Stories from a small town worth knowing about
March 18, 2026
INDOT has scheduled shoulder repairs and resurfacing along State Road 9 through Wolcottville beginning the week of March 23. Drivers should expect flaggers and occasional single-lane closures through mid-April.
March 10, 2026
The board voted unanimously to replace aging playground equipment at Wolcottville Elementary. Installation is scheduled for this summer, funded through the capital projects fund.
February 22, 2026
The WVFD's annual pancake breakfast and silent auction raised $4,200, surpassing last year's total by nearly $600. Funds will go toward replacing outdated turnout gear and upgrading radio equipment.
March 2026
How Wolcottville's oldest home was saved from demolition
By the early 2000s, the Wolcott House sat empty, its roof leaking and an addition collapsed. Most people figured it was time to tear it down. A LaGrange County historian named Rex Fisher disagreed.
March 2026
How a single set of tracks transformed Wolcottville from a mill settlement into a commercial hub
In 1870, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad completed its line through Wolcottville, and everything changed. New factories, hotels, and businesses followed the tracks, turning a quiet mill town into a genuine commercial center.
March 2026
Five glacial lakes, one small town, and generations of families who keep coming back
The five lakes around Wolcottville were carved by glaciers 14,000 years ago and linked by the Little Elkhart River. For generations, families from across Indiana have summered here, and some of them eventually stopped leaving.
March 2026
Ken Kercheval was born here, raised elsewhere, and became one of television's most recognizable faces
Kenneth Marine Kercheval was born in Wolcottville in 1935, the son of the town doctor. He went on to play Cliff Barnes on Dallas for 327 episodes across 14 seasons, one of the longest runs in television history.
March 2026
How Wolcottville's oldest home became a bed and breakfast, and what was found buried in the front yard
After a physician from Goshen spotted the Wolcott House in "This Old House" magazine, he and his wife spent four years restoring it, reassembled a 1760s Connecticut home as a rear addition, and opened it as a bed and breakfast. Researchers later confirmed a mound in the front yard is a ceremonial site over 1,000 years old.
March 2026
Life along the county roads of LaGrange County, and the neighbors most people never really know
LaGrange County is home to one of the largest Amish communities in the United States, and Wolcottville sits right in the middle of it. Nearly half the county is Amish, a fact that shapes daily life in ways most visitors never fully grasp.
March 2026
Wolcottville punches above its weight when it comes to places to play
Most small towns this size make do with a single ball diamond and a set of aging swings. Wolcottville has three parks, each serving a different purpose, each with its own piece of the town's character.
March 2026
William L. Taylor was born in a Wolcottville log cabin and rose to lead Indiana's legal office
William L. Taylor was born in Wolcottville in 1850, became Indiana's Attorney General, ran for Governor, and in 1908 donated the land that became Taylor Park. Most people who use the park have no idea whose name is on the sign.