11 Indiana Small Towns With Unmatched Friendliness
Santa Claus answers letters to the North Pole every December from a post office that has done it since 1914. Rockville sits at the center of a county with 31 covered bridges, more than any other county in the country. Vincennes guards the spot where George Rogers Clark took Fort Sackville back from the British in 1779. Indiana towns earn their reputation for friendliness the same way, by throwing open the doors for a festival nearly every month of the year. The eleven Indiana towns below are the ones where neighbors still wave you over on the lakefront or down a historic block.
Winona Lake
Winona Lake is a lakeside community in north-central Indiana that has turned its waterfront into a network of experiences for visitors. The best known is the beach at Limitless Park & Splash Pad, where families picnic or take a boat out onto the water. Around the lake runs the Heritage Trail for hikers and bikers, which passes through the woods and a series of sculptures illustrating biblical scenes, a nod to the town's origins as a Chautauqua-style religious retreat.
One of the most visited spots in Winona Lake is the old lakeshore neighborhood on the boardwalk, now a shopping district called the Village at Winona. The Village is also the town's main event spot, hosting craft fairs, concerts, and markets through the warm months along the water.
Franklin
Franklin sits in Johnson County, locally nicknamed Festival County for the number of festivals it hosts throughout the year. The town packs its calendar with community events like Strawberries on the Square in May and the Canvas Clash in June, where artists compete in 20-minute painting rounds for a prize.
Beer and wine fans gather for the Hops & Vines Festival each September, while those after handmade goods come for the Fall Vintage & Handmade Fest in October. No matter when one arrives, there is time to wander Franklin's walkable streets, especially along the Historic Greenway Trail, which runs through the historic district and the downtown parks.
Corydon
Corydon proudly claims its history as the first capital of Indiana. The state constitution was signed here under the Constitutional Elm in 1816, the year Indiana became a state. Corydon served as the capital until the seat of government moved north to Indianapolis in 1825. The old state buildings still stand as part of the Corydon Capitol State Historic Site, including Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, a two-story Federal-style brick office built in 1817.
Another historic site sits just outside town at the Battle of Corydon Memorial Park, where Confederate cavalry under Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan defeated the local Home Guard on July 9, 1863. It was the only Civil War battle fought on Indiana soil. Aside from history, Corydon residents love a day on the Blue River, especially during Paddle Fest in early June, three days of paddling, live music, and food trucks on the riverbank.
New Albany
Sitting across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, New Albany is part of the Louisville metro area but keeps a distinctly southern Indiana culture built around family events and a walkable downtown. Every October, the town fills its downtown with the Harvest Homecoming festival, drawing craft vendors, food booths, and spice sellers from across the community.
New Albany makes the most of its riverfront with the historic homes of Mansion Row, including the 1867 Second Empire-style Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site, and the paved Ohio River Greenway. From the greenway, walkers can continue to neighboring Jeffersonville and cross the Big Four Bridge to Louisville.
Vincennes
Like Corydon, Vincennes played a role in Indiana's early government. In 1800, when Congress divided the Northwest Territory, Vincennes became the capital of the newly created Indiana Territory. Its Revolutionary War history is the bigger draw: in 1779, American Colonel George Rogers Clark captured British-held Fort Sackville during the Siege of Vincennes. Today, the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park marks the event with a granite memorial.
The town celebrates that battle with the Spirit of Vincennes Rendezvous, a historical reenactment held every Memorial Day weekend. Vincennes also keeps several museums, including military artifacts at the Indiana Military Museum and the costumes of American comedian Red Skelton at the Red Skelton Museum of American Comedy.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is widely considered the quirkiest town in Indiana and one of the quirkiest in the country. As the local story goes, townspeople gathered in the church to settle on a name when children claimed they heard Santa's sleigh bells outside, and the name stuck. That church is now part of the Santa Claus Museum & Village, which also keeps an 1856 church and the town's original post office. The current Santa Claus post office, opened in 1856 and a draw ever since, still answers thousands of letters addressed to Santa each December.
Every July, Christmas comes early at the Christmas in July Vendor Craft Fair, held at the museum and village. The town's two biggest attractions are the Holiday World & Splashin' Safari amusement park and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, which preserves the farm where Abraham Lincoln grew up after his family crossed into Indiana from Kentucky in 1816.
Jasper
Jasper is known today as a German Catholic town, though its first settlers were Protestants from Kentucky and Tennessee. Founded in 1830, it holds plenty of historic sites, including modest homes and one-room schoolhouses. The Old Jasper district preserves the German-American Schaeffer Barn and the Alexander One-Room School House, built in 1918.
A short drive away in neighboring Ferdinand stands the Monastery Immaculate Conception, founded in 1867 by four Benedictine sisters and known locally as the "Castle on the Hill." It welcomes visitors of all faiths for tours and serves beer from St. Benedict's Brew Works on its grounds. Jasper celebrates its German roots with the Jasper Strassenfest in early August, a stretch of food, balloon art, and games.
Rockville
Covered bridges are a symbol of an older America, and few survive in great numbers. Rockville is the seat of Parke County, which has preserved 31 of them, more than any other county in the United States, and bills itself as the Covered Bridge Capital of the World. Each October, Rockville hosts the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, bringing out craft vendors and tour guides to help visitors find the bridges in and around the county, such as the Billie Creek Covered Bridge, built in 1895 over Williams Creek.
That bridge anchors Billie Creek Village, a recreated 19th-century settlement with a general store, a church, and other preserved structures. Rockville also keeps a sense of humor about its past. The old county jail is now the Old Jail Inn, where guests can pull on a striped prisoner's costume at check-in.
Madison
Madison's biggest claim to fame is its historic district. At 133 blocks, it is one of the largest contiguous National Historic Landmark Districts in the country. The district is no collection of ordinary houses: it holds the Greek Revival-style Lanier Mansion State Historic Site, the Gothic Revival St. Michael the Archangel church, and Dr. William Hutchings' Office & Museum, one of the best-preserved 19th-century doctors' offices in the US.
During the Christmas season, many of these homes light up for the Nights Before Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes, when visitors step inside public and privately owned historic structures decorated for the holidays. In warmer months, hikers head a few minutes outside downtown to Clifty Falls State Park to see its waterfalls.
Nashville
Nashville sits in the wooded hills of southern Indiana. The last Ice Age glaciers largely missed this corner of the state, leaving behind tall hills like the 1,058-foot Weed Patch Hill in Brown County State Park. The park draws hikers for its steep ravines and its trees, including the state-endangered yellowwood.
In the early 1900s, the town drew artists who were taken with the views and formed the Brown County Art Colony. That heritage carries on at the Brown County Art Gallery, one of the oldest art galleries in the country. Alongside the art, Nashville hosts the Good People Good Times Music Festival each September.
New Harmony
New Harmony has an unusual history for Indiana, having been home to two separate utopian communities. The first was a Christian group called the Harmonists, who settled in 1814. The second was the Owenites, founded after the British reformer Robert Owen bought the town in 1825 and tried to build a model community around education and social equality.
The Owenites brought a deep interest in nature and science, which is why one of New Harmony's signature events is the Firefly Festival in June. Visitors walk dark trails in search of Say's firefly, which lights the summer sky and is now Indiana's state insect. The firefly is named for Thomas Say, the naturalist who described the species while living in New Harmony in 1826. One of the best ways to take in the town is through its open-air spaces, such as the Harmonist Labyrinth, a hedge maze, and the sculpture gardens of the Jane Blaffer Owen Sanctuary and the Roofless Church.
A Festival for Every Season
One thing connects all eleven of these towns: there is a festival to attend no matter the time of year. The celebrations usually grow out of something local, whether Jasper's German heritage or the Revolutionary War history in Vincennes. Santa Claus brings Christmas to the summer heat at the Christmas in July Vendor Craft Fair, while Madison opens its historic homes for the Nights Before Christmas Candlelight Tour. What makes these towns so friendly is simple: they always find a good reason to gather.
