BlockFrom the record
One of 48 National Register listings published here for Monroe County · listed in 2024 · category: District.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service
Cascades Park
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
The listing
- Address. 2851 Old State Rd 37, Bloomington, 47404
- When was it listed? August 2024
- Category. district
- Township. Bloomington township
- National Register reference number. 100010743 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.
The ground it stands on
13,530 wordsThe chapter on Bloomington Township in 1884 History of Monroe County Indiana, published 1884 names Bloomington. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The first man to settle permanently upon the present site of the city of Bloomington cannot be named with absolute certainty. Neither can the time of this first settlement be given. The first entries of land were as follows :
Passage source: 1884 History of Monroe County Indiana, published 1884.
At the time of the organization of the county, of course the population was sufficient to warrant such organization. Much of this population was near the center of the county, or on Township 9 north, Range 1 west, where it was known the county seat was likely to be located. As soon as the State Commissioner had bought land for the county seat of the Rogerses and Graham, the land in the vicinity of Bloomington rose suddenly in value and was in great demand. The town was laid out, not by the State Commission, but by the County Board, and while this was being done under the direction of the County Agent, many citizens of the county visited the spot. The streets running north and sauth, beginning on the west were named as follows: Poplar, Gherry, -Spring, West, Kast, Walnut, Blue and Buck, and those running east and west, beginning on the south, were Water, South, North and Washington. Some changes have since been made in these names. On the days of the first sale of lots, a large crowd of settlers of the county and speculators gathered to look on and possibly participate, and certainly to drink of the free whisky furnished by order of the County Board. Just why the sales were so large and at such a high figure cannot be stated, unless it was because it was known that Bloomington was destined to be a great educational center. One thing is historical :
Passage source: 1884 History of Monroe County Indiana, published 1884.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Bloomington Township - 13,530 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Fires near this property
106 since 2003Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 106 fires within 5 miles of Cascades Park between 2003 and 2008, burning about 47 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 17 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 30 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 26 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 17 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 3 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 23 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 18 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 17 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 1 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 7 August 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 31 August 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
Mines and quarries near this property
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Cascades Park: 6 producers, 6 past producers, 1 plant. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Fire Clay (Refractory). Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomington Limestone | Stone | Producer | ||
| Bloomington Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Indiana Ceramic Plant | Fire Clay (Refractory) | Plant | ||
| Arlington Hills Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Producer | ||
| Arlington Mill | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Arlington Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Bennett Mill | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Carl Furst Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Ed Bennett Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Hunter Valley Quarry | Limestone, Dimension | Producer |
Storms near this property
60 of 109 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bloomington, the town this property stands in, in 109 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 52 thunderstorm wind, 44 hail, 5 flash flood, 4 flood. The reports record 1 death and 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2000 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | 1 killed | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Lightning | Bloomington | 3 hurt | Two individuals had lightning strike near them and were taken to the hospital for lighting related injuries. The cell phone of another individual was stuck while the person was talking on the phone. This individual was also taken to the hospital for treatment. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000,000 | Widespread significant tree damage across the city of Bloomington with numerous reports of property damage due to fallen trees and tree limbs. |
| April 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $200,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Bloomington | $150,000 | An F0 tornado moved across Lake Monroe southeast of Bloomington sinking several sailboats. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $60,000 | Thunderstorm winds to 70 mph blew down dozens of trees and power lines. Up to four homes and several vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $30,000 | Trees were downed in several locations across Bloomington, including one that crushed a car and another that fell on a barn. Damage amounts were estimated. |
| April 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $20,000 | Trees fell on a house. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $15,000 | Several large trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $15,000 | Multiple trees were reported down across Bloomington due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $12,000 | Many trees and limbs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $10,000 | Trees were downed and a few homes sustained minor damage in an eastside Bloomington neighborhood. |
| January 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $9,000 | Three trees were blown down along State Route 45 due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Two of the downed trees were at the intersection of State Route 45 and Russell Road. The other downed tree was just southwest of town. Two of the three trees looked healthy. Both instances of trees down at State Route 45 and Russell Road hit homes and caused minor roof damage. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damaged in Bloomington. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000 | Trees, up to 10 inches in diameter, were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts on Moores Pike. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000 | Trees, up to 10 to 14 inches in diameter, were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts in this location. |
| June 2008 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | $5,000 | Roadways were covered and previous flooding conditions were exacerbated due to heavy rainfall that caused renewed flash flooding. |
| April 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $5,000 | An automobile was totaled after a large tree fell on top of it. |
| April 2011 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | $2,000 | Multiple intersections were reported to be flooded with water up to about a foot deep. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $2,000 | Trees and power lines were downed on the east side of Bloomington. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $2,000 | Trees and power lines were downed in Bloomington. |
| February 2014 | Flood | Bloomington | $1,000 | Streets were reported to be flooded due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall. The campus bus routes were suspended. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | $1,000 | Streets were reported to be flooded in Bloomington due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall. |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Bloomington | $1,000 | Flash flooding of some county roads were reported throughout Monroe County due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall. A few intersections in Bloomington were flooded as well. The location of this event is estimated. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $1,000 | Trees down |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $1,000 | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $800 | Thunderstorm winds blew a tree down. |
| June 2015 | Flood | Bloomington | $500 | Some minor street flooding was reported in this location due to heavy rainfall. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $500 | A trained spotter reported several tree branches down due to an estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust. |
| January 2012 | Flood | Bloomington | $500 | Heavy thunderstorm rainfall caused 3.5 inches of standing water at the intersection of 3rd and Jordan Streets. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Bloomington | $500 | A very small and brief tornado touched down from a thunderstorm near Bloomington, causing damage to several trees in the backyard of a residence. No one was injured, and no other significant damage was reported. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | $200 | A four inch diameter tree branch was reported down at 10th and Walnut Streets. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trained spotter estimated thunderstorm wind gusts up to 70 mph. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | A 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at this location. |
| April 2024 | Hail | Bloomington | - | Mainly 0.88 inch or smaller hail across Monroe County, included one golf ball sized hailstone, which was likely advected from the cluster's main updraft crossing southeastern portions of Monroe County. One-inch hail was also reported near and southeast of Bloomington. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Bloomington | - | Thunderstorm hail continued, as large as quarters in Bloomington. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Bloomington | - | Nickel sized hail on north side of Bloomington. Numerous reports of 0.50-0.75 inch hail from south of Ellettsville, through Bloomington, to near/southwest of Woodville Hills. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Bloomington | - | This report was received via Facebook. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Bloomington | - | The hail lasted for 10 minutes. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | A thunderstorm wind gust, estimated at 60 mph, was reported in Bloomington. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | A 70 to 80 mph thunderstorm wind gust was reported in this location, with much debris. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | An estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was observed in this location. Pea-sized hail was also observed. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | A spotter estimated thunderstorm wind gusts between 60 to 70 miles per hours in Bloomington. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | The wind gust was measured by ASOS equipment. |
| April 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees were reported down in several places due to damaging thunderstorm winds. |
| March 2006 | Flood | Bloomington | - | Two roads were closed due to high water. No property damage was reported. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bloomington | - | No property damage estimates were available. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Bloomington | - | No property damage estimates were available. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Several trees were blown down. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees were downed near Bloomington. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Power lines were blown down at the south end of Lake Monroe. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees were blown down. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Large tree limbs fell. |
| November 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees were downed. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | A large tree was downed. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees were downed. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Trees down in Harrodsburg |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bloomington | - | Large limbs down |
| April 2002 | Hail | Bloomington | - | Hail covered the ground |
Map coverage status
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Robert L. and Ellen Milisen House | 1.0 miles | 2021 | |
 | Daniel Stout House | 1.1 miles | 1973 |
 | J.L. Nichols House and Studio | 1.7 miles | 1984 |
 | Millen-Chase-McCalla House | 1.9 miles | 2014 |
 | Morgan House | 1.9 miles | 1983 |
 | Cochran-Helton-Lindley House | 2.0 miles | 1979 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 100010743 in Record Group 79. |
| Monroe County | All 48 listed properties in this county. |
Provenance
- Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
- Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
- How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
- Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
- Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
- Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.