English, Indiana — Green Home For Sale

Our passive-solar home is built of beautiful cedar, pine, sandstone and other natural materials. It sits on 50 rich, fertile acres, bordered by a creek and the Hoosier National Forest.

Listing ID: 18222

• Natural Home
• Small Home

Property Description

Step into our house and the warm colors of the wood floor, stone chimney, partial-cathedral ceiling, and pine siding surround you. The 12" thick walls are made of standstone from the creek and cedar (cordwood) from woods nearby.
We built this house slowly, by hand, over several years, and it reflects our careful attention to it. Cedar shelves in two closets, a cherry bookshelf built into the wall, deep windowsills spanning thick walls: everywhere the beauty of the natural materials stands out. And the beauty of the outdoors is close at hand. To the south there is a big view of distant wooded hills. The porch (8'x28') to that side is enclosed in glass and makes a good greenhouse. We kept arugula greens there through the winter, and our potted kumquat and ferns thrived.
To the north there is an enclosed back porch (7.5'x 28').
To the west an open porch (10'x30') leads to a long, gently sloping yard landscaped with catalpa, white walnut, sugar maple, oaks, river birch, tulip poplar, shagbark hickory, and white pine as well as flowerbeds and butterfly bush, hazelnut, buttonbush, and burning bushes. Walk toward the woods in that direction and you'll come to the spring we used for drinking water for most of the year.
Close to the house to the northeast there is a pond surrounded by white pine, sycamore, and dogwoods. We've seen great blue herons there, and kingfishers often come to try at the bluegill, bass, and catfish in the water.
We raised a big garden near the pond and house, including a 50' row of asparagus. Since the ground is rich and fertile and there are about 3 acres of open land near the house, you could have a market garden and sell at Louisville (an hour away on I-64) or closer at Corydon (a half an hour away).
In addition, 6 blueberry bushes, red raspberries, grapes, 2 sour cherry trees, a peach, 2 apples (Golden Delicious, William's Pride), 2 pears, and crabapple trees add to the natural bounty of the land. There are orchards of 22 9-year-old pecan trees, and over 100 10-year-old black walnuts. Add to that a 10 acre alfalfa field in the bottomland and the balance of the total 50 acres wooded, and you have land rich with beauty and possibility.
The 50 acres is bordered on the west by the Hoosier National Forest, on the east by a large creek, on the north by Interstate 64, and on the south by neighbors (out of sight) and State Road 62.

What makes your home a Green or Healthy Home?

Our house is built with beautiful natural materials--sandstone, cedar, and pine. Handcrafted by us, it is open in design, featuring a central stone chimney (great for absorbing heat) and a greenhouse porch to the south. Walk in and you breathe deeply--you relax. It is a naturally healthy home in a beautiful natural setting.

Neighborhood Description

Turn off of scenic State Rd. 62 onto our friveway, and you ascend through a woods to the house. In summer, you can't see any other houses; in winter, lights from the few houses on the hillside across the valley are visible. Below, along the creek and St. Rd. 62, is the tiny community of West Fork.

Market Area

This land is in rural, heavily forested Crawford County. The county seat is 20 minutes to the north in English. For more shopping, we drove a half an hour east to Corydon, a thriving and historic town. Tell City is a half an hour to the south, and Jasper is 45 minutes away to the northeast.

School District

Crawford County

Community

West Fork

Home Type or Land

Single Family - Two Story

Location of Home or Land

Rural

Elevation of Home

Other