Southern Indiana: in the middle of something: the spirit of America
It’s a part of America we had overlooked as a vacation destination, but with a
daughter now living in the Midwest, we have been discovering more about what
America’s heartland has to offer.
Our road trip was along the rolling farmland of Southern Indiana, an area rich in
the history that built our nation, traditional American values, wholesome
entertainment, historic Main Streets, tiny rural villages, and a pioneering and
immigrant heritage.
We found a varied range of accommodations--from a major-chain hotel to a
Midwestern farmhouse B&B, a grand historical resort, historic cabins, and a
Christmas-themed campground and RV park in a town named Santa Claus.
The Indiana 500 Tour
We attended the kickoff of the 2011 Indiana 500 Tour, a 500 mile itinerary that
links some of Indiana’s best and most unique places to visit. For 2011 the focus
is Southern Indiana’s rich cultural and historical heritage.
The Lincoln Legacy
It was held at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial--- the site of the pioneer
homestead where one of the world’s most influential leaders lived (1816-1830)
from age 7 to 21. The Lincoln legacy lives on.
Jack Kroger donated four of his portraits of Lincoln in memory of his Spencer
County ancestors who were friends, neighbors and fellow church members of the
Thomas Lincoln family. He spoke at the kickoff celebration about how he and his
family, like Lincoln’s, built their values and drew so much from their Spencer
County experience.
Cabins replicating those of Lincoln’s boyhood years in Spencer County were built
as a WPA project between 1935 and 1938 for Lincoln Pioneer Village and
Museum in nearby Rockport. Among the hundreds of fascinating artifacts in the
museum is a hutch made by Abraham Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln.
You can picnic at Lincoln’s Ferry Park in Troy, on the riverfront where Lincoln
operated a ferry service taking passengers to passing steamboats. Lincoln
Landing, on the Rockport riverfront under the bluff, is where the future President
launched a flatboat in 1828 and transported produce to New Orleans for a local
merchant. It was then that Lincoln first saw a slave auction, and it’s said the
Emancipation Proclamation had its origins in this trip.
Grab a buffalo burger at Buffalo Run Farm, Grill, and Gifts in Lincoln City,
named for the Buffalo Trace that once ran through Spencer County. There’s a
cabin where Lincoln is said to have spent the night, an authentic teepee, and a
herd of buffalo. Abraham Lincoln's cousin Dennis Hanks, source of much of what
is known about Abraham Lincoln's years in Indiana, once owned property here.
Hanks lived in the Thomas Lincoln home in Lincoln City and eventually married
Abe’s stepsister Elizabeth Johnston.
Beyond Lincoln:
To enjoy the natural beauty of the area, take the Ohio River Scenic Byway.
The Ohio, Algonquin for “beautiful river”, is the largest tributary of the Mississippi
River and winds through six states.
Its provided transportation to the West for early frontier settlers. During the Civil
War the Ohio River was the boundary between the North and South and conduit
for the Underground Railroad. Navigable throughout its length, it is still used to
transport goods.Coal-filled barges are a common site, and it’s a favorite for
outdoor recreation and sports fishing.
Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus---in Indiana
In the 1840s, a group of German immigrants formed the town of Santa Fe. When
they applied to establish a post office, they discovered there was already an
Indiana post office with that name.
It’s said that on Christmas Eve in 1852, while deliberating over a new name, the
winter wind blew the church doors open and sleigh bells were heard. Children
said it was Santa Claus and that name was chosen for the town. They now have
the world’s only post office with the Santa Claus name, making it a popular place
to mail postcards.
Christmas is celebrated year-round, with seventeen Santa Claus statues, themed
businesses like Santa’s Candy Castle, and streets like Christmas Boulevard,
Candy Cane Lane, and Mistletoe Drive.
Holiday World Theme Park & Splashin’ Safari Waterpark is at the hub of it all.
Our guide told us that Holiday World, which began as Santa Claus Land on
August 3, 1946, and renamed in 1984, is the world's oldest theme park. There
are four holiday-themed sections: Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and
Christmas.
Now in the third generation of Koch (pronounced Cook) family ownership, Mrs.
Koch, 80, still walks the ground every day to insure that things meet her
expectations of a impeccably maintained park with a friendly staff.
The smallest theme park to win the prestigious Liseberg Amusement Park
Applause Award (2004), it is teeming with superlatives. Holiday World has three
top rated wooden roller coasters, including the most popular ride--The Voyage,
named #1 Wooden Coaster on the Planet. With a 120’ tunnel, 85’ and 61’ drops,
and a sharp turn over Lake Rudolph, The Raven was voted #1 Wooden Roller
Coaster by Amusement Today. Wildebeest is the world longest water coaster,
and was named the #1 Water Ride on the Planet. Pilgrim’s Plunge, a 135’ “shoot
the chute”, is the world’s tallest water ride, and the 900’ ten-story Zoombabwe is
the world’s largest enclosed waterslide. The little Freedom Train is the only ride
there since the park began.
Live shows feature gospel, pop, and country music and high-dive thrills.
Entertainers greet guests after the show. The highlight for little ones is Santa’s
Storytime Theater.
All Pepsi drinks, including lemonade and Gatorade, are free throughout the park-
-even in the restaurants. Sunscreen and parking are free. General admission is
$42.95, with discounts for children, seniors, groups, multiple days, and online.
Have a Goblin Burger, Thanksgiving dinner at the ever-popular Plymouth Rock
Cafe, Udderly Blue or Kringle’s Ice Cream, or some fried Oreos--with or without
topping. For traditionalists there’s funnel cakes, cotton candy, fudge, icees,
pizza tacos, hamburgers, corn dogs--and more.
Adjacent to Holiday World, Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort was
named 2008-2009 RV Park of the Year. There are over 240 family rental 38’ and
44’ RVs, a variety of full hookup RV sites, cabins, and camp sites with water and
electricity. The new Rudolph’s Christmas Cabins, with king bedroom, extra large
loft, to three flatscreen TVs, electric fireplace, free high-speed Internet, are all
decked out for the holiday and sleep four adults and four children.
There’s a family pool, kiddie pool, miniature golf, a fishing lake, paddleboats and
kayaks, playgrounds, gem mining sloughs, horseshoe pits, basketball courts, a
camp store, an outdoor pavilion, air-conditioned bathhouses, a game room,
laundromats, rental golf carts, free WiFi, and Blitzen Kitchen for pizza and soft
serve ice cream.Holiday World discount tickets and a free Holiday World shuttle
are available.
Don’t feel like cooking? Head over to Windell’s Café in nearby Dale for the buffet
breakfast, a special plate lunch of ribs and sauerkraut, roast pork, or liver and
onions, or the all-you-can-eat Wednesday-Sunday dinner buffet of traditional
Midwestern home cooking. Desserts are made from scratch daily. Don’t miss the
home baked pies.
Tell City, named for legendary Swiss hero and liberator William Tell, was
founded by the Swiss Colonization Society of Cincinnati in 1858, and chosen for
its climate, fertile soils, timber, navigable river and railroad connection. Wide
roads of the historic downtown are on a grid and designed for commerce. Murals
on the flood wall depict the city history.
Known for quality furniture, its Swiss heritage is best enjoyed with the food and
activities of August’s Schweizer Fest.
Brad and Sandy Smith’s Tell City Pretzels have been made here since 1858 from
founder and Swiss master baker Casper Gloor’s secret recipe. About 3000
pretzels a day are twisted, dipped in hot water, salted, baked and bagged.
Flavorings include the ever-popular honey mustard. Call ahead and you may,
like us, be allowed to twist a few of your own in the morning. There are about
twelve pretzels to a pound ($6.30)
100 Benedictine monks live at the St. Meinrad Archabbey, founded by a Swiss
Abbey of Einsiedeln in 1854 to spread their traditions to the new nation. This
pilgrimage site is one of only two Archabbeys in the United States and eleven in
the world. Join prayers or mass, tour the grounds, or stay in a guest house.
Abbey Press products and their handcrafted traditional and monastic-styled
wooden caskets ($1650-$2395) and cremation urns are available for sale.
Cannelton
The old Cotton Mill with its soaring twin towers, like many of the buildings in
Cannelton, is built of sandstone dug from the hillside. Southern cotton was
shipped up the river and woven into fabric for Civil War uniforms.
The Eagles Bluff Park overlook has the best view of the river and Cannelton
Locks and Dam and is a great picnic spot. Tour of the dam and learn about the
river and barge system.
Blue Heron Vineyards & Winery owners Lynn and Gary Dauby describe it as
“along the river and into the woods” in what Lynn calls “possibly in the prettiest
part of Indiana.” Named for the birds so prevalent on the river, Blue Heron
Winery in Cannelton is one of the few vineyards that overlooks the Cannelton
Locks and Dam. A gentle breeze passes through the treetops to the tasting room
deck overlooking the river.
There are stories to the wines---like the 23˚ wine--their driest, a reference to the
their onsite Celtic Cross, the Four Stars blueberry dessert wine, a tribute to the
couple’s four children in the military.
Lynn and Gary had “a rock, a vine, and a vision” that has makes this no ordinary
vineyard. Art is ever-present and continuously evolving. Lynn’s Victorian-style
Santa paintings are available in the gift shop along with Gary’s walking sticks and
the work of other local artists. Multimedia renditions of the Blue Heron abound,
like the one made by an Owensboro, KY artist from old farm parts, and the
carvings and intarsia garage doors by Greg Harris.
But the pièce de résistance is the Celtic Cross created by sculptor Greg Harris
from a rock in the woods where Gary used to play as a child. Made of 300 million
year old native Pennsylvanian age rock, part of the area’s sandstone cap, it is
believed to be the largest in situ--of its own stone-- Celtic Cross in the world.
Quartzite gives it a sparkly glow.
The prime number 23 is repeated throughout. It leans 23°, has 23 circles or arcs
and 23 enigma. It took 23 months build. Gary Dauby describes Harris, who has
no formal training, as ”a Renaissance genius-- all mathematical”.
Bronze replicas enable blind people to easily experience the unique design.
Their Blue Heron Bed and Breakfast, a newly renovated farmhouse, is a place
where you can sit on a porch swing and listen to songbirds, stroll their adjacent
vineyards, and go down by the four acre lake after dark to hear bullfrogs and
enjoy the brightness of the stars. Rental of the two bedrooms home with one
bath, living room that can accommodate additional guests, dining room and
kitchen, is just $125 a night for 2, including taxes and a bountiful breakfast
prepared by the owners. There’s a 2 night minimum, $25 fee per additional
guest, and a 20% military discount and a $60 discount for stays of 4 days.
Time it right May-September and you might be there for one of the Wine over
Water “WOW”concerts in and around the barn. ($15 a couple, discounts
available)
Perry County
Outdoor recreation--hiking on forest nature trails, fishing, hunting, and playing on
the river in a kayak or canoe-- is what Perry County is known for. It’s a place to
relax and get back to nature before heading out to the caves or the attractions of
Santa Claus.
About 6000 boats come here each year for the bass and catfish tournaments at
the Rocky Point Marina. Twice a year, there’s turkey hunting.
The no-nonsense Derby Tavern, across from the Ohio River, in Derby, is a local
favorite. A group of women gathered for their usual lunch and card playing on the
side designated for family dining. Men were surrounded by hunting and fishing
trophies lining the walls of the side designated a bar. Specialties include a deep
fried liver and gizzard appetizer, fried catfish (the smaller fiddlers are served with
the bone in) or breaded pork tenderloin, served with Creek fries -- potatoes with
onions and bacon-- or beer-battered fries.
There are rental cabins here and in Magnet, many with hot tubs on the deck and
fireplaces. Ohio River Cabins is across from the Derby Tavern.
We visited Forgotten Times Log Cabins-- fully-equipped beautifully restored
authentic 1860s log homes in the woods. They have connecting outdoor bath
houses, a pond, canoes and a private dock, and direct access to the Ohio River,
bayous, and streams and is close to the hiking trails of Hoosier National Forest.
Dinner was at the Carriage Inn. The owners live in the lovely brick Victorian
house out front, built by the Switzer family in 1885. The lantern over the cash
register is the one once used to guide boats on the Ohio River. It was hung on a
pole in the Crow's nest atop the house.
Carriages were stored in what is now the restaurant, and former stalls are now
booths. The Carriage Inn serves a thin crust pizza and frosty mugs of beer $1
and their specialty-- fried cheesecake. There’s no reason to go hungry in
Southern Indiana! For a quarter you can play three songs on the jukebox that
plays 45s.
Be sure to take the nearby Cannelton Dam tour and learn about the river and
barge system.
Be sure to call ahead to see whether it's available. When we were there and it
was a terrorist alert and no tours
French Lick
In an area dotted with natural salt licks and mineral springs, French Lick Springs
Hotel and West Baden Springs Hotel were internationally acclaimed elegant
health resorts with curative springs and gold-leafed glamor. The rich, influential,
and famous guests arrived from around the world to spend weeks or months
experiencing to take the cure of mineral-rich springs. Rail lines made the area
more accessible. take the cure. Newly restored to their original grandeur, they
are once again destination resorts.
The restorative waters, named Pluto after the Roman god of the underground for
their subterranean origins, were bottled as a cure-all and sold nationally.
French Lick attracted Hollywood icons like Bing Crosby, Greta Garbo, and James
Dean. Glenn Miller and Woody Herman brought their orchestras here to
entertain. PGA and LPGA championships were held here in the first half of the
20th century. Then the hotels fell into disrepair.
The hotels have regained their original opulence with a restoration in keeping
with photos from the early 1900 financed by Indiana billionaire Bill Cook, who
made a fortune in vascular medical devices. Cook died in April.
French Lick Springs Hotel, with 443 guest rooms and suites, has a full-service
conference and event Center.. Its 42,000 ft.² grand casino opened in 2006 is
open 24 hours a day. We dined at 1875--The Steakhouse, The filet mignon,
though pricy, was an elegant and most enjoyable dining experience.
West Baden Springs Hotel, named for the renowned springs in Germany, is an
extravagant six-story circular structure topped with the world's largest free span
dome. It has been referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. There’s 246
luxury guest rooms and suites, a luxurious and tranquil spa with Pluto mineral
baths, and unique shops.
Outdoor recreation includes championship level golf courses, horseback riding,
hiking and biking trails, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis and children's activities.
Historic tours are offered.
The hotels’ new golf courses have been named among America's Greatest
100 Public courses list by Golf Digest and and one of the best new golf courses
by Links Magazine 2009, and was the site of the 2010 PGA championship.
Since John and Kim Doty’s French Lick Winery was established in 1995 it has
won over 250 state, national, and international competitions. Visitors can see the
on-site production facilities through the windows by the area with free tastings.
They began with a coffee shop that has grown to include a gift shop with wine
accessories, and The Vintage Cafe, with Italian cuisine and popular sourdough
culture specialty pizzas like Chicken Alfredo. On weekends there’s special Bronx
crust. The bigio bread with olive oil dipping sauce is a local favorite.
Norton (the local grape), Chambourcin, Traminette, Vidal, and Vincent varietals
are grown at their vineyard twenty miles west. About 80% of their sales are in
sweet wines that are more popular in this area. The blackberry wine is the best
selling fruit wine, and the cherry--like cherry pie in a glass-- tops the list for
awards. French Lick Winery is part of the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail that runs
between Indianapolis and Louisville and holds special events throughout the
year.
Vincennes
Did you know that William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expeditions had an older
brother George who led a group of hardy Kentucky frontiersmen and French-
Canadians, enduring mid-winter freezing floodwaters, food scarcity, and
seemingly impossible hardships to capture the British Fort Sackville and change
the face of the North America? This one battle caused the British to cede control
of land that included Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin and eastern
Minnesota and opened the way to expand the western frontier to the Pacific.
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Rangers like Pamela Nolan
reenact the struggles of the American Revolution. An impressive 80’ classic
Greek style granite monument behind the visitor center is encircled by 16
columns and topped by a glass dome. Inside, a bronze statue of Clark is
surrounded by murals and an inscription that reads “Great things have been
effected by a few men well conducted”.
Vincennes became the territorial capital of what was then the Louisiana and
Indiana Territories. William Henry Harrison was appointed the first Governor of
the Indiana Territory by President John Adams. He named his home,
Grouseland(built 1803-1804), for the abundance of the bird he so loved to hunt
and eat.
Built in the Georgian style of a Virginia plantation house, it has a grander and
more spacious Great House in front and simpler and more compact Dependency
in the back. It cost $20,000--quite a sum at the time and took two years to build.
He gave 400 acres of land for the bricks alone It is the oldest brick house in the
Indiana Territory. He ran a 300 acre farm here with a grape arbor, tobacco,
cotton, and corn.
Harrison met with Indian chiefs and signed major treaties in his dining
room,Council Room, or outside in the walnut grove. Tecumseh, who felt that
other chiefs invited in had signed bad treaties, would never meet inside.
Harrison didn't return after the War of 1812 (Battle of Tippecanoe and killing of
Tecumseh), but his son returned here, started the first public library in
Vincennes, and held services here in the front room. The DAR opened it to the
public in 1911.
Harrison went on to become the ninth President of the United States, and gave a
one hour and 45 minute inaugural address-- the longest in history. His father,
Benjamin Harrison was a founding father, a member of the Continental
Congress, Governor of Virginia, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
His grandson, also named Benjamin, became the 23rd President of the United
States.
The old cathedral St. Francis Xavier is nearby on the site of the first log church,
adjacent to the old cathedral library and museum-- Its collection included ten to
twelve thousand rare books and it is the oldest library in Indiana. The oldest
document in the collection is a 1319 Papal Bull issued by Pope John XXII.
Then it’s off to the Old French House, circa 1806, the last remaining French
Creole cottage in Indiana. It was built with large timber beams and a summer
kitchen in “posts on sill” style in 1806 for Vincennes native Michael Brouilet, who
lived here with wife Marie Drouet and their eight (10?) children. He was an officer
in the Vincennes Militia under George Rogers Clark during the American
Revolution. He obtained licenses to trade with the Miami Nation and the
Kickapoo Indians, and was an interpreter for Governor William Henry Harrison
during negotiations with the tribes. While trading he acted as a spy for uprisings.
A son by his Indian wife became a Miami chief. When the fur trade declined, he
became a tavern keeper. Restored in the 1970s, the building in the back has
Native American items.
It is across from the Vincennes State Historic Sites which includes a log cabin
visitor’s center, as well as:
Fort Knox 2, the military outpost now outlined with short posts. It became a
hospital for soldiers injured in Zachary Taylor’s Battle of Tippecanoe.
The legislature met two times a year for 30 days at the Indiana Territory Capitol,
known as the Red House. Only the clerk was paid. The governor was granted
supreme veto power, and William Henry Harrison vetoed so many things that the
law was changed. In 1804, Vincennes also served as the capital of the Louisiana
Purchase, thus governing more land than any other capitol except Washington,
DC.
Maurice Thompson birthplace, a white one-room house from Fairfield, Indiana, a
parsonage for his father a Primitive Baptist minister. Here he wrote Alice of Old
Vincennes, a tale of romance between a French orphan girl and one of George
Rogers Clark’s men.
A replica of the first print shop, run by Elihu Stout, who was brought here at age
22 by William Henry Harrison and paid $500 annually to set up Indiana’s first free
press and print the laws enacted here twice a year. He also printed the weekly
Indiana Gazette newspaper. Some issues may be viewed online at the adjacent
Vincennes University.
So much history builds an appetite and there’s no better place than Pea-Fections
on Main Street for gourmet foods and specialty desserts. It’s owned by Becky-
Pea, who is a graduate of Purdue University's Restaurant program. Both she and
husband Bill also graduated from Johnson and Wales with degrees in Baking and
Pastry Arts. Our favorites? Cashew Raisin Chicken Salad--or the trio that also
includes tuna salad and crab salad, served with soup or seasonal fruit. For
dessert-- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake or Uncle Roy’s Bread
Pudding.
We traveled the historic crossroads east of St. Louis and just west of Louisville, a
region that retains the spirit of the pioneer and the values that built our nation.
It’s a place to learn, to meet industrious,engaging, and down-to-earth people, to
play, and to relax. We could only wonder why it took us so long to discover this
vacation destination.