last Halloween. If they do, it will perfectly complement Oolitic's already-picturesque quirkiness--and might just earn another visit from us!
1 comment:
This looks so neat! We need to take a leaf out of your book and do some more exploring around Indiana.
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