Fairmount, Indiana is known for one thing: it is the boyhood town of legendary actor James Dean, who is also buried in the local cemetery. Of course if you are a fan of the cartoon strip Garfield or a fan of British rock star Morrissey (oh yes, I am both I suppose), you might know Fairmount because cartoonist Jim Davis was born here and because Morrissey filmed his video Suedehead here in 1988. But nevertheless, the town is known the world over as the home of James Dean. I had been here once before - on July 21, 2004, but since I was in the neighborhood again on Sunday, June 8, 2008, this town became the second stop on the first “website-driven re-visits of places I’ve already been but have to see again because I was too stupid to take photos of myself by the landmarks when I was there the first time” tour. That name just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Chris, me, and Jackie ‘neath the Fairmount water tower. Is it a coincidence that James Dean and Jim Davis have the same initials? Just wondering…
After departing the town of Muncie where Chris, Jackie, and I had visited with my old pal from sixth grade Eric Welch, we ventured the 45 minutes northwest to the sleepy little town of Fairmount which by 5:30pm on a Sunday afternoon was basically closing up shop for the night. There was now a Fairmount Historical Museum that houses relics that once belonged to James Dean which were donated by his cousin who still lives in the town - in addition to other historical items related to the town and Garfield the cat. Unfortunately it had already closed by the time we got there.
However, I was surprised to find that a tiny little memorabilia shop that Bob and I had visited when we arrived in Fairmount four years earlier was still open and now housed the James Dean Gallery artifacts. The James Dean Gallery was a museum that Bob and I had also seen that year and it was filled to the brim with James Dean memorabilia. It had since closed down and the merchandise was re-located to Auburn, Indiana. But much to my surprise it was now back in Fairmount. The gentleman who ran the place was the same friendly guy whom we had met in the memorabilia shop in ‘04 and he let us browse the place for free since he was still in the process of getting all of the displays up.
Hooray! It’s open again!
The coolest item I saw there was James Dean’s tie from East of Eden. Since we had been permitted to browse for free, I felt obliged to buy a couple of items, picking up a McDonalds collector glass showcasing The Great Muppet Caper, the Steve Martin tome The Cruel Shoes, and a refresher comb for Bob to replace the one that he had purchased four years ago and was still using on our Texas trip.
We then set out to scout the other sites in town in rapid succession: first hitting the bust statue in the James Dean Memorial Park, then the Fairmount Friends Church where James Dean’s funeral was held, his former (and now abandoned) high school, the town water tower with appropriate artwork, and of course his grave in Park Cemetery. In all this took us just over 30 minutes.
This hollow-eyed bust kind of creeps me out. And the Memorial Park isn’t big enough to play Twister in. Nevertheless, there we were…
The church where the James Dean funeral was held
I bet this high school is haunted
Jackie with the James Dean grave, with some glasses left by a deranged fan
The grave, the glasses, and Chris
Some deranged fan
We also swung by his boyhood farm, which is still occupied by his cousin. As we were told last time, he doesn’t mind photos being taken of the farm, but prefers that you don’t roam around on the property. We drove by and snapped a photo without getting out of the car. The barn was more memorable to me from the Morrissey video than from seeing any photos of James Dean on the farm.
Since were so gosh-durn close, I decided to go ahead and travel the extra twelve miles north to see the plaque on the location that was once the Seven Gables estate, birthplace of James Dean. And with that we headed home - but didn’t get there without making two more brief stops along the way.
The rock where James Dean was born
What the rock actually says
I knew if I took the appropriate route home, we would go right through Millville, Indiana where Wilbur Wright was born. I had also visited this site four years ago - on July 22, 2004 - but again didn’t get any photos. I also knew that the site would be closed for the evening by the time we went through around 8pm. And finally, I also knew that the house itself was merely a replica of the birth house with no actual historical value at all. It was the location that really meant something. So I opted to veer off a mile or so to get a photo with the historic marker and the sign in front of the visitors center. Now I don’t have to go back again…and no one will be any the wiser.
Locked out of the Wilbur Wright birthplace (replica, I say)
Yes, I could have scaled this fence, but there was some guy cutting the grass who looked rather threatening. Here’s the historical marker and the house replica where it once stood. Isn’t that good enough for you??
Our second and final stop was Steak ‘n Shake, home of the Frisco Melt and the Side-by-Side Milkshake, both of which I gobbled up just outside the Ohio border. We picked up Grace from Jackie’s Mom’s and got home about 10:30pm. It had been a very long and very rewarding day. And to think that I could have merely wasted it in front of the TV…
2008 will continue…
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