In 1926 our great grandparents, Herman & Ruby Kopp set out to make the biggest purchase of their lives, as they were looking for a farm to call their own. They found just what they were looking for in an 115-acre property that was set to go up on a tax sale in what was known as flat woods in Clark county (now Clarksville, IN). Herman showed up at the courthouse and was successful in his endeavor. Kopp’s farm was born.
Herman and Ruby had four children: George, Kenneth, Thelma, and our grandfather, Clayton “Pete”. As Kenneth, George, and Thelma (Hardsaw) got older they left the farm, while our grandfather stayed. He married our grandmother, Frances Lucille Case in 1937. Herman and Ruby allowed them to construct a home on the property, where they had six children: Richard, Sonja (Mundy), Clayton “Merle”, Larry, Susan (Sigler), and our father, Tommy. The children grew up tending the animals, working the fields, and operating the dairy. In 1949 our Great Grandfather was kicked by one of the workhorses and passed away leaving the farm he so dearly loved.
There are many stories of all the work and fun the Kopp children, their cousins, and their friends had on the property. As the Kopp Children got older and began leaving the farm, keeping up with the dairy cows became too much and in 1960, Pete and Lucille sold the dairy cows. The cow watering pond behind the house was expanded into the 3-acre lake when the state of Indiana was in need of dirt for the approaches to the Kennedy bridge in 1959.
In the early 1970s, the state of Indiana decided to build I-265 and acquired 19 acres of the farm. The state needed dirt to build the exit ramps and they purchased that dirt from Pete and Lucille, thus the creation of the 13-acre lake on the property. As an avid fisherman and someone who just liked to have fun in general, Pete decided to create a recreational destination. Pete enlisted his boys in the endeavor, and they went to work building a shelter house, barbecue pit for hog roasting, bathrooms, a large water swing, diving board, docks, Volleyball court, and horseshoe pits. In 1978, Kopp’s Outdoor recreational facilities opened for swimming, picnicking, concerts, and fishing. Kopp’s Lakes was in its prime. When our grandfather passed in 1985, our grandmother continued to operate the lakes for fishing and company picnics until it became too much for her to handle in 2006, although she did continue to host company picnics.
We lost our father in February 2009 and then our Grandmother passed in February 2013. We had the opportunity to keep the property in the family and my brother and I decided to purchase it and restore it to a family, friendly fun destination! Along with our spouses, Jenny, and Jim, we would like to invite you to make your own memories at Kopp’s Lakes!
-Tommy Kopp & Donna Kopp Ennis
