East Fork of White Lick Creek (Following Paul Hadley's Footsteps)

Another Paul Hadley painting on display at Mooresville (Indiana) Public Library is "East Fork of White Lick [Creek]."

 Click Photos to Enlarge

According to long-time Morgan County Historian Becky Hardin (1908-1995):

• "Mrs. Claude (Mary) Stokesberry's family asked artist Paul Hadley to paint a picture for her birthday present.  At that time she was living in Hadley's former home on Lockerbie Street.  He called one day making an excuse that he wanted to see how they had remodeled the house.  The painting was designed to fit over the fireplace, and is wider than it is high.  Since Mrs. Stokesberry has moved to a retirement home her son John has the painting."  [Hardin, Becky, The Indiana State Flag: Its Designer (Biography of Paul Hadley with Anthology of his Paintings), p. 17 (1976). Click here to read a digital copy of this fine biography.]

John Stokesberry subsequently donated the painting to MPL.

The East Fork of White Lick Creek runs along what was once the eastern edge of Mooresville (when Hadley painted it) and then flows south until eventually merging with the White River near Centerton, Indiana (north of Martinsville, in Morgan County).  It is along the portion of the East Fork just past the intersection of state roads 67 and 144 that presents one likely location at which Hadley painted the Stokesberry gift.

Click the map images to enlarge.

Map Excerpts Courtesy of Google Maps

Note the bend in the creek immediately north of Rooker Park.  That resembles the same perspective in Hadley's painting.  Here's an aerial view:

East Fork of White Lick Creek

Near Rooker Trace

(Early 19th Century Primitive Road)

Southeast of State Roads 67 & 144

I'm not sure if we can reach this point on the creek--it's private property--but I'll check it out, along with MPL's feline roving reporter, Cauli Le Chat.

North end of Rooker Park

(Probable Hadley painting spot is in the woods at the far end) 

Getting close to the creek now--

Hadley may have been standing up ahead

Where Cauli Le Chat would have been,

if Hadley had painted her into the picture

The trees are bigger and more plentiful, and the underbrush is overgrown, but the bend in the creek looks strikingly similar to Hadley's landscape.

Why is this location likely to have been where Hadley painted the creek scene?  It was within easy walking distance--Hadley never drove motor vehicles--and the area was heavily wooded near the creek, then as now. The land east of the creek was farmed in Hadley's day, but it is now residential subdivisions.  Admittedly, Hadley could have painted other bends in the East Fork, but many of these were not sufficiently wooded, even in his time.  Our candidate is as likely a location as any of the other possibilities.  Still, let's consider other options.

The East Fork of White Lick Creek also runs along the eastern edge of Pioneer Park in Mooresville, in a heavily wooded region.  Unfortunately, there aren't any sharp bends in the creek that resemble Hadley's painting.

 East Fork of White Lick Creek

along rear of Pioneer Park

However, if we move downstream toward Bridge Street, then we find an excellent bend that easily could have been Hadley's painting spot.

 East Fork of White Lick Creek

East of Samuel Moore Parkway (Old State Road 67)

and North of Bridge Street

Once again, we have the difficulty of reaching the creek bend on private property.  So these aerial views may be the best we can do.  We couldn't get close to the creek without traipsing through folks' backyards.

 
Paul Hadley was often inspired by Hoosier landscapes and nature, and he captured them beautifully in watercolor.