Brooklyn, IN

Brooklyn is a Morgan County town just south of Mooresville, where the railroad reached in the 1850s and the first streets were laid out in 1854. The name probably came from Brooklyn, New York, but the Indiana geography is all White Lick Creek, Clay and Brown townships, and the road north toward Mooresville and Indianapolis. The town's small downtown still carries the feel of a place that began as a rail stop and then filled in around the route.

ATTRVmenkov / CC BY-SA 3.0

A mile or two west, the Goethe Link Observatory adds a remarkable second story. Dr. Goethe Link built the observatory between 1937 and 1939, installed a 36-inch telescope, and donated the facility to Indiana University in 1948. The Indiana Astronomical Society now uses it for meetings and public astronomy, while the grounds are known for the daffodils planted by Link's wife. Brooklyn Elementary STEM Academy, the Morgan County Public Library branch, and the observatory all point to the same local habit: a small town with more curiosity tucked into it than its street grid first suggests.