Information about our town
Mulberry is a rural community with a population of approximately 1,400 people. We are located on State Road 38 in the western part of Clinton County, Indiana. Mulberry is within a short driving distance of Lafayette, Frankfort, Delphi, Kokomo, and Indianapolis, which allows area residents and visitors easy access to employment, entertainment, education, and many health care providers. Mulberry has an abundance of small businesses. We are the home to South Fork Restaurant, giving you a casual dining experience, taxidermy, insurance company, liquor store, gas station/convenient store, youth center, and senior citizens center, just to name a few. More of our businesses include; Mulberry Cooperative Telephone Company, The Farmers Bank, United States Postal Service, Pizza King, Masonic Lodge #618, and Bodine Funeral Home. Also located in our town is the Mulberry Health and Retirement Community. The Luther Villa is also located in Mulberry, and is an independent living community. The Luther Villa consists of wonderful apartments that have very nice amenities. Please visit the Luther Villa’s website for more information. You can click here to access this website. There are three churches located inside of Mulberry. David Hummel is the Pastor of The Mulberry United Methodist Church; it is located on the corner of Perrin Street and Main Street. The church owns Abba’s Place, located on Jackson Street. Abba’s Place is the home to the Stone Soup Food Pantry. Merton Bobo is the Pastor of the Mulberry Trinity Church. It is located on the corner of Jackson Street and Main Street. Mike Crawford is the Pastor of Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church. It is located on State Road 38 just inside the western part of Mulberry. Mulberry has a Fire Department located on Jackson Street on the easternmost side of town. The Mulberry Public Library is a branch of the Frankfort Public Library and is located across the street from the Fire Department on Jackson Street. Trash is picked up on Wednesday of every week. Holidays have a different schedule. Look for information on your water bill ahead of time, or call Town Hall.
Clerk-Treasurer: Paula Bennett
Pay a Water Bill, or have your water service turned on/off: 765-296-2455
Please contact Paula Bennett about prices and availability to reserve the Recreational Center located in the Mulberry Centennial Park. It is a nice venue for wedding receptions, auctions, and other family get-togethers such as reunions and birthday parties.
We also have a wonderful outdoor shelter with picnic tables for your outdoor family gatherings. It is equipped with built-in grills for your cooking needs. This shelter comes at a “first come, first serve” basis, and is provided free of charge.
The Police Department: 765-296-2440
Clinton County Disposal (Trash Pickup) 765-379-2292 – please call this number for complaints and questions.
Telephone Services: Mulberry Cooperative Telephone Company 765-296-2885
Internet and Televisions Services: Website Mulberry Cooperative Telephone Company (TV over the Internet) and High-speed DSL services – 765-296-2885 •Other Utilities: Comcast – (Television and Broadband Cable Internet Services) 1-800-Comcast Duke Energy -1-800-521-2232 Vectren Gas Company – 1-800-227-1376
News Sources: WLFI (from Lafayette) Click here for the website Or tune to Channel 18 Journal and Courier: www.jconline.com Frankfort Times www.ftimes.com
Shisha Bars in Mulberry Indiana
Enjoying Shisha
Hookah, or Shisha, is becoming known as a relaxing and social pastime. The wonderful aromas, the sounds of the hookah bubbling, the taste of the lovely and smooth flavour of the Shisha on the back of your throat – these are all pulls to enjoy the hookah experience. The tradition is middle-eastern, and has been practiced for hundreds of years at social gatherings. The tobacco is soaked in honey and passes through a water chamber before it is inhaled.
Many people are seeking out the best Shisha bars to enjoy their hookah with friends. If you are in smaller communities like Mulberry, you may have to drive a bit – to Layfayette or West Layfayette. There is a Shisha available for purchase at a place called ‘Amused’ in Layfayette (765-449-8733), 12 miles from Mulberry.
Best Shisha Bar #1
Blu135 – West Layfayette (765-743-3636)
Hookah! and Blu135 is an exciting lounge and dance floor. It has Maza restaurant and lounge serving mouth-watering food, and the quality and smoothness of Satrbuzz Hookah in over seventy-five flavours.
The weekend’s dance music is managed by the best, most capable and electric d.j.’s in Indiana! If you are looking to enjoy your Shisha either with music, dancing and sexy companionship, this is a great place to go! If you are looking for a great meal, martinis and a more private booth environment, this is still a great place to go! Something is here for everyone! And there is full-flavoured Hookah to boot!
Best Shisha Bar #2
Bombay Hookah Lounge – West Layfayette (765-746-2345)
The staff at the Bombay Hookah Lounge are knowledgeable and able to assist you with recommendations, and if you are new to Hookah, to assist you in using the Hookah. They can also show you how to get the best, most enjoyable and smooth Shisha experience in Layfayette.
The food is excellent, with a wide range of menu items of Indian cuisine. Come for dessert, come for a full meal, come for appetizers! The dancing and music are also a big attraction! There is also talk of the introducing Electronic Shihsa or E-Shisha too!
Best Shisha Bar #3
Egyptian Cafe – West Layfayette (765-743-0500)
The Egyptian Cafe has a large menu of excellent food, which only complements great service and good Hookah. The cuisine is superb – with a variety of menu options for all cravings and tastes! From lamb to chicken souvlaki, fries to falafel, there is rave reviews of it all! The music is also very good; varied and upbeat. Sports plays on the televisions, even in the day – for those who like to smoke their Shisha, relax and watch a competitive game of soccer with friends!
The staff is friendly and top-notch, making the whole experience a pleasant, relaxing one, or if you go for the nightlife, a fun and entertaining one.
Research some more here:
Info on Shisha & E-Shisha
History of Mulberry, Indiana
Dania Remaly provided another piece of historic documentation of our roots.
This is an excellent description of all of the historical markers found around town in Mulberry. This document is also filled with a huge supply of history that many folks never witnessed first hand. For example, “Dayton Gravel”, which is State Road 38, used to be a toll road!
Click here to read the article below, in it’s original form.
The history of Mulberry, Indiana seems to mirror that of many small towns in Indiana. It had its start in 1858 with a country store in a log house owned by Thomas Waldron, Sr. Many of the settlers in the town were of German heritage. Homes and other businesses gradually followed. The first electric company was founded in 1880 and gave residents power by the use of a steam generator which provided electricity for lighting only between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Several railroads reached Mulberry by the 1870’s. The Interurban was an important part of Mulberry history. The depot for the Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company line was in place from 1902 through 1930. The electric line was both a passenger and freight train taking livestock, people and goods between Frankfort, Mulberry, and Lafayette. Later the depot served as the Greyhound bus station until 1960.
Other early businesses included a sawmill, lumberyard, a well known creamery, hardware and dry goods stores, a few hotels, grain and livestock businesses, drug stores, bakeries, and in 1901 the first Mutual Phone Company. There was an ice-house, a car dealership and a car-wash. In 1888, the Jay Grain Seed, & Flour Company had its beginning. It has changed hands over the years and is now Mulberry Feeds, Inc. Later Mulberry also had such businesses as a jewelry store, furniture store, a dance club; and crafts store which was owned by the Bennett Family and was established in 1992.
Mulberry also once had a well respected newspaper. The Mulberry Reporter was published each Thursday from 1890 to 1972. In the first quarter of the 1900’s, John Russell Stair opened an airport on land just outside of Mulberry. He later organized the Mulberry Flying Club and also trained a number of World War II pilots. Among his more notable students were Roger Chaffee and John Glenn. The airport closed in 1960.
Mulberry’s population hit 817 in 1938 and surprisingly enough was then the second largest town in the county and was reportedly the wealthiest town of its size in the U.S.
In 1905 a church based academy was opened in Mulberry. Later named the Weidner Institute, it became a junior college. It ran for a couple of decades and closed in 1927. A 14,000 square foot “home for the aging” was then opened with a new building being built in 1975-1977. The well maintained “retirement home” and cottages are still in operation to this day.
The Town Hall was erected in 1957. For many years Mulberry also had its own high school. The first school was built in 1878 with a new school constructed in 1904. The Mulberry high school was closed in 1961 and the elementary school followed suit in 1985 as several districts consolidated. The old brick building still stands although not maintained.
The Mulberry Community Library had its beginnings in 1937. With continued success, the library opened its most recent, 5,000 square foot facility in 2001.
Mulberry, Indiana has an approximate population of 1,400. Yes, that’s right, one thousand, four hundred people; no zeros are missing. It’s located in Clinton County and lies approximately 13.5 miles southeast of Lafayette, Indiana. The proximity of the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, which have a combined population of over 156,000 people, provides easier access to shopping, entertainment, and other services.
Mulberry has a post office and a telephone cooperative, one beauty salon and tanning center, a bank, three churches (Gloria Dei Lutheran Evangelical. Mulberry United Methodist, and the Trinity Church of Christ), a Fire Department, an assisted living/long term care facility, a police department/Marshal, a gas station/convenience store, one family restaurant/pub, The Pizza King, a public library, and a liquor store. There are a handful of other businesses but no retail stores.
Mulberry Centennial park offers a playground, tennis courts, and softball fields as well as a picnic area and is the site of the annual chicken and pork chop cookout.
In 2008, Mulberry observed it’s Sesquicentennial with a weeklong celebration.
Although some rural areas are unable to offer residents services such as cable TV and high speed internet, Mulberry does have access to these modern conveniences.
Some new development has occurred in the past 5-10 years, with a handful of new housing developments growing on the outskirts of town. A number of older homes have also been purchased and renovated. It’s hard to know what the future holds for this small town but eventually it may find its way back to a more prosperous existence.