Last November, I took a drive south on 131, through Constantine, White Pigeon and Middlebury, Indiana.
A few years ago, after many years of discussion and planning, a five-mile bypass around Constantine was built. The purpose of the bypass was to alleviate the problem of large semi-trucks driving through the tight downtown and rattling the store windows of the historic buildings. The bypass alleviated that issue but significantly reduced the amount of drive-by traffic for the downtown businesses.
I took the exit for downtown Constantine, passing the old dam and power plant and crossing the St. Joseph River before parking on Water Street in front of the Meeks Mill Restaurant. This great little restaurant has been in the same family for over 30 years and is well worth a stop. I had a great farmer’s omelet and will definitely be back.
Many of the historic downtown buildings are empty but one can only imagine what this town must have looked like a hundred years ago. It would make a great period piece, movie set.
The village was platted in 1831. It was first named Meeks Mill after Johnathon Meeks, who built the first grain mill. When the names of classical figures later came into vogue, the village was renamed for the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
About five miles south of Constantine is White Pigeon, named after the local Potawatomi chief Wahbememe, which means white pigeon. He was buried in the town, with a memorial stone marking his grave which is now listed on the National Register of Historical Places.
According to legend, while he was at the gathering of the chiefs in Detroit, Wahbememe heard of plans to attack the settlement which is now White Pigeon. The chief was a friend to the white settlers and did not want to see harm come to them, so he set out on foot and ran almost 150 miles to the settlement to warn the people. After running the long distance and giving his warning, he collapsed and soon died from exhaustion.
White Pigeon was incorporated by European Americans in 1837. The United States Land Office located in downtown White Pigeon, is the oldest surviving U.S. Land office in the state of Michigan. Following the cession of Native American lands in this area by leaders of regional tribes, between 1831 and 1834, the U.S. government sold more than 250,000 acres of land in Michigan for $1.25 an acre to settlers of western Michigan.
I walked through the small downtown area, which like Constantine, has many empty buildings. I had a nice visit with the friendly folks at the White Pigeon Township Library. They shared their knowledge and photos of historic White Pigeon with me. And I learned that the Kalamazoo Gazette originally began in 1833.
Middlebury, Indiana is 14 miles south of White Pigeon, and a few miles south of the Michigan-Indiana border. It is a busy town that gets even busier during the summer tourist season.
The area is home to over 23,000 Amish residents and their buggies are everywhere, adding a folksy charm to the town.
The downtown has nice restaurants, upscale clothing and home decor stores.
Just east of Main Street is The Mill, a quaint shopping and gathering space featuring three boutique shops, a weekly farmer’s market during the summer, and two large artisan markets each year. It is located within an old grain mill and surrounded by sixteen functioning grain bins.
If you like antiques, Old Creamery Antiques is well worth a stop – an old house packed with smaller antiques, with two vintage cars out front.
I made sure to visit Rise and Roll Bakery for a few great donuts. The bakery’s history began in 2001 in Shipshewana, Indiana. A young Amish couple began baking recipes handed down in the woman’s family for generations. They sold baked goods from their front porch. Over the years, they worked on perfecting the recipes, and in 2004, opened the first Rise’n Roll Bakery in Middlebury. The original bakery did not use any electricity, refrigeration, or modern technology. All of the mixing, sheeting, and prepping was done entirely by hand. In 2009, the Amish owner sold the company to a non-Amish family and there are now over a dozen locations.
Das Dutchman Essenhaus is the area’s biggest attraction. The Amish style restaurant began in 1971 at the site of an old truck stop on US-20. The restaurant has grown from 120 seats to over 1,100 and is considered the largest restaurant in Indiana. In addition to the world-famous restaurant, Essenhaus also offers a home-style bakery with over 30 varieties of pies, six unique gift shops and stores, a large inn and conference center.
I was not ready for lunch but walked through the very large two-floor restaurant and checked out the $18.95 lunch buffet which looked very appetizing. I was tempted by the large cases of pies, cookies and pastries in their bakery and ended up buying a small loaf of tasty pumpkin bread.
I visited the Krider World’s Fair Garden, a park featuring display and botanic gardens originally conceived for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The Garden includes many exotic trees and plants as well as several original sculptures for the World’s Fair.
The garden was the brainchild of Vernon Krider, owner of a wholesale and mail-order nursery. Following the end of the fair, Krider transported his display to Middlebury, where it has remained for the past 91 years. Krider’s mail order flower business once encompassed over 400 acres and was the largest business in Middlebury.
The popular paved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail runs through the park and covers over 18 miles between the towns of Goshen, Middlebury, and Shipshewana. I will be bringing my bike on the next trip to Middlebury.
Near the Garden, I stumbled upon Old Hoosier Meats located in the original 1923 Middlebury High School gymnasium. The vine covered building, which opened as a cold storage and meat shop, caught my attention and I stopped in and was given a great tour by owner Glen Miller. He showed me the old freezer rooms where local residents once rented large metal drawers to store their meats. A large rack of drawer keys and matching brass name tags are still hanging in his office. I purchased a 1/2 pound of great pepper sausage that I nibbled on my way home.
If you love history, or just enjoy exploring small towns, head south on 131 and experience Constantine, White Pigeon and Middlebury!
