A Town became a Business and now, National Historic District

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There are phases for any business and in this instance, a town.  

Story achieved its blaze of growth soon after President Millard Fillmore issued the land grant in 1851, and at it's peak supported two general stores,  post office, grain mill, sawmill, slaughterhouse, blacksmith forge, schoolhouse, non-denominational church among the various homesteads.  However, during the depression half of the population exited Brown County as the state confiscated much of the land which would become the state park.  

Story endured as a through-route connecting Columbus to Bloomington until the flooding of Lake Monroe geographically isolated Story to the west.  Without traffic, folks named Benjamin and Cynthia Schultz got the bright idea to turn the general store into a restaurant.  By purchasing the neighboring homesteads they were eventually able to reassemble the property and create the Story Inn. 

What's unique about Story is the fact that it is one entity; the business owns the town.  Without a functional post office, Story necessarily devolved into unincorporated status, currently operating as destination hotel, acclaimed restaurant, award winning event venue, and dive bar. 

A sustainable business model, and a bit of perseverance, is necessary to preserve the property of the Story Historic District.   While some structures within the historic district are obviously revenue producing (rooms & cottages cost money) other structures within the historic district are not revenue producing and nonetheless require constant preservation efforts.  Because of this fact, the property inherently means more than the sum of its parts, otherwise, folks wouldn't have come out of retirement to help such preservation efforts.

A simple calculation could measure what an old barn, scale shed, or outhouse adds in terms of appraised valuation, but that would omit any intrinsic value.  From the perspective of the guests' experience,  marriage proposals happen quite frequently, others take graduation photos to savor the moment, and few families who visit each year can literally see the changing in the use of space over time.  

To a banker, life's special moments such as these carry little to no measurable value, neither would naming a child, Story.   It's far too difficult to quantify experiences of those in the past and present into an econometric regression with the hope of planning for the future.  

Unbeknownst, these experiences are the beginning of relationships which often grow into friendships described by some as an untapped reservoir of strength.  And its reciprocal, where those girls who's parents aptly named Story can be proud of their namesake, just like the settlers of the area that came before. 

A town doesn't get turned into a business and then into a national historic district by skipping steps.  And if money is the goal, then one might be aiming at the wrong target.  Money, in this case, is a biproduct of the commitment to refine the systems and processes to operate a first class hotel and restaurant.  

The Story Inn business has itself been compared to a child, with sharp objects everywhere where it can easily hurt itself.  With custodianship, reducing the cost structure has made it easier for the business to operate that one day soon it will become debt-free.  At that phase, it quite possibly will turn into a trust with legal covenants preventing future generations from borrowing against the equity of the estate.  

Belief in preserving this sliver of paradise for current and future generations to enjoy will allow the Story Historic District to endure, much the way we've been entrusted with the inheritances of the past. 

To accelerate this path of preserving the Story Historic District the Story Inn's 1851 Club has emerged with company, family and individual plans available.  Booking a private town rental has never been easier with two day inclusive packages starting at $10,000.  If you're interested in supporting the Story Historic District by renting the town please email our sales director at: events@storyinn.com.