In 1828 John Kinzer moved from Ohio to 160 acres he purchased in Delaware Township east of Carmel. Two years later he married Ruth, and they settled in a two-story log cabin. He worked very hard on his farm and continued to purchase more land until he had 340 acres in Hamilton County!  In 1847 John built a large white house east of the cabin. The Kinzer Homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though the Kinzer’s cleared much of their land for farming, they also valued the forest and wilderness on which they settled. They kept a large portion of their land as they had found it. In the winter, many Carmel residents spent time in sugar camps in the Kinzer woods. In these sugar camps they tapped the maple trees to make maple syrup. The Kinzers sold bottles of Kinzer Bros. Maple Syrup to eager customers.

There is an old legend that George Ketchum, a Native-American, buried gold coins on the Kinzer property. Many decades later some of his descendants came to the property to search for the treasure, but they never found it. In fact, no one has found the gold, and for all we know, it might still be there.