Why would I set a counterfeiting romantic suspense story in rural Indiana? As usual, research is the answer.
I discovered an article from 1883 describing the successful arrest of the Honchins (or Houchins, depending on the resource) gang by a joint effort of the Secret Service and US Marshals. The gang was responsible for not only counterfeiting but killing stock, stealing, and terrorizing the citizens with threats, insults, and violence. Even the local police were afraid to stand up against them. Stendal was the original town I was going to use, but I ended up creating a sister town next to Stendal so that I could set up the building locations and population to better suit my needs. While the original undercover Secret Service operatives spent months covering three or more counties, I needed to focus my area a little more confined for the sake of plotting. Below you can find information on two real locations from the story, including pictures of my visit to the real Stendal.
Stendal, IN
Stendal owes its beginnings to the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church which was formed in 1861. Services were held in members’ homes until 1864, when a church was built. In 1867, Reverend William G.C. Bauermeister became the first resident pastor. Land was donated to form the town, and he named it Stendal after his birthplace in Saxony.
As is usually the case with rural locations, modern-day Stendal is a shadow of the town it once was. While it was always small compared to other areas, it was once a booming little town. This was largely due to Stendal being many miles from any railroad or waterway with nearly impassible roads and trails, making it necessary to be a self-contained town.
From: A History of Lockhart Township by McKinley Hagemeyer
- Welcome to Stendal!
- Stendal 1875-1890. L-R. Drug Store owned by OJ Greenway, General Merchandise Store owned by FH Poetker, and Hardware Store owned by Farabee and Killion. Photo Credit: Stendal Sesquicentennial
- Men posing for a picture in front of the Beadles and Tevault Store. Photo Credit: Stendal Sesquicentennial
- Photo Credit: Stendal Sesquicentennial
- Photo Credit: Stendal Sesquicentennial
- Similar to what I envisioned for Ma Frances’s house.
- I believe this used to be the furniture store, but it is similar to what I envisioned for Grossman’s.
- This is sort of what I envisioned for
- Now abandoned building
- A home in the area.
- Some of the woods surrounding Stendal.
Boonville, IN
One of my favorite parts of the Boonville setting was visiting the Boonville Jail. Well, visit it in fiction. I never had the pleasure of visiting it in real life. I know there was a big push to have the building restored in 2019, but there have been no more posts from the group pushing for it since then.
The Boonville Jail
The Warrick County Jail was built in 1876 and was state-of-the-art for its time. I had running water for sinks, toilets, and showers. The cells were made of straight and corrugated iron bars. The building had a large yard surrounding it and large windows with glazed glass. The jail was built in two sections. The main level of the front part held a food pantry, kitchen, parlor, and main hall. The upstairs was used as living quarters for the sheriff and his family and space to hold female prisoners. From my understanding, the kitchen had a steel door barrier to the prisoners, and it was the responsibility of the sheriff and his family to cook and serve meals to the prisoners. Meals were cooked for the prisoners and delivered to their cells.
The back half was one and a half stories tall with 12 prison cells. It had high arched ceilings for airflow and to prevent escape attempts. In each lighted and ventilated cell, there were two bunks, a sink, and a toilet. The walls were 22 inches thick and plated on the inside with boiler iron. Below are a few pictures of the jail.
- Older picture of the jail. Photo Credit: Warrick Co. Historic Jail
- Street view from Google Maps.
- Street view from Google Maps.
- Street view from Google Maps.
- Front view of a jail cell. Photo Credit: Warrick Co. Historic Jail
- The high arched ceilings. Updated for use as a Senior Citizen center and then storage. Photo Credit: Warrick Co. Historic Jail
- Current interior of the cells . . . well from the outside. Interior pictures had people, so I could not include them.Photo Credit: Warrick Co. Historic Jail
Here are some pictures of Boonville back in the 19th century.
Listening to the story now and loving it. I’m a history nerd girl, too, so seeing the pics makes the story richer. Was visiting the Boonville jail your favorite location?
I only got to visit that via pictures and research, but it is DEFINITELY one of my favorite locations!
What a great post! Love seeing the photos and images of what you had a mind for a few of the buildings in your latest release.