Indiana's 10 Most Laid-Back Towns
Many of Indiana's most laid-back towns have built their identity around a single signature that visitors can still experience today. In Vevay, founded by settlers from Switzerland on the Ohio River, you can stomp grapes and watch fireworks at the summer Swiss Wine Festival. Nashville is home to the Brown County Art Colony and lies near Brown County State Park, Indiana's largest at nearly 16,000 acres. Oldenburg is known as the "Village of Spires" for the church bell towers and steeples that fill its center, and its annual Freudenfest brings German folk and polka music. In Santa Claus, which calls itself "America's Christmas Hometown," the holiday spirit carries on all year at spots like Santa's Candy Castle. Across these 10 Indiana towns, you'll also find riverside trails, waterfalls, and local history museums, so you can do as much or as little exploring as you like.
New Castle
New Castle sits on the Big Blue River, surrounded by farmland. The river offers fishing, kayaking, biking, and hiking, while Summit Lake State Park has space for picnics, barbecues, and volleyball. The New Castle Commercial Historic District dates to the 19th century, with Italianate and Classical Revival landmarks, many of them listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among them is the General William Grose House, an 1870 Italianate mansion built for a Civil War general that has housed the Henry County Historical Society Museum since 1902. For a meal, local favorites include the Ink & Ale Brewhouse and That's My Dogg Southern BBQ.
Crawfordsville
Founded in the 1820s on Sugar Creek, Crawfordsville combines history with natural scenery. The town of just over 16,000 residents is home to Wabash College and many preserved 19th-century landmarks. The most unusual is the Rotary Jail Museum, an 1882 county jail whose two-story cell block turns on a hand-cranked turntable, the only rotary jail in the country that still rotates. Nearby Shades State Park has cliff views, waterfalls, greenery, and fall color. The area's historic covered bridges include the Darlington Covered Bridge and the Deer's Mill Covered Bridge, both of which are links to an earlier era of rural Indiana.
Connersville
Established in 1813, before Indiana became a state, Connersville is one of the region's oldest non-Indigenous settlements and is home to just over 13,000 people today. The nearby Doc-O-Lake Recreation Area and Manlove Park offer fishing, boating, biking, picnicking, and camping in the warmer months. In town, Roberts Park is home to the Longwood Covered Bridge, which dates to 1884.
Several of Connersville's 19th-century properties are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Canal House, a Greek Revival building that served as headquarters of the Whitewater Canal Company and is now staged as a residence with furniture made in Connersville. Local businesses include Johns Brothers General Store and the Ole Rooste Restaurant, which serves classic American dishes.
Vevay
Vevay sits on the Ohio River, where Swiss immigrants established it in the early 1800s. The seat of Switzerland County, near the Kentucky border, combines history, natural scenery, and European American culture. The Hoosier Theatre, built in 1837 as a riverfront warehouse, now hosts plays, concerts, and films as a community performing arts venue.
The river is Vevay's main draw. Visitors can take a boat tour or use the picnic sites and walking trails at Paul W. Ogle Riverfront Park. The Life on the Ohio River History Museum traces the region's river heritage through artifacts, including replica flatboats and model steamships. Each summer, the Swiss Wine Festival brings wine tastings, grape stomping, food, music, and fireworks.
Nashville
Nashville is the home of the Brown County Art Colony. Its shops, boutiques, antique stands, galleries, and other locally run businesses give it a lively, welcoming atmosphere. The Gabriel & Friends Art Gallery is one of several galleries in town, and the Cheeky Owl Gift Shop is a good stop for souvenirs. Main Street runs through the Brown County Courthouse Historic District. Nearby Brown County State Park, Indiana's largest at nearly 16,000 acres, offers hiking, biking, horseback riding, and boating and fishing on Ogle Lake.
Logansport
Founded in the 1820s and named for a Shawnee warrior, Logansport sits where the Wabash and Eel Rivers meet in north-central Indiana, with boating on the water and hiking and cycling along the banks. Many 19th-century buildings survive, including the Kendrick-Baldwin House, an 1860 Italianate home built for a New York banker and later owned by a state attorney general. Places to eat include the River View Restaurant and The Original Boardwalk Café, and The Nest and The Lantern gift shops sell local souvenirs.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus's founding residents chose the town's name in the 1850s. Legends about the choice still circulate, and the community promotes itself as "America's Christmas Hometown." During the Christmas season, attractions like Lake Noel and the Holiday Village appeal to all ages. The Santa Claus Museum & Village tells the history of Christmas and of the town itself through photos, documents, artifacts, and preserved landmarks such as the Santa Claus Church and the Original Post Office. Santa's Candy Castle, built in 1935 as the town's first tourist attraction, still sells treats and gifts.
Jasper
German Catholic pioneers established Jasper, in southern Indiana, in the early 19th century. Its parks include the Jasper Parklands and the Jasper Riverwalk, which has picnic sites, playgrounds, walking trails, and views of the Patoka River. Jasper's German heritage shows in its historic buildings. St. Joseph Catholic Church, a Romanesque Revival church built of large sandstone bricks, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Dubois County Museum's collection of nearly 40,000 items traces several centuries of regional history.
Madison
Madison, another Ohio River town, dates to the turn of the 19th century, and its entire downtown was named a National Historic Landmark. The Madison Historic District spans more than 133 blocks, with many buildings over 150 years old. The Lanier Mansion, an 1844 Greek Revival home built for banker James F. D. Lanier, is now a state historic site open for guided tours. In nearby Lancaster, Eleutherian College was the first college in Indiana to admit students regardless of race or gender. Clifty Falls State Park and Bicentennial Park offer river views, picnic sites, and biking and walking trails.
Oldenburg
German settlers also founded Oldenburg in the 1830s, and the town is known as the "Village of Spires" for the church bell towers and steeples in its historic center. Fewer than 1,000 people live here today. The Sisters of St. Francis, who founded their convent here in 1851, remain a central presence in the historic district.
Each summer, the town hosts Freudenfest, a community festival with traditional German folk and polka music, pie-eating contests, beer, pretzels, schnitzels, sausages, and sauerkraut, all in a warm, social atmosphere that welcomes visitors of all ages.
Indiana, One Small Town at a Time
Indiana's small towns offer a quieter way to see the Midwest. Vevay has its Swiss heritage, and Nashville its art colony. Crawfordsville and New Castle offer natural scenery, and Santa Claus celebrates Christmas year-round. Each of these laid-back towns rewards visitors who stay a while.
