In what appears to be the most patriotic town in Indiana, Liberty is the county seat of Union County. With a name like that I wouldn’t have been surprised if Benjamin Franklin founded it in 1776 on a field covered in Bald Eagles. Although Franklin never stepped foot in the area, a historic Civil War General and creator of the beard-style favored by Elvis fans everywhere, General Ambrose Burnside (sideburns), was born near Liberty. Well, I dressed up my best like Uncle Sam and headed down to Liberty to check out another American tradition – the tenderloin.
The Tenderloin
J’s Dairy Inn has been a staple in Liberty for the last 66 years. Started as a walk-up, it now has inside seating with a nice patio to enjoy during good weather. You still order from the counter and pick-up your food before either occupying a booth or just taking it home. I, myself, walked into the Inn and asked for a room for the night. While the server stared at me with a blank face, I changed my mind and just ordered up a tenderloin with a vanilla Coke. The sandwich was served up in foil wrap with a steamed bun. You will find this is not your traditional Hoosier style tenderloin. The pork was not a single piece pounded flat, but rather a mix of pieces that was breaded; more of a fritter. But – the meat was delicious! It wasn’t white, but had a darker shade that may have been just the pork loin or even rib meat. The actual tenderloin doesn’t have a lot of fat, and if cooked wrong it could be dry so you won’t have to worry about that with this one as it was juicy and flavorful. Combined with the slightly salty breading, you can’t go wrong in having a good experience with J’s breaded tenderloin. And if you are not up to eating something outside the traditional, feel free to order up any other sandwich here, because if J’s take on the tenderloin is anything like the other food, you will be in good hands getting a satisfying meal.
The Town
I started the day with a cup of coffee and a muffin at Kehila Coffee right on Union St in the Odd Fellows Hall Building. I didn’t see any odd-fellows, but I did see the old clock from the courthouse up on the wall near the entry. Walking to the back I ordered up my coffee and breakfast and then headed to the couch in front of the historical icon. The coffee was great, served in a mug it had that fresh brewed taste to it. The warm cinnamon apple muffin melted in my mouth with every bite. Locals were walking in and out ordering all kinds of drink concoctions all with stories and hangovers from the homecoming celebration the night before.
I wandered into an old house across from the courthouse that was selling “unique gifts and home décor” called the Grande Ole Porch. Inside were various fall and Halloween crafts and trinkets for the home and office. The style changes every season and soon it will be full of Christmas items. It was neat to be in an old house wandering around being able to shop. The old fireplaces from the porch give a nice homey feel while gazing around.
You can find some historical structures around town too. There is a Carnegie Library that is still a Public library. It has been remodeled to modern standards, but you can still see some of the historic features such as the fireplaces and old doors. The old train depot has been turned into a museum over by the tracks. It was closed on the day I visited, but you could still walk around the structure and up to the platform where people would embark to travel to far off places or disembark to enjoy the town of Liberty as I had done today. The Templeton Cabin is considered the first house built in Union County and has been transported to the lawn of the Union County Courthouse. The 218 year old structure was unavailable to walk into as it is in need to be restored, but you can get an up close view of the construction process of the pioneers.
I took a drive to West College Corner which is the only other town in Union County. It is unique since the town is situated on the border of Indiana and Ohio and has a town across the street simply called College Corner, OH. The downtown area is something to see as it has one portion from Indiana and another on Ohio, combined with a diagonal road that comes into town, you could get all mixed up on where you are and what is what (especially with a string of bars in the Indiana side). I took a drive through town on State Line Road where there are houses on both sides. Imagine your neighbor across the street living in a whole other state. Good thing there isn’t a town like this on the border of Michigan and Ohio, there would be a war in the neighborhood. As you drive north on this road it dead-ends at a school… placed directly on the border! It seems to have two different entryways in each state, I wonder of the Indiana kids stay on one side and the Ohio on the other? So… this city, West College Corner, doesn’t seem to need to have the “West” in its name since the other town is in Ohio. But, there is another “College Corner” in Jay County just south of Portland. I assume that the Union County town added “West” to the name because of the Jay County place since Indiana did not allow two of the same names for post offices before the ZIP code was invented. (I know this because of North Liberty, IN used to be Liberty, IN) The crazy thing is that West College Corner, College Corner, IN, and College Corner, Ohio did not have a college anywhere in site!
Whitewater Memorial State Park lies just south of Liberty and contains a reservoir, wooded areas, and hiking trails. My hiking choice was the 2.7 mile Lakeshore Trail which is an out-and-back trek that traverses the western portion of the lake until you reach a viewing point. This trail seems to not be chosen very often and isn’t kept up on a regular basis. After the first half mile you get a tight path with nature encroaching on your walking space. There were also a couple of downed trees that you need to navigate your way over. I really kind of liked it as it made you feel like an explorer on an old trail not knowing what will appear at the next turn. I was anticipating the end of the trail as there was a notation on the map of a pair of binoculars that usually indicates a point with an incredible view. As I got to the end there was a long set of wooden staircases going down. The farther I got the less stable the planks were and the handrail all but disappeared. The landing at the bottom pretty must looks like the rest of the trail – a bunch of trees. I believe at one time the platform gave breathtaking views of the lake, but as time has gone by the trees grew and now it just serves as a resting spot at the apex. I was told that the trail used to go all the way around the lake at one time. Now it looks like they are letting nature take back the rest of the lakeshore trail too, so hurry to Whitewater Memorial to see this site and go exploring before it is off-limits. The dam and spillway are also great sites to see. You can walk along the earthen barrier, holding back the millions of gallons of water, and descend the stairs to see the spillway, which controls the height of the lake.
If Ambrose Burnside could see the Liberty now… Or if he could see it in the 70’s at the height of his beard-style, he would be impressed. It’s a small rural area and has nice people, great sites to see, old areas to explore, and a great tasting tenderloin.
by Michael Tomko
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