The Hinkle-Garton Farmstead will allow visitors to explore its sugaring operations and purchase maple products from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 14 in celebration of Indiana Maple Syrup Weekend. This event is free and open to the public.
The weekendlong statewide celebration is sponsored by the Indiana Maple Syrup Association, which had its 25th anniversary in 2015. About 150 syrup producers in Indiana are part of the organization.
At the farmstead, visitors can learn about the sugaring process. They can also purchase syrup, candies and cream made with maple. They can sample and buy maple tea, jams and jellies made on the farmstead by volunteers. They can also buy do-it-yourself maple tree tapping kits.
The first people to live on the Hinkle-Garton Farmstead property were John Henry Hinkle and Laura Rawlins Hinkle in 1886. At the time the property had 40 acres, and now it has 11 acres and six buildings. The Queen Anne style main house, one of the six buildings on the property, was built in 1892. People can go here for refreshments during the celebration on March 14.
Other farms and camps in Greencastle, Anderson and Rockville, Indiana will participate too. They will have maple cotton candy, maple baked goods and syrup samples.
Most sugar bushes, or sugar maple plantations, in the Indiana Maple Syrup Association are in central and northern regions of the state, because that is where large maple stands grow naturally.
