Short Indiana Road Trips

Short Indiana Road Trips

Short Indiana Road Trips is one of my older books and has proven to be popular with many readers over the 8 years since I published it.
The book includes 36 destinations located all over the state where visitors can spend a day enjoying the history, natural features and culture of the Hoosier State.

Howard Steamboat Museum
Our first destination is the Howard Steamboat Museum, located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The old Howard family residence, a 22-room Romanesque Revival mansion, serves as the home of the Howard Steamboat Museum. James Howard began his career of building boats in 1834 in Jeffersonville, Indiana on the Ohio River by establishing a boatyard and constructed his first boat, the Hyperion. His company would occupy three generations of his family and last 107 years. He had his home constructed next to the shipyard and used the craftsmen that worked on his boats to build his home in 1894. The work of these master craftsmen is evident throughout the home.

Steamboat Artifacts
The museum includes many old steamboat artifacts, including items from Robert E. Lee, the Natchez, the Howard-built J. M. White and the pictured original paddle wheel from the Delta Queen. Thousands of photographs, shipbuilding tools and implements, and many paintings complement the collection, affording the visitor a sense of the scale and importance of these successful enterprises. The model boat collection comprises dozens of steamboats but includes many other types of historic watercraft that plied the waters of the Ohio, Mississippi and other of the rivers of the American interior. Water transportation was essential in the early years of the country and Ohio was one of the major arteries, carrying passengers and freight along its course.
Calli Nature Preserve

The Violet and Louis Calli Nature Preserve consists of 180 acres just east of North Vernon, Ind. The trail head for the self-guiding trail is adjacent to the parking lot on the same side of the road. The trail is just a bit over two miles long. There is a brochure available in a box at the trail head that describes 18 stations along the course of the trail. There is also a notepad for you to register, just for fun.

The Trail
The trail begins with a pleasant stroll in the forest. It then follows the course of a spring fed stream. The best part of this hike is the extensive section that follows the course of the Vernon Fork of the Muscatatuck River. Some of the hike is along high bluffs overlooking the river. However, there are spots that allow access to sand bars extending out into the river. In early to mid-April this portion of the trail is emblazoned with thousands of Virginia bluebells in full bloom. These flowers line the riverbank, the trail sometimes passing through vast beds of them. There are also some old hemlock stands along the river on these limestone bluffs.
The trail finishes up by passing through some open fields before finally exiting at the parking lot on the opposite side of the road. The Violet and Louis Calli Nature Preserve Nature Trail is a fun and pretty place to visit for a hike.
Garfield Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden – Indianapolis Indiana

The 136-acre Garfield Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden is the oldest of the Indianapolis city parks. Designed by German landscape architect George Edward Kessler, the sunken garden opened on October 29, 1916.
Sunken Gardens
The Sunken Gardens include a three-acre formal classical European garden. The brick walkways, fountains, and extensive plantings provide a restful place to walk in a serene setting. Visitors may enjoy three main floral displays in the Garfield Park botanical garden. The spring tulip display peaks about mid-April. The summer annual flower display is usually best from June through August. September and October are when the fall mum display takes place.
Picnic Areas – Pagoda
Garfield Park has ample places to picnic with tables and shelters scattered throughout the park. Visitors will also find playgrounds for children to play in and plenty of walking paths.
Garfield Park Arts Center
The Arts Center utilizes arts spaces, visual arts galleries, classrooms and a literary arts library to provide city residents with a diverse artistic and cultural experience. The galleries are open to the public and are free to view.
Wilbur Wright Birthplace & Museum

The Wilbur Wright Birthplace and Museum affords visitors an excellent place to learn about one of Indiana’s most famous native sons, Wilbur Wright. The Wright family had extensive ties to the Hoosier state, having resided at various places in Indiana during Orville and Wilbur’s formative years. The home is the site of Wilbur Wright’s birth. It is where he spent his early childhood.
The Wilbur Wright Home
The house on the site is not the original home in which Wilbur Wright was born. The house was constructed in 1845 and purchased by Milton in 1865. The home went through several owners and renters by the time the State of Indiana purchased the home on April 21, 1929, it was in a state of disrepair. The state razed the house in 1955, replacing it with a monument. Efforts at reconstruction began in 1971 when archeologists located the original foundation. Workers constructed the present house in 1973 using materials and design elements of the original house as much as possible. On November 3, 1995, the State of Indiana deeded the property to the Wilbur Wright Birthplace Preservation Society. The home is furnished with period furniture, many original to the Wright family.
Bridgeton Mill, Bridgeton, Indiana

Bridgeton is on Bridgeton Road about nine miles south of its intersection with High Street in Rockville, Indiana.
Joseph Lockwood and Isaac J. Sillman built a sawmill just south of the 10:00 Line in 1823 on Raccoon Creek. They would later add a burrstone to grind grain. Daniel Kalley and James Searing purchased the mill in 1837 and added a distillery. The mill and distillery burned down in 1845.By 1868 another mill, the current one, was built.
Bridgeton 1878 House
Originally the home of the miller, the structure now serves as the location of gift shop that offers unique gifts, antiques and handcrafted merchandise.
1822 Case Log Cabin
One of the oldest cabins in Parke County, the cabin was the home of the Seba Case family. The adjacent 1878 Barn is available to rent for weddings and other events.
Bridgeton Covered Bridge
J.J. Daniels built the original 267-foot-long bridge in 1868 for $10,200. The bridge was a 2-span covered Burr arch-truss design that spanned Little Raccoon Creek. The bridge closed to traffic in 1967. An arsonist destroyed the bridge in 2005. Local residents reconstructed the bridge the following year.
Sample
This is just a sample of the dozens of interesting places to visit included in the book.
You can find information about this, and many other places covered in these podcasts in my book, Short Indiana Road Trips. This book, along with my other 130 plus titles, are found on my web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The books are available in ebook, softbound and audio book formats. Residents of southeastern Indiana can find them at the Walnut Street Variety Shoppe on George Street in Batesville. You can follow me on Facebook at Indiana Places and History page. If you follow me on Facebook, you will be notified when I publish a new book, usually about 10 new books a year. I also post tons of other content as well