Rolling Prairie, LaPorte County Indiana
ROLLING PRAIRIE was originally attracting people who knew a good place when they saw one as far back as the 1830s; it had a couple of different names at first, but the one that stuck was an apt description. This land of gently rolling hills and small pristine lakes lost its railroad stop back in 1992, but it’s drawn horse lovers, boutique farmers, and lovers of the good life ever since.
Rolling Prairie’s never been officially incorporated- it’s part of Kankakee Township- but that hasn’t stopped the community from developing a certain quiet excellence. Its schools, for example, are rated four stars by the Indiana Department of Education. Murals on the post office walls offer local history to ponder as you wait to mail your package- not that you’re likely to have much of a wait.
Folk artists like Marcy Daily of Fawn Run Farm Primitives and antique dealers like the curators of Prairie Farm draw travelers with taste from near and far. Even its travel plaza on the Indiana Toll Road stands out, having both a Dairy Queen and an excellent handmade chocolate shop.
Since the days when the Potawattomies gathered and dried wild plums here, the land has been producing delicious harvests. These days, niche farmers like the folks of Saugany Lake Farm produce free-range beef, eggs, chicken and produce, and people like Jeff and Jennifer Baltes of Jennie Rae’s turn farm-fresh goodness into local home cooking. In fact, Rolling Prairie residents have several choices for a meal out; besides Jennie Rae’s there are fresh lake perch and ribs at the Little Tavern Too, pub grub at the Nowhere Bar and Grill, and family style cooking at the Blacksmith Shop, housed in an actual former blacksmith’s shop.
The area around Rolling Prairie is dotted with inland lakes, none lovelier than the town’s own Saugany Lake. Heart-shaped, with waters so pristine that the local paddling club hosts special outings to observe the rare and elusive freshwater jellyfish, Saugany is managed by a conservation club that tends it like the jewel that it is.
All this low-key country cool, less than an hour and a half from Chicago, doesn’t mean you’re in the middle of nowhere. With the conveniences of LaPorte fifteen minutes away, errands are no big deal. And you’re less than a half hour from the arts, culture, and recreation of two great Lake Michigan shore towns, Michigan City and New Buffalo, each with its own flavor of festivals, night life, and shiny new casinos. Rolling Prairie offers the best of both worlds.
Properties in Rolling Prairie come in a wide variety of succulent flavors- horse properties, water properties, modest two-bedroom cottages, elegant colonial-style homes with acreage, architect-built originals with views and your own blueberries in the back yard, wooded acreage where you can build your own vision. Let Paul Zubrys be your buyer’s broker, and make yourself at home in Rolling Prairie.
INSIDER INFO on Rolling Prairie:
LaPorte HeraldArgus
DISCLAIMER: This brief profile of Rolling Prairie cannot possibly tell you all there is to know. Call Paul Zubrys; he’ll let you know about the good, the bad and the ugly- and if there’s anything he doesn’t already know, he knows who to ask.
Happy home hunting!
e, La Porte County Indiana
