State's Camp David' gets a makeover

NASHVILLE The Pence administration has overseen the six-figure renovation of a Brown County cabin that one political observer calls Indianas Camp David.

Gov. Mike Pence and his family will be the first since former Gov. Evan Bayh to make regular use of Aynes House, a gubernatorial vacation home in Brown County State Park. The five-bedroom cabin received $162,000 in major maintenance work, interior remodeling and new furnishings last fall and has already hosted a gubernatorial staff retreat.

We love family time and the outdoors, so being together in an Indiana state park is one of our favorite things to do, first lady Karen Pence said through a governors spokeswoman.

The Pences, whose three children are in college, havent planned any events or gatherings for the cabin since the remodeling, governors spokeswoman Kara Brooks said, but the first lady made it clear they plan to take advantage of it.

We are proud of the work that was done at Aynes House, and we love going down there, she said through Brooks.

Both Mike and Karen Pence have been visiting Brown County since their childhoods and have spent several nights at various state parks since the 2012 election, Brooks said.

I like the concept that Indiana governors have a retreat, and this in the states flagship park, said Brian Howey, publisher of Howey Politics Indiana. Its like a state version of Camp David.

Named for the family that built it, Aynes House dates to the late 1920s or early 1930s and became a state asset in 1939, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Theres little recorded history on the house, said Dan Bortner, director of the Division of State Parks and Reservoirs.

My belief is, this thing was acquired to be a governors retreat, Bortner said. He noted that another gubernatorial vacation home at Indiana Dunes was torn down in the 1930s.

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State's Camp David' gets a makeover