The Most Underrated Towns In Indiana
Where can one see the home of the second American in space, an abandoned amusement park hidden by the river, and a Victorian mansion with a rotary-controlled jail on the inside? That would be in some of Indiana's lesser-known, underrated towns.
These communities contain some of Indiana's rarest pieces of architecture, with well-preserved covered bridges and one of the few wooden aqueducts left in the country.
Read on to learn more about these eight underrated Indiana towns, and why they deserve a bit more recognition.
Charlestown
In the 1920s, Charlestown was one of the most popular towns for a day trip in the Louisville, Kentucky, metro area due to the amusement park Rose Island. This amusement park was forced to shut down in 1937 due to the Great Depression and the devastating Ohio River flood that year.
The Charlestown State Park preserves the remaining infrastructure of that abandoned amusement park today via Trail 3 leading across the Portersville Bridge to the Rose Island Loop.
The park itself contains many beautiful views of the Ohio River Valley, such as Trail 6 with views of Charlestown Landing and bluffs, and Trail 2 going across hardwood forests and waterfalls.
Other than the state park, Charlestown is known in the area for putting on a great show during the holiday season with its Christmas Lights of Charlestown, along with a smaller nature preserve at the Nine Penny Branch State Nature Preserve.
Crawfordsville
Located around 50 miles to the west of Indianapolis, Crawfordsville has secrets within its historic buildings. From the outside, the Rotary Jail Museum may look like any other Victorian-era building, but within is a series of rotating jail cells, controlled via a series of cogs and cranks.
Built in 1882 to a design patented the year before, the cellblock was meant to improve prisoner security and jailer safety, since only one cell could be reached at a time and a single guard could crank the whole turntable. Today the jail is a museum.
Another building in town holds the life work of General Lew Wallace, an American Civil War general and author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The General Lew Wallace Study & Museum is situated in his unusual home, which uses a mixture of Italianate, Byzantine, and Greek styles.
Lastly, Crawfordsville has several relaxing nature trails through the Sugar Creek Nature Park.
Albion
Located in northeastern Indiana, Albion gets its name from the Celtic word for Great Britain. Albion captures some of the beauty of Great Britain, while also contributing its own Hoosier flair in places such as the Chain O'Lakes State Park.
This park has nine lakes connected by waterways in a chain, enabling boaters to float through all of them via the Nine Lake Challenge, or follow hiking trails on the shorelines of the multiple lakes, swamps, woodlands, and the historic Stanley Schoolhouse.
Albion also offers a royal home for displaced exotic animals at the Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, ranging from bears, primates, tigers, birds, reptiles, and many other types of animals. The center offers educational programs and an opportunity to view these creatures.
In downtown Albion, one can find the converted Old Jail Museum, which today contains heirlooms and artifacts from Noble County's history, including Civil War weapons and uniforms.
Rockville
Rockville is the county seat of Parke County, which is also known as the Covered Bridge Capital of the World for its 31 bridges throughout the county. These bridges are often difficult to maintain due to being exposed to rain, sunlight, and flooding waters.
Each October, Rockville throws a Covered Bridge Festival, bringing out vendors and artwork from the Covered Bridge Art Gallery along with guided tours of its covered bridges.
The closest to the town is the Billie Creek Covered Bridge, a 62-foot-long structure built in 1895. Today it's part of a restored 19th-century village called Billie Creek Village.
Just outside of Rockville is one of Indiana's best state parks in the Turkey Run State Park for seasoned hikers, that has trails that traverse over ravines, ladders, and swinging bridges, while also offering fishing and boating access to Sugar Creek.
Metamora
Metamora's name comes from a play by John Augustus Stone called Metamora, about King Philip's War in the 17th century. In the mid-1800s, Metamora was one of the stops on the Whitewater Canal, a 76-mile waterway meant to improve transportation.
Some of the infrastructure from that canal still exists in Metamora, including the Duck Creek Aqueduct, one of the few covered wooden water bridges left in the U.S. Built in 1846, it has been maintained by the community ever since.
The Metamora Gristmill, built in 1845, still produces cornmeal and flour for purchase. Metamora also offers a train ride experience via the Whitewater Valley Railroad, which traverses through the restored canal and lock.
Jasper
Although often overshadowed by its neighbor Santa Claus, Jasper is a culturally rich community. Its culture has been shaped by a large population of German Catholic immigrants from the mid-19th century, who brought their humble architectural styles with them, such as the Cantilever Overhang Schaeffer Barn, which utilizes a 50-foot beam and three log cribs with feeding troughs, a form that was popular in Germany.
Many of its historic sites, including the Jasper City Mill, are visible from its River Walk. Jasper also offers a journey into its past, including the development of its Main Street at the Dubois County Museum, the largest museum of its kind in Indiana, with 17 rooms recreating Main Street Dubois County.
In the neighboring town of Ferdinand, there is the stunning Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. Built for the Sisters of St. Benedict in the Romanesque style, it's visible from multiple places in town due to its position on a hill.
Mitchell
Mitchell was the home of one of America's first astronauts: Virgil "Gus" Grissom, who worked for NASA in the 1960s, becoming the second American in space in 1961.
He passed away during a fire in a pre-launch test in 1967. Today, his space suit, the Gemini 3 Molly Brown spacecraft, and other artifacts from his life are found at the Grissom Memorial, which is part of the larger Spring Mill State Park.
This park also offers a fully functional Pioneer Village and Grist Mill, with a three-story limestone mill dating back to 1817 and 20 other historic buildings operated by historic reenactors.
In Mitchell's downtown, there is the Gus Grissom Boyhood Home along with the mysterious Whispers Estate. Built in 1894, this home has gained a big reputation among paranormal investigators for alleged hauntings. Guests can book a tour or reservation to stay in this unusual home.
Middlebury
Middlebury sits in Elkhart County in Northern Indiana, which is known for its large Amish population. The town is directly connected to many other communities in Elkhart County through the paved Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, which links four trail segments totaling 25 miles.
Middlebury itself lays claim to the largest restaurant in Indiana: Das Dutchman Essenhaus, with more than 1,100 seats. It serves Amish-style food, treats, and pastries.
Next to Das Dutchman Essenhaus is a series of village shops such as The Quilt Shop, which sells gifts, quilts, and home decor. By walking on a trail from the Essenhaus Inn, one can reach the Essenhaus Covered Bridge, constructed in 1993 in the older styles from the 19th century.
These Towns Shouldn't Be Overshadowed
None of these communities should be overshadowed by larger or more popular tourist attractions in Indiana, as they all have unique characteristics that make them stand out not just in Indiana, but in the U.S. as a whole.
Crawfordsville combines a rare rotary jail with the striking home of an American author whose novel became one of the best-selling books of the 19th century and was later filmed three times. Rockville sits at the center of a county with more covered bridges than almost anywhere else, and celebrates that heritage each year with its Covered Bridge Festival.
Perhaps the one element that makes these Indiana towns so special is that they don't feel a need to overstate their importance, but let their culture, landmarks, and natural treasures speak for them.
