Vigo County's Pioneer Village can be found within Fowler Park. Besides driving through the park to…read morevisit, you can use the small parking lot along Bono Road and walk into the park from that entrance which accesses the village and covered bridge. Most of the year, the village is open to browse, but the buildings are locked. Some have convenient windows to browse in, but not all of them. You will also notice that some are authentic buildings which have been preserved by moving them to this gathering spot from across the area (including Illinois). Others are constructed from wood salvaged from other cabins/structures that had met their demise. What is created is a homogeneous collection of buildings that you might find if you could travel back in time 180 years to a small town in the area. Vigo County does open the village up the first weekend in October to re-enactors and vendors to celebrate the annual Pioneer Days. I believe there is a $5 fee for attending. I was surprised that I didn't see any promotion for the event in 2019 since I was there just a few days too early. If you are interested, I would suggest contacting the county's parks department. From what I heard from the staff at the guard house, the village has grown over the years as additional buildings have been relocated. While there, be sure to check out one of the State's oldest covered bridges on the south side of the village. Review #2957

Irishman Covered Bridge, also known as Honey Creek Bridge, can be found within Fowler Park…read more Besides driving through the park to visit, you can use the small parking lot along Bono Road and walk into the park from that entrance which accesses the bridge and the Pioneer Village. This is one of the State's oldest covered bridge which makes it interesting to view the building structure. However, because of a massive restoration project (the flooring is being replace for safety and preservation of the structure), the bridge was off limits to pedestrian traffic. The bridge used to be in service but in 1971, it was relocated to the park where it now spans a small inlet off Ruble Lake. The bridge sports the classic red side walls and white faced ends that are popular in Parke County. The bridge is 75' long, so it is one of the shorter spans left in the state. I hope the repairs are completed and can preserve this bridge much as the pioneer village has saved log cabins from the area. Review #2957

Walking into this library, I thought it was your run-of-the-mill library. There were books and…read moreplaces to read. There was a teen area with a tv. Public computers offered free legal advice. Downstairs in the kid's area, there was a regular size door for adults and a pint size door for kids that was unique. A nice play area for the kids helped them learn and love the library. There was a pretty awesome tree house down in the kid's area. But when I turned the corner upstairs, things got really interesting. The digital library was housed in a former historic Carnegie Library, now a wing of the library. Tony, the head of the digital media, came out of his office when he heard our gasps to tell us the history of the Carnegie structure. Like many libraries in Indiana, the library in Greencastle was funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie over 100 years ago. The town provided the land and commitment to maintain and Carnegie paid to build the building. The library, now the Putnam County Public Library, still maintained the original oak woodwork and fireplace mantles of the historic structure. Beautiful stained glass decorated the windows and the sky light. Historical photos of the original furniture (which is still in use today) and staff were on the wall. Tony explained that the Library had maintained and renovated the Carnegie space when they had expanded and modernized in the 1990s. Today, the center house historical information. He also showed us art by the famous Wilbur Kurtz, a former resident and art instructor in Greencastle. I highly recommend a visit if you like history and architecture. Talk to Tony (the staff is awesome). There's plenty of parking near the Library. The new section is fully accessible with restroom facilities. .

"Read.Think.Create!" is part of a six-installation public art trail in Greencastle, Indiana. This…read moreparticular piece is located inside the Putnam County Public Library and is directly over the circulation desk (Fun Fact: The circulation desk is the original Carnegie Library circulation desk). Read.Think.Create! was created by Greencastle Civic League Artists Amy Welch and Heather Wright to celebrate the old and new of libraries. It adds a beautiful energy to this 1902 library that was renovated in 1995 but still retains much of the original furniture and design. This installation is within walking distance of two others. Greencastle, in general, has quite a bit to offer within a fairly small distance. Of course, the city is also home to DePauw University. There's not much else that can be said about this mural as it's simple yet colorful and well-maintained. Putnam County hasn't caught on to the public art scene as much as some other communities, though this six installation trail is fun to experience and definitely worth checking out if in the area. I would not consider Read.Think.Create! a destination public art piece, however, if you're in Greencastle it's worth checking out the library and its art work. While this mural was the first of the six to be envisioned, it was actually completed after the nearby "Greencastle Blossoms." This is free to check out during library hours.

Cunningham Memorial Library is one of my favorite locations on campus. My first visit was in 1985,…read morea nostalgic imprint that remains with me to this day. There are lots of stacks and study spots, even a cafe in the entryway. I didn't spend nearly enough time here as a student, but I still appreciate this concrete behemoth! The card catalogue is gone but plenty of old school history remains in the stacks and the archives. My visit on this day was for historical research on student organizations and ISU presidential papers. The special collections team were most helpful in identifying relevant holdings and giving me access to review documents related to my topic. Advance notice is needed due to storage location of the archives. Legacy materials are held in a different location on campus, thus staff need time for document retrieval.

I am an author. My name is Linda Bates. One of my book is a fiction book called Alisa's New Life…read more It is about a young girl, her three younger brothers, and one older sister. They encounter a change when their alcoholic father Walt Preston has a wreck and is arrested. When her mother dies they are adoped by a local teacher in the town of Terre Haute, Indiana. Alisa, Gilbert Goodnill and Jason Johnson spend the next few years in one adventure after another, dates,, proms, and hanging out. Alisa keeps a journal of her new adventures, and writes her feelings and of her events to her mother while over coming the grief she holds within of her mothers passing. I am in the process of publishing another fiction book called 'Nick Bradford's Ghostly Clients. He is a ghost helper in a small town in the midwest, helping ghost to cross over. He and his good buddy Jerome encounter many adventures. His neighbor Elda Ramon is also a ghost helper. Nick encounters adventures of 13 ghosts that during the story approach him desperatel for help. Nick is a 17 year old boy in his senior year of school. Elda takes him under her wing and teaches him all she knows about helping ghost to cross over. Nick and his girlfriend Clarissa become close and introduce Jerome to a wonderful girl. The four teens bond through the vast ghostly adventures.

A little distant from the town of Casey but it's still one of those "Largest Things" that you need…read moreto see if you're in the area. This is the World's Largest Horseshoe and yes, it's large. You can see that here as I parked next to it for scale. The claim to fame as world's largest became official in 2013, when this 1,144-pound cast iron horseshoe was verified by Guinness World Records. Then in 2015 it was surpassed by a slightly larger horseshoe in Kentucky that weighed half as much. So I wouldn't say that you need to go out of your way, unless you're interested in the world's largest things. Or perhaps you're already here for the Martinsville Agricultirual Fair. [Review 19672 overall - 127 in Illinois - 644 of 2023.]

Bypassed in 1987, this Single Span Burr Arch Truss was built by Joseph J. Daniels in 1900 to carry…read moreGreencastle Road (County Road 720) over Big Rocky Creek. Access is easy and fully paved; the bridge sits about two miles east of US59 outside Mansfield. One of nine covered bridges that Daniels put up in Parke County, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; it is #6 on the Parke County Covered Bridge Map.

One of the shorter covered bridges of Parke County can be found to the southeast of Rockville near…read morethe town of Mansfield. This classic Red and white covered bridge was originally built in 1900 (one of the newer bridges in the county!) The bridge is 88' in total length and spans 72 feet. This Burr Arch-truss style bridge is now open to pedestrian traffic only. The road bypassed this bridge in 1988, ten years after it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you are following the Parke County road map, this bridge is on the Black Trail to the south east of the Mansfield Bridge. From there, take CR145 east to 775E, then south to 720S, then east to the bridge. Note that on the east side of the bridge is a pull off area that you can safely use for parking. If you are coming from the south (Brazil), then take CR 59 north (4.5 mi.) to 720S (CR 22), then east to the bridge (less than 2 mi). The road is paved, but speed is limited to the frequent twists and turns and overall road conditions. Review #3154

I think most drivers aren't aware of the number of bridges they cross but they would sure be aware…read moreof them if they were missing. Imagine the hassle of trying to drive your vehicle over some stream or creek instead of zipping on by at 40 or more miles per hour. This is one such bridge and if it wasn't for the sign, I wouldn't have been aware of the historic nature. National Road and this bridge were here before US-40 was built nearby and of course, I-70 passes by a few miles away. So think back in time and here we are. The marker reads, "This Bridge was completed by Army Engineers sometime between 1834 and 1837 as part of the Old National Road, between Cumberland, Maryland and Vandalia, Illinois, was authorized by the enabling act of 1803 and was the Nation's first federally financed highway. The Bridge is a prime example of the Stone-building art and early American Engineering. Stones were precisely cut and fitted together without bond or mortar. Many stone arch bridges were built along the Cumberland Road, but this was the only one is still in use at the time of the marker dedication." The marker was erected in 1976 by the Clark County Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society.. There is not room to pull over on the bridge but there is a nearby crossroad where you can stop and see the bridge from the side. It's an impressive structure especially considering that it is over 150 years old and in constant daily use. [Review 19671 overall - 126 in Illinois - 643 of 2023.]

Reviewing historical structures like this can be difficult, but for any Historic National Road…read moreenthusiast - it's a must-do! If you are heading west out of town, be sure to check out the Old Stone Arch Bridge. No, you can't pull over and look but you can turn left on Oak Crest Road and pull off there. That way, you get a nice view of the bridge. If you want to read the historical marker, then you gotta walk up a-ways. By the way, did you know Abraham Lincoln went across this bridge many times during his lawyer days?

Romanesque-Revival style, the Edgar County Courthouse looks like a fancy wedding cake. It was…read moredesigned by architect Henry Eliot of Chicago and was constructed from 1891 to 1893. At the top is a galvanized steel and zinc sheet metal-clad, tiered bell and clock tower topped with a copper dome. The tower and dome are topped by a "Lady Justice" statue. The courthouse's exterior has four main sides and four entrances situated between each adjacent pair of sides. Each side includes two towers at each end and a central section with a tall gable. It's a stunning structure located at the center of Paris. Don't miss out on this and if you're able to do a tour, please do! [Review 1288 of 2024 - 215 in Illinois - 22311 overall]