The establishment of Turkey Run State Park coincided with the dawn of the automobile, when cars were still unreliable and a 50-mile trip typically required an overnight stay. Many visitors sought accommodations in the countryside around the park, sleeping in barn lofts, porches, and spare bedrooms of area farmers. To better accommodate overnight visitors, early planners of state parks developed a system of state-operated inns, and Turkey Run Inn was the first inn specifically built for this purpose. It was constructed in 1919 using labor from the State Penal Farm at Putnamville. The original inn had 13 sleeping rooms, a single bath on the third floor, and a kitchen in the basement, and for $2.50 per day a person could have a room, access to the bath, and meals that included a supper of fried chicken with all the trimmings. In 1920, the inn was enlarged with a new wing and cabins, and in 1930 a second 32-room brick veneer annex was added. A swimming pool was completed in 1975 and enclosed in 1991. Earlier, in 1882, the Indianapolis, Decatur and Springfield Railroad created Bloomingdale Glens on land leased from owner John Lusk. Vacationers from Indianapolis and Chicago took weekend excursion trains into Marshall and Bloomingdale, then rode horse-drawn hacks to the resort, where they were provided tents and food by the hotel and could buy snacks and souvenirs at the concession stand. Those buildings were torn down soon after the present-day inn was built.