Indiana: Interesting Places to Visit

Chain O’Lakes State Park
This small 2700 acre park has a series of eleven small lakes which all except for three of them are strung together by natural channels of water. These are called kettle lakes and were formed at the end of the last ice age. People come to the park to enjoy swimming, fishing and boating. In summer there is a lifeguard on duty. On the lakes the only motorized craft allowed are low-powered electric troll boats. Rowboats and canoes can be rented by the day and paddle boats by the hour. For fishermen there are bluegills and bass available. In wintertime one can ice fish, skate on the lakes, sled and participate in cross-country skiing. One can rent skis. There are also trails which circle the lakes and go through meadows and woodlands. There are more than 400 campsites and a small village of housekeeping cottages.

Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum
The name of the museum is in honor of three noted producers of classic luxury cars. They display some of the most beautiful cars ever made. These are housed in the former headquarters’ of the Auburn Auto Company which has been restored to its 1930 Art Deco splendor and is now a National Historic Landmark. Some of the cars on display are a silver and black 265-horsepower Duesenberg speedster which oil tycoon J. Paul Getty purchased for $15,000 in 1932 and a stunning 1936 Auburn boat-tail speedster which today would cost $150,000. Most of the automobiles are from the 1920s and the 1930s. However other makers are also represented such as Bentley, Bugatti, and Packard. The museum also has a psychedelically painted Bentley which John Lennon owned in the 1960s. On the second floor one can get a more general overview of automotive history. There is a 1932 Ace motorcycle on display and an electric car that was on the road in 1888. One can also see hood ornaments, hubcaps and advertisements.

Tippecanoe River State Park
The river that borders this park took its name from an 1811 battle and gave its name to William Henry Harrison’s presidential campaign slogan, "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" in 1840. During the battle Harrison led armed forces to victory against the Shawnee Indians on Tippecanoe Creek and John Tyler was his running mate. In the 1600s and 1700s this river was a passageway for the canoes of French voyageurs from Canada who would barter for furs with the Indians of the area - the Potawatomi and Miami. The area now has oak and pine woods and marsh and sandy scrub. Among the wildlife found here are wood ducks, great blue herons, sandhill cranes, beavers, muskrats and white-tailed deer. There are about eight miles of trails for horse riders. For fishermen there is bass and bluegills. Boaters and canoeists can go on the river and there is a lovely picnic area on the river bank.

Shades State Park
The early settlers called this area the Shades of Death which some say alludes to the hostile Indians who took refuge here. An Indian legend states that on this site was a battle in which only 12 of 600 braves survived. There are deep ravines overlooked by steep sandstone bluffs. Fifteen miles of trails lead to promontories, outcrops, streams and waterfalls. Canoeists like Sugar Creek which flows through the center of the park. About one-fifth of the park’s 3,000 acres have been set aside for the Pine Hill Nature Preserve. Here two creeks which run through a sandstone plateau have carved out deep, steep-sided gorges.

Raccoon State Recreation Area
Here Cecil M. Harden Lake which is often referred to as Raccoon Lake was created by a dam on Big Raccoon Creek. This area is located in the heart of Parke County’s rolling farmlands and was once the home of the Delaware, Shawnee, and Miami Indians. It has many sugar maples and today sugaring is carried out at the local sugar camps. This county is known as the Covered Bridge Capital of America. Thirty-five covered bridges were built between 1856 and 1921 and still remain on various streams and rivers. Picnic tables are available by the lake’s sandy beach which is surrounded by grassy bluffs. At the swimming area is a bathhouse, a diving platform and a lifeguard station. There are other picnic areas and campgrounds and a small marina for fishermen offering walleye, crappie, bluegill and catfish. Woods full of oaks, walnuts, maples and hickories and small mammals and birds including the cardinal which is the state bird.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Lincoln’s father Thomas Lincoln took his family across the Ohio river and arrived in Indiana in December 1816. He settled his family down on land near Pigeon Creek. They remained here for fourteen years. In 1818 Lincoln’s mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln died. Today the site of the Lincoln cabin is marked by bronze castings of sill logs and a stone hearth. Behind a split-rail fence is a reconstruction of the little house. It has a log table and benches, a trundle bed, spinning wheels, a fireplace with iron pots, a broom and bunches of dried herbs. On the property are a few horses, sheep and chickens. There are interpreters in period dress who work the farm and answer tourist’s questions. Five bas-relief panels depict scenes from Abraham Lincoln’s life at the visitor’s center which is a white building housing the Abraham Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln halls which are used for meetings, lectures and conferences. There is a small museum depicting pioneer life. A walkway leads from the center to the small hill where the president’s mother is buried. The Trail of the Twelve Stones has stones from sites which played an important part in Lincoln’s life.

Howard Steamboat Museum
It was in 1834 that 19-year-old James Howard borrowed $600,000 to open a shipyard and this was the beginning of one of the greatest steamboat-building companies in America. It was a family enterprise which lasted for over a century. The most lavish and beautiful riverboat ever constructed was the J. M. White in the late 1870s. The fastest in history was the 1894 City of Louisville. Today the 22-room mansion which was built by Howard’s son in the early 1890s houses one of the country’s best collections of riverboat memorabilia. The house itself is a wonder. The grand staircase is modeled after those that grace the great stern-wheelers and side-wheelers of the period. The house has 36 chandeliers and several hand-carved wood archways. A lot of furnishings were bought at the Columbia Exposition of 1893. In the upstairs, rooms are collections of steamboat models including one of the giant tugboat Sprague which was longer than a football field and taller than a three-story building. There are also historic photographs on display.

Whitewater Canal Historic Site
The Whitewater Valley was a popular thoroughfare for pioneers making their way from Ohio to Indiana. In 1836 in order to be able to ship produce from the valley to distant markets it was decided to build a 76 mile canal from Lawrence to Hagerstown. The four-foot deep Whitewater canal was completed in 1847. However due to floods and washouts the canal deteriorated. Today fourteen miles of waterway have been restored and are known as the Whitewater Canal State Memorial which is a project that also included the restoration of the Metamora Grist Mill. The mill was built in 1845 and is made of red brick, with a porch across the front and a museum on the second floor.

Today it grinds whole wheat cereal, white cornmeal and grits which can also be purchased here. About a half-mile away is the restored wooden Duck Creek Aqueduct that was built in 1843 to carry the canal 16 feet above the small stream. The Ben Franklin a barge pulled by two draft horses offers half-hour canal rides which include crossing the aqueduct. Nearby is a picnic area with a bandstand. One can also take a stroll around the town of Metamora which has some lovely old buildings.