Cass County High Point Trip Report
Date: January 13, 2002
Author: Bob Schwab
two areas in section 3-28N-3E (830+ ft)
From the intersection of US 31 and Indiana 25 just south of Rochester, travel south on US 31 for 10.8 miles
to 1000 N Road (Deedsville exit). Turn right on 1000 N Road and go west for 0.5 mile to the intersection
with 1100 E Road. Turn left (south) and proceed 0.15 mile to a house on the left side of the road.
Across the street (to the west) is area 1. I thought the highest spot was a bit north of the house, on the western
edge of the road. Continue south roughly another 0.15 mile to the Keller house (9711 1100 E Road) which
is clearly visible on the right. The highest spot appears to be just south of the house under a pleasant grove
of pine trees. This area (2) is quite a bit higher than area 1.
ten areas in section 4-28N-3E (830+ ft)
Continue south 0.7 mile on 1100E Road from the Keller's to 900 N Road. Turn right and proceed west 1 mile
to where 1000 E Road goes to the south. Pull off immediately to the north into a corn field access and
park here. Hike north-northwest across the cornfield to the woods. Aim for what looks like a slight rise
about halfway across the northern edge of this field. Area 3 is a small area in the woods about 400 feet
north of the edge of the field.
Return to your car and continue west 0.5 mile on 900 N Road to 950 E Road and turn right. Drive all the
way to the end of this road (0.65 mile) to the Ed V. Brown home. His house is located on area 4, which
reaches west across the road. I believe the highest spot in area 4 is actually out in the bean field to the west
of Mr. Brown's property. Area 5 is northeast of Mr. Brown's barn, behind his pond, and the highest spot
appears to be on a path just to the right of a stand of pine trees. Roughly 0.1 mile south of Mr. Brown's
house out in the field to the west is another small spot (area 6) that is only a few hundred feet from the road,
but hand level checks verify that this spot is lower than area 4 to the north.
To visit the remaining six sites in this section, return to your car and drive south to 900 N Road. Turn right
(west) and go 0.5 mile to 900 E Road. Turn right again and drive north for 1 mile. Along the way, you will
pass a large farm house on the right where I got some valuable information from Jim Thomas about the area.
He explained that the owner of the large field lives in Chicago and rents it to a local farmer (Jerry Fields).
He didn't think I should worry about getting formal permission to walk out into the field at this time of year,
and since his boys were having a good time out in these fields with their dirt bike as we spoke, I assumed it
was probably OK for me to wander out there as well. I parked at the corner of the road and walked east
along the Fulton/Cass County line on an old county road trace. There is an indistinct contour area to the
south (area 7) which is much lower than the large area to the east (area 8). This larger area spills over to the
north into an adjacent field where a ruined barn still stands. I felt the highest ground in area 8 was along a
low ridge out in the field along the western edge of the contour. Walking directly south 0.3 mile from this
area, you will encounter another very large contour (area 9) of some prominence which is east and south of
an old orchard. Once again, there seems to be a low ridge that isn't marked on the topo map that represents
the highest spot in this contour. Hand level checks seem to confirm that areas 8 and 9 are about the same
height, and both are much higher than either area 7, or areas 10 and 11, which are two small but visible rises
in the field to the east of area 9. There is also a small marshy area immediately to the east, between area 9
and area 11 which is not indicated on the topo map for this area. After circling counter-clockwise from area
9 to areas 10 and 11, I walked north along the edge of a woods to the county line. From here, I went east
into the woods for at least 200 yards to another contour area that reaches south into the woods from a field
to the north. I thought the high spot in area 12 was about 100 feet south into the woods, just east of where
a fence line from the north intersects the woods.
two areas including spot elevation at 833 feet in section 5-28N-3E (830+ ft)
From where you parked your car, you can see a large area that rises gently in the cornfield to your west.
I drove west just a short distance past an intersection (spot elevation 833 feet) and parked near a house on the
north side of the road. Hike directly south out into the field about 0.15 mile to an area of obvious high ground.
Area 13 is fairly large, but the highest spot is not hard to find. This area is clearly higher than the
spot elevation in the intersection to the northeast.
Return to your car and drive south, back down 900 E Road to the intersection with 900 N Road. Turn right
(west) and go almost 0.5 mile on 900 N Road to a house on your right (north) with a mailbox signed "SEE."
No one was home on the day I visited, but Jim Thomas had told me this one would be OK to visit as well.
Park just east of the house and follow a road that runs north to a gravel pit. As you approach the pit, veer
to the NW and climb a grassy ridge to area 14. The high spot is almost directly west of the gravel pit, and
offers a pretty good view of the surrounding fields.
one area in section 8-28N-3E (830+ ft)
From the intersection of 900 N and 900 E Roads, proceed south 1 mile on 900 E Road to 800 N Road.
Turn right and drive west for about 0.3 mile to the office for Sand Hill Farms and inquire within about
access to the highpoint behind their complex of barns and buildings. I got permission from one of the farm
hands to drive up the lane between their cattle barns to a low ridge near their big black million-gallon sewage tank.
The tank looks like a shiny three-story metal building. There is an old sand pit on a ridge just
northeast of the tank. The ground has been disturbed, so I'm not sure how much of area 15 is still above the
830 foot contour, but the highest area is just west of the gravel pit, and my GPS confirmed that I was in the
right spot.
Keep in mind that several of these areas cannot be visited or assessed when crops are growing.
Some property owners are absentee, and others live in Florida in the winter, so you may have to visit this area
more than once (as I did) in order to successfully complete this county.