The Rabbit Hash General Store is 161 years old. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

By Robert Anglen
The Cincinnati Enquirer

RABBIT HASH - A celebrated Ohio River town was sold Friday in hopes of preserving its rustic charm.

Lowell "Louie" Scott, who bought the Boone County settlement piece by piece over the past 26 years, sold seven buildings, including the famous 161-year-old general store, and 3.5 acres to the Rabbit Hash Historical Society.

"This is a piece of American history that you don't find in many places," long-time resident Barbara Fallis said Friday. "I think this is a wonderful, wise and generous gift from Louie Scott to the people of Rabbit Hash."

Rabbit Hash lies across the river from Rising Sun, Ind., and is a collection of crafts stores that are a throwback to its 19th century beginnings; but it does not have any official designation. The town has been without a "mayor" since Goofy the dog died after securing 5,664 votes - at $1 a vote - in a 1998 campaign to raise money for the historical society.

"It actually has the teeny-tiny feel of a town," Ms. Fallis said. "It has the feel of a hamlet."

This log cabin is the home of the Rabbit Hash Historical Society. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

The purchase price was about $150,000. An anonymous donor gave $30,000 for a down payment and the historical society took out a mortgage for the remainder. The mortgage was reportedly secured by $250,000 willed to the society in February by part-time resident Edna Flower.

Historical Society President Don Clare said that the Ms. Flower's funds were not "expended" in the purchase and he expects rents from the stores to help repay the loan.

"Louie has spent his adult lifetime collecting pieces of the town, motivated only by making sure it remained the place he knew as a child." Mr. Clare said. "This was an individual effort that started the movement to preserve Rabbit Hash, and now we're proud to be continuing his legacy."

At the general store Friday, the mood was festive.

"I think its good," said Callie Clare, a general store employee.

"This way it is guaranteed that nothing can change it."

The general store dates to 1831, and has endured several Ohio River floods, including the big flood of 1937. The store's large weathered sign heralds "Tobacco, Sundries, Potions and Notions."

Overall view of "downtown" Rabbit Hash, with the Historical Society at left. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

An application for the town to get a spot on the National Register of Historic Places is pending.

Historical Society Trustee Bill Burleigh said the purchase will protect the town from developers, who have made overtures of buying it and turning part of the land into a parking lot for the Grand Victoria riverboat casino across the river.

"I don't think Mr. Scott would have sold it to just anybody," he said. "He had great interest in preserving it. The historical society was the perfect vehicle."

E-mail ranglen@enquirer.com