HISTORY

The picturesque Ellington Stables property in the tiny village of Clear Creek was a working cattle farm in the 19^TH century. Hope and Jeff Ellington bought the property as newlyweds in 1993. They renovated and expanded the original brick farm house and took great care to retain the 19^th century look and feel.  The home has 18' ceilings, plastered walls, deep cove key notch woodwork and wide plank flooring. 

 

Interesting bits of history from the past 163 years ……………

One former owner was John Crafton, train master, quarry operator and lumberman.  In 1912 he travelled to Europe for treatments for his rheumatism and became homesick after three months.  He turned in his ticket on the German steamer Kaiserin August Victoria and paid £ 26 for a first class ticket on the RMS Titanic.  He perished among the 1,517 passengers who were lost in the sinking of the unsinkable ship.  His tombstone in Rose Hill Cemetery stands at the head of an empty grave.

 

 

In the 1920's a tornado touched down on the farm and destroyed the barn.  It was rebuilt and is now called The Little Barn.

 

 

 

Hoagy Carmichael, world-famous jazz composer and musician rented a room while he was attending Indiana University.  Hope Ellington's grandfather Arnold Habbe played the banjo in Carmichael's band.

Hoagy at the Piano in 1926 at the Book Nook, where he wrote 'Washboard Blues".
He graduated from IU Law School that same year


 

 

 

 

When the property was the Dillman Farm, an event occurred that became front page news all over the country.  In October of 1939 a yellow two-seater Taylor Cub monoplane landed in the cow pasture.  The plane was stolen and the pilot, Larry Pletch, had murdered a fellow pilot in Missouri while the other man was flying the plane.  Nicknamed the "Sky Killer", Pletch was arrested and returned to Missouri, where he died in the State Penitentiary in Jefferson City.  The crime was unprecedented. The Chicago Daily Tribune called it “One of the most spectacular crimes of the 20th century—and what is believed to be the first airplane kidnap murder on record.”  The reporter who covered the story for the Kansas City papers was said to be a young Walter Cronkite.

 

 
The Hays family was in residence in the 1950's and the property was a cattle farm.  Sadly, Mr. Hays' brother was fatally gored by one of the bulls.



Both of the current barns have been converted from cow barns to horse barns.  The Hays Farm supplied their downtown Bloomington grocery store, Hays Market, with meat and vegetables.

 


The Hays Market building on North Morton Street today.

The Ellington family is pleased to be a part of the ongoing history of the farm.