Facts

Fulton County’s Claim to Fame

Fulton County is proud to be the home of several famous and well-known people over the years:

• Elmo Lincoln – the first Tarzan in silent movies
• Clyde Beatty – circus wild animal trainer
• Paul Spotts Emrick – Purdue band director who created the first marching band to form letters in 1907
• Dr. Otis Bowen – Indiana Governor 1972-80 and U.S. Secretary of Health 1985-88 under President Reagan
• John Chamberlain – world-famous sculptor
• Chief White Eagle – movie actor and speaker

Rural Scenery

Nothing is more relaxing to modern drivers than a slow tour of farmland and the beautiful trees, lakes, and flowers found on Fulton County’s roads.

Lots of fishing can be done across Fulton County, with a large number of public access sites. The county is home to Lake Manitou, Tippecanoe River, and smaller lakes: Lake Bruce near Kewanna, Fletchers Lake near Grass Creek, and Town Lake near Akron.

Tippecanoe River

Tippecanoe is one of Indiana’s major rivers and is acknowledged for its clear water. You can see the clear water of Tippecanoe pouring into the muddy Wabash River in Battle Ground, Indiana.

This river is great for canoe rides, fishing, swimming, floating, and picnics. Germany Bridge campground has a building for rent for reunions and meetings.

A canoe rental and several bait shops are close by. A shop in Delong offers groceries, gasoline, a restaurant, hardware, and other essentials. Talma area is replete with riparian views, campgrounds, antique shops, and several historical markers. The Trail of Courage Living History Festival annually offers canoe rides.

Parks & Nature Preserves

Fulton County boasts multiple parks ranging from riverside to downtown. These parks include the Ruth Kern Nature Preserve, Manitou Wetlands, Germany Bridge Park, and town parks in Rochester, Akron, Fulton, Kewanna, and Leiters Ford.

Visitors can hike, fish, collect leaves or butterflies, and enjoy nature, spring to fall with its lovely autumn colors.

Nickel Plate Trail

The Nickel Plate Trail is the 40+ mile railtrail corridor that runs from Kokomo in Howard County to Rochester in Fulton County, IN.

The trail follows what was once the Nickel Plate Railroad, running alongside and in places crossing over, Little Pipe Creek. No matter how many times you visit the trail, there is always something new for you to discover.

Mill Creek Golf Course

Situated on the former federal fish hatchery, Mill Creek Golf Course has informal landscaping and interesting historic sites, 18 holes on 160 acres. Golfing events include school tournaments and large golf contests, as well as local fundraising for Senior Citizens and other groups.

Mill Creek Golf Course has a driving range, pitching area, fully stocked pro shop, 50 golf carts, tours in summer, lessons, and club fitting by a PGA professional. The golf course is located on Rochester’s East 9th Street and has a restored red round barn for its pro-shop, with a snack bar and beer.

Elks Country Club

This local Elks Club also features a 9-hole golf course with featured tournaments and a lake view restaurant for its members.

Media & Communications

The Rochester Sentinel is our oldest business, having begun publishing in 1858. Many small towns have lost their local newspapers, but The Sentinel continues as a useful and interesting record of the county’s activities, with weekly features of history, schools, Purdue Extension, local police, fire, town and county reports, and beautiful prize-winning photos.

The Indiana Room in the Fulton County Public Library has a great collection of local history, including Rochester telephone books from the early 1900s, Civil War Adjutant General’s report, county newspapers on microfilm, and books by local authors. The library’s website provides access from your home computer to the old newspapers, cemeteries, and the catalog of books there.

Rochester Telephone Company (RTC), founded in 1895, was created to be an excellent communication system that provides telephone, internet, cable, and a local television channel. RTC goes to events and records them for Channel 4. You can watch athletic contests, school programs, city and county government meetings, festivals, and history. Interns working at RTC learn to shoot video, edit visual content, and use a drone with a camera for sky views.

WROI is Rochester’s own radio station. The ROI stands for Rochester, Indiana but it covers all of Fulton County and neighboring Pulaski County. Some features are weekly sports talks, First Federal program interviews, daily trading post, reports from county and city government, schools, and more.

Artists’ Colony

Artists from all over the county exhibit in the library and in many other area exhibitions. Kewanna is known for its artists, led by Diane Tesler and other well-known artists. Akron has its own Akron Area Arts group and newsletter.

The Biggest & Best Airport Around

Fulton County Airport, founded in the 1930s, is the biggest and best airport for a county of this population. It has 27 hangars and a 5001-foot-long blacktop runway and a parallel taxiway, which means it is big enough for corporate jets with 13 passengers.

Mentone Flying Club, founded in 1957, is the oldest flying club in Indiana and one of the oldest in the USA, offers flying lessons and free ground school. Flights and lessons take place at the Fulton County Airport.

The airport office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The Parkview Samaritan helicopter is also based here at the Fulton County Airport.

Recycle Old Electronics

The Fulton County Solid Waste District is one of the best in any county. Bigger towns and counties often don’t have a recycling center that accepts as many diverse materials as our recycling center.

Old computers, radios, batteries, tires, paint, as well as the usual paper, plastic, and metal cans are bundled to be sold and reused.

Trash Converted Into Electricity

You’ve heard of it – well, here we do it. We may have a big trash mountain, but lots are being saved and recycled. A nearby plant just across the Marshall County line converts methane gas to electricity, making a safer, greener community.