Baintertown Canals

HUC: (what is a Hydrologic Unit Code HUC?)

Area:

Jonathan Wyland and his five brothers come to the Baintertown area from Ohio in 1830. The brothers purchased 650 acres of land from the government before returning to Ohio for the winter. In early spring of 1831, they returned with a sister and their families, six two-horse teams and a herd of cattle. The brothers built a millrace and sawmill. In 1833 they opened a very prosperous grist mill. By 1840 the brothers added a woolen mill, and the area soon became known as Wyland Mills. Jonathan sold his holdings to Fredrick Bainter in 1860 and the area was known as Baintertown. In 1898 William Redden purchased the original Wyland Mill and it operated until 1923. Shortly after, a Hydro electric power plant was built by Interstate Public Service Company, later to become NIPSCO. The plant operated until 1968 when NIPSCO ceased operations and donated the land to become part of the Elkhart County Park system known as the River Preserve. Today, Baintertown hosts a shelter, fishing ponds and park areas with a scenic half-mile trail along the canal where the hydro-electric plant still stands.