Podcast – Visiting the Minnetrista At Muncie, Indiana

Visiting the Minnetrista At Muncie, Indiana
From the Book
East Central Indiana Day Trips

Transcript:

Greetings, today we will move from the southwestern portion of the state to the East Central region. We will visit the Minnetrista complex in Muncie, Indiana.

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The Minnetrista complex consists of the land once owned by the Ball Brothers, Muncie’s leading family of industrialists and philanthropists. All five Ball Brothers had homes along the 6 acre strip of land between the White River and Minnetrista Avenue. The brothers coined the name “Minnetrista,” from the Sioux word for water, “mna,” and the English word “tryst.” “Mna,” is pronounced as “mini.” The word means “a gathering place by the water.” Four of the five Ball brother’s homes still stand on the site. A fire destroyed Frank Clayton Ball’s home in 1967. The Minnetrista organization constructed the current building on the site, which serves as visitor center and museum. In 1978 Frank Ball’s daughter, Margaret Ball Petty, wrote a letter to her cousin, Edmund F. Ball, the son of Edmund Ball, suggesting that the Minnestra be converted into a fine art museum for the citizens of Muncie. The Ball Brothers Foundation conducted a four year study to determine the needs of the community which resulted in the construction of a modern facility that would serve to preserve the heritage of the area. Workers broke ground on March 14, 1987. The Minnetrista Cultural Center opened December 10, 1988.
Facilities include:
Museum Gallery Exhibits
Bob Ross Experience – Museum
Oakhurst Mansion Tours
Outdoor Gardens
The Orchard Shop

Museum Gallery Exhibits
This consists of a museum dedicated to the artist Bob Ross, the home of one of the Ball Brothers, the Minnetrista museum, an ornamental garden, nature garden, forest garden and orchard garden. We visited the Bob Ross Museum first, which consists of the studio he used to film the television series, a workshop upstairs where Bob Ross certified instructors teach aspiring artists in his style and a large gallery of his paintings.
Oakhurst Mansion Tours
The Ball mansion consists of the family’s mementos, a kitchen where they tested various recipes and demonstrated how to use their jars to can food. the upstairs consists of a huge collection of Bob Ross inspired quilts. The forest garden consists of several paved pathways through a forested setting The Minnetrista museum consists of a room dedicated to the Ball jar manufacturing employees. The upstairs is basically child oriented with a Robot Zoo, Tree House, Club house and building area.
The Ball Mansion – Oakhurst Mansion Tours
1200 North Minnetrista Parkway
Muncie, IN 47303
(765) 282-4848

Visitors can walk from the parking area by the Orchard Shop along the White River to each of the Ball homes as well as enjoy the gardens and adjacent nature area. The Orchard Shop is a gift shop that sells many fine items that can serve as souvenirs of your visit.

The Bob Ross Museum consists of a museum dedicated to the artist Bob Ross, the home of one of the Ball Brothers, the Minnetrista museum, an ornamental garden, nature garden, forest garden and orchard garden. We visited the Bob Ross Museum first, which consists of the studio he used to film the television series, a workshop upstairs where Bob Ross certified instructors teach aspiring artists in his style and a large gallery of his paintings.

The Ball mansion consists of the family’s mementos, a kitchen where they tested various recipes and demonstrated how to use their jars to can food. the upstairs consists of a huge collection of Bob Ross inspired quilts. The forest garden consists of several paved pathways through a forested setting The Minnetrista museum consists of a room dedicated to the Ball jar manufacturing employees. The upstairs is basically child oriented with a Robot Zoo, Tree House, Club house and building area.
Oakhurst Mansion Tours
1200 North Minnetrista Parkway
Muncie, IN 47303
(765) 282-4848
https://minnetrista.net/

The episode is based upon my book, East Central Indiana Day Trips , available on the web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the first book in the 9 volume Road Trip Indiana Series. The books include all the historical markers, as of 2022, in Indiana with the text and back story. The books also include a nearly complete listing of virtually every tourism destination in the state. The destinations include parks, museums, drive in theaters, bowling alleys, wineries and much, much more. I encourage you to visit the web site and subscribe to it.
You can find my books locally at the at the Romweber Marketplace in downtown Batesville, Indiana.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.