Historic Story Inn – Story, Indiana (Photo by Linda)
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Hidden away like a secret in the wooded folds of Brown County, Indiana, lies a town so small that if you blink, you just might miss it. But if you slow down—really slow down—you’ll find yourself immersed in one of Indiana’s most curious and captivating places. The Little Town That Could: Story, Indiana isn’t just a collection of old buildings on a backroad. It’s a breathing, whispering time capsule held together with chestnut beams, rusted hinges, and tales too stubborn to die. It’s also a place that Linda and I have often visited and thoroughly enjoyed the peace and serenity that we experienced there.
The air here smells of old oak, chimney smoke, and the distant memory of horse hooves on gravel. The trees seem to lean in a little, as if listening. The roads twist like folklore, snaking past mossy fences and weathered barns. You don’t just visit Story. You walk into it like a novel you didn’t mean to start but suddenly can’t put down.
From Boomtown to Blue Lady: The Rise and Fall of The Little Town That Could: Story, Indiana
In 1851, President Millard Fillmore granted 173 acres of dense, hilly wilderness to Dr. George Story, an Ohio-born physician with frontier ambition. Nestled in what was once the untamed land of the “Ten O’Clock Treaty Line,” Story laid its roots in territory rich in timber but poor in arable soil. That didn’t stop pioneers from trying. Within decades, Storyville—as it was informally called—hummed with life.
Imagine: a general store with the creak of wood under heavy boots, sacks of grain leaning against the wall, glass jars filled with licorice and hard candy. Outside, the clang of a blacksmith’s hammer set a rhythm to daily life. At the heart of it all, a one-room schoolhouse where lessons mingled with the laughter of barefoot children.
Dr. Arnold Griffitt, who succeeded George Story, served as both doctor and postmaster—a common combo in a town where everyone wore multiple hats, often literally. By the late 1800s, Story had become the largest settlement in Van Buren Township.
But life in the hills was hard. The land, while beautiful, refused to yield much. Rocky and stubborn, it pushed back against every plow. When the Great Depression hit, it struck here like a hammer. Farms folded. Families packed wagons and left. Brown County lost nearly half its population by 1940. Story, once vibrant, slipped into silence.
Hauntingly Charming: The Blue Lady of the Story Inn
Yet not all who left Story were ready to be forgotten. The most famous of those who stayed behind is the spectral resident of Room 105 at the Story Inn—the Blue Lady.
She’s not the wailing, chain-rattling sort. No, she’s subtler, more dignified, perhaps a bit melancholic. They say she was the wife of a former innkeeper, a woman whose heart remained even after her body passed on. Guests who sleep in Room 105 report the scent of cherry tobacco drifting through the room, though no pipe is in sight. Others speak of lights flickering, locked doors creaking open, or personal items moving on their own.
Some say they’ve seen her. Always bathed in a soft, bluish glow, always watching, never speaking. One guest claimed he awoke to find her sitting at the foot of the bed, expression unreadable, before vanishing like breath in cold air.
If you’re daring enough, you can request the Blue Lady Room yourself. Just don’t expect a refund if you flee before breakfast.
The Town That Refused to Die
Like a phoenix rising from a forest of leaf mulch and kindling, Story began to stir again in the late 1970s. A young couple bought and restored the old general store, turning it into a rustic restaurant and B&B. It was the first heartbeat in decades.
Then in 1999, a lawyer named Rick Hofstetter took a leap of faith (and perhaps a strong drink) and bought the entire town. Yes, all of it. The inn, the restaurant, the barns, the cabins—everything. He preserved the structures, added modern comforts with a reverent hand, and gave Story a new purpose: living history.
Today, visitors arrive by the gravel road that curves through a canopy of sycamores and sugar maples. The inn stands like a sepia photograph made real, its painted clapboards glowing golden in the morning light. Inside, tables of mismatched wood sit beneath gaslight chandeliers. Menus lean heavily on seasonal ingredients and local lore.
If you listen closely while sipping your bourbon in the tavern, you might hear Hofstetter himself tell tales of salvaging beams or arguing with a ghost over thermostat settings.
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A Living Ghost Town With a Big Heart
The Little Town That Could: Story, Indiana isn’t frozen in amber. It’s dynamic, a place where echoes of the past walk beside the laughter of guests clinking glasses on a Friday night. The Story Inn plays host to wedding parties, adventurers, history buffs, and yes, the occasional ghost hunter.
The buildings have names as colorful as their paint: the Alamo, the Wheeler Homestead, the Garden Cottage. Each structure creaks with charm, decorated in a style that straddles the line between antique and cozy. Floral wallpaper, claw-foot tubs, slanted floors—these rooms feel lived in because they are.
Step outside and the old barn looms like a cathedral to American craftsmanship. Its beams stretch toward the sky with the kind of quiet dignity only time can bestow. Nearby, the Story Monument stands carved in limestone, a tribute to endurance, community, and transformation.
But the true heart of Story lies in its people. Not many live there full-time—the population hovers somewhere between four dogs and three humans. Yet everyone you meet here, from the chef plating duck confit to the gardener weeding heirloom beds, is part of the ongoing story.
Visit Story and Write Your Own Chapter
Visiting Story isn’t like touring a museum. There are no velvet ropes, no Plexiglas cases. It’s a place where history breathes and waits for you to notice. Walk the worn paths between buildings. Lean against a porch post as twilight paints the town in soft hues. Sit by the fireplace and ask yourself: what did this place see? Who walked these halls before you?
And maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll spot a flash of blue just out of the corner of your eye.
Plan Your Visit
- Stay: Book a room at the Story Inn. Go ahead, request Room 105 if you’re feeling brave.
- Eat: Farm-to-fork doesn’t get more authentic than this. Try the pork belly with bourbon glaze.
- Do: Wander the woods, photograph the details, toast the past.
- Don’t Miss: The limestone monument and Blue Lady sightings journal at the front desk.
So when life feels too fast, or too loud, or too much, take a turn off the beaten path. Story, Indiana isn’t just a weekend getaway—it’s a return to something real, something raw, and maybe, just maybe, something haunted.
You don’t just leave Story with memories. You leave with a tale of your own.
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