Specifically I am reviewing the clubhouse and food at the Crawfordsville Country Club. Chef Jeff…read moreis amazing!! I have eaten here many times for many different occasions (receptions, banquets, office parties, etc) and the food is ALWAYS outstanding. On Sunday I attended the Nunan Foundation Award Banquet, as my daughter was a recipient last year. The buffet meal included fresh garden salad, sour cream mashed potatoes, green beans, honey chicken tenders and snickerdoodle cookies. The honey chicken tenders were the best I have ever had-hands down. Hand battered and so tender. The beans were perfectly cooked and seasoned just right. As a mashed potato lover I feel I can say these were dreamy. The cookies were so delish I had to stop my husband from eating more then three! Reservations can be made and are recommended for the weekends. Members only dining except be invitation. Nice, bright dining room with lots of windows and a fireplace. Full bar and terrific wait staff.

We held a corporate event held at Crawfordsville Country Club located in Crawfordsville, Indiana…read more This establishment was located in a country setting surrounded by woods and fields. This Country Club also boasts an 18 hole full golf course, a clubhouse and a swimming pool. It was a three day event and I was concerned about dining and variety for 23 participants in these meetings. Crawfordsville Country Club did not disappoint! The staff was just superb. This includes right from the Club's General Manager, Rob McCormick to the Chef, Chef Jeff and the support staff. Breakfast, lunches and dinners during the three days served on time and in hearty proportions. Meeting rooms were arranged and presented on time and on a daily basis. The Country Club Manager was extremely helpful and saw to each one of the 23 people in our group's needs. The Chef prepared extremely delicious and hearty meals 3 times a day for us. This included Prime Rib, Pork Chops, Groupers, Salmon and an awesome breakfast Eggs Benedict with Steak. During business hours our workday was 10 hours long and the projects were stressful however the environment, service and food of the Country Club kept us focused and the entire event successful.

The Hendricks County Museum is amazing. The Museum was once the County jail and home of the local…read moresheriff. We were given a fabulous personal and guided tour of the museum by Judy W., who is a volunteer at the museum. Judy is knowledgable and passionate about the history of Hendricks County. She was engaging throughout the tour. On our tour, we saw special exhibits of Hendricks County artifacts. We visited the original jail cells! Prisoners were held in the home where the sheriff and his family lived. We toured the entire house, which is filled with antiques and vintage items that would have been consistent with the age of the residence. The Victorian home has been remarkably restored and maintained. There was a room filled with war artifacts dating back to the Civil War. There was another room filled with information and artifacts from Normal College, which closed many years ago. The tour was free, but donations are accepted that help care for the home. There were many stairs, so I'm not sure that the tour is totally accessible. There is street parking available. The tour is suitable for school age children and adults. Plan about 45 minutes for the tour. The hours are limited, so call ahead to ensure they are open. I highly recommend a visit if you like local history.

Planning a day in Danville? Add this to your itinerary…read more This spot is fascinating. Home to the former Sheriff, it's been preserved as it was in its prime, complete with the in-home JAIL CELLS that held the town's prisoners under the same roof as the sheriff's children. Ask about the prisoner escapes - there's some great stories there. Seeing old-fashioned kid's bedrooms, a beautiful kitchen, huge staircase, and Civil War memorabilia galore, this spot offered way more than I would've guessed. Call to ensure they're open, then show up for a tour. You won't regret it!

The Strawberry Festival has been going strong since 1976, and this year was no exception. I make…read morethe drive back to Crawfordsville every year if I can to the grounds of the Lane Place for the festivities, and this year did not disappoint. Walking through the booths of crafts, shirts, artwork, incense and candles, I was pleased to see most of the vendors were local to Montgomery County. I also was pleased to see so many artistic creations that were local, like the colored pencil drawings of the Lew Wallace Study and the Elston Home. I think festivals such as this should be about the local community, and so many bigger ones have so many out of town vendors that it loses the community vibe. This isn't the case here. The REAL reason I went was the food, which I think is secretly the real reason any of us attend in the first place. I look forward to the Strawberry Shortcake every year, and I walk around until I find the booth run by a church with the oldest women working Why? Because I know it'll be the BEST Strawberry Shortcake I'll eat all year. Was I right? Uh.. yes. It was awesome. I like that the Strawberry Festival is sectioned out into four areas: Booths, Food, Entertainment and Kids area. This helps keep the flow of traffic through the place moving, and keeps the kids (for the most part) out of the areas I want to visit. One thing worth mentioning: the larger festivals set a standard price for items, such as water and cans of soda. This isn't the case here. I saw water for 1 ticket at one booth and 2 tickets at the one right next to it. Same size and brand, but double the price. Decide what you want and shop around for the best deal.

I have done this festival for years and have enjoyed it as a craft vendor and enjoyed the staff and…read morethe public very much. About 10 years ago I could see the home made craft business was going down hill, so I got out of craft shows. This year and previous years we went this festival, I couldn't' believe how it has turned into a flea market show. Very few crafters. A lot of items from Mexico. The prices of the food were very expensive. $5.00 for a dish (1 scoop) of ice cream, strawberries, and a very, very small piece of cake with no favor. This place was always our favorite place to go to end the day at the festival. We wont be back. Very disappointing day.

We have been visiting IFF since 2018, but have had friends going consistently for much longer. The…read moreHaunted Hayride is always a family favorite. We get to enjoy some consistent attraction, but there is always something new. And, like any live performances, the actors bring different energy to familiar scenes. The Slaughter Barn is definitely not for the faint of heart. My children didn't start venturing in until their late teens. I look forward to it every year. Surprisingly, my favorite part is interacting with the characters while waiting in line for the attractions. You will definitely enjoy waiting your turn.

My husband and two of our friends went here over the weekend for the first time. We did not…read moreencounter anything that was even remotely scary, so this is definitely the haunted house to bring your kids to. The haunted hay ride was actually super fun and surprised us by having 2 dance number scenes. The weather was divine and it was so nice to roll through all of the fun scenes they have set up with the breeze going. Some of the scenes felt like we went through them too quickly to get to see everything, but others you could really see all of the detail they put into it. The slaughter barn was very quick to get through- even when haunted houses aren't scary I like when they are big and you get to walk around in the spooky rooms they have set up. The haunted hay ride was the best part of the night by far. One thing none of us liked was that one of the characters that wander around to entertain guests who waiting in line, buying concessions, etc kept very quickly circling around everyone while pulling a wagon that had a duck caged in it. It couldn't even sit or get comfortable because it was constantly bracing for turns and bumps. A fake duck glued to the cage or no duck at all would have sufficed. Not sure why live animals need to be toted around as props. We had purchased our tickets online during pre-sale, so it was a 2-for-1 deal. We definitely wouldn't come back if we had to pay full price, but I do think my brother with autism would like this, so we may bring him here next year.

I don't think I will ever get the images of the Rotary Jail out of my mind. The Rotary Jail is both…read morefascinating and horrifying piece of local history. This is the last rotary jail that is functional in the United States. Like many Midwest towns, the sheriff's home also served as a jail for short term stays. The rotary cell system was designed to minimize the number of guards required to secure thirty or more inmates. The birdcage shaped contraption, is made up of two layers of small wedge shaped cells. There is a single door that cells must rotate towards to add or release people. Benjamin Haugh and William Brown of Indianapolis built the system and installed many throughout the US. Unfortunately, the rotation of the cells proved to be extremely dangerous for inmates and most rotating jails were condemned within a few years. The jail in Crawfordsville became functional in 1882 and operated through 1973. Modifications were made to the jail in the 1930s to improve safety. The building was restored and preserved as a museum in 1975. The museum also has several displays describing the local sheriffs and their equipment. Several pieces of period furniture and housewares are on display. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The tour guide was amazingly knowledgable and realistic about the dangers of the rotary system. She demonstrated the rotary action of the cells for us. We are allowed to walk into the cells. Admission is $8 per person and small kids are free. I didn't see ADA access and there are a lot of up and down steps, so it would be difficult to maneuver a wheel chair or stroller. There are no public restrooms either. We parked downtown and walked two blocks. There is a small gift shop in the rear of the house selling sheriff themed and other trinkets. I highly recommend a visit if you like history, architecture and engineering.

Most interesting museum we've ever been in! We've traveled the US and several countries and I must…read moresay, this is the one that we stumbled on that will forever be remembered! Who knew a rotary jail was a thing? Not us! The guided tour takes you through the sheriff's residence which has several original furnishings and household items. There's plenty of history to read on the walls and other time period items to learn about but the main attraction is of course the jail! Our tour guide was a bit odd and he was pretty short in his stories and explanations but the gal that toured the jail and basement was perfect! She explained everything in detail and embellished with some tales of the jail! The jail rotates! Literally spins around with one door in and one door out! Well, that was the way it was built originally and operated until 1933, then they said no more rotating, too many prisoner injuries! It still rotates though, the only one in existence so definitely a must see!

I took my granddaughter to the Carnegie Museum in Crawfordsville because a guide told us they had…read moresome STEAM activities for kids. The building was originally the town's library that was funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. A modern library was built across the street and the Carnegie building became a museum. The museum is free, however they had a donation box. The layout is a little meandering, but one of the staff described the activities and exhibits. Downstairs there were several interesting activities for kids that involved simple physics and biology. She loved making music with balloons. There were other activities that she enjoyed such as making a political button. Through out the museum are local artifacts that are interesting (such as an early telephone operator's machine). There was interesting information about famous people that came from Montgomery County. Upstairs was a macabre exhibit about death rituals. There were some empty spaces in the museum and they seemed to be in transition. There is a small gift shop to help support the museum. Our visit was good. My granddaughter had some fun learning and engaging in the activities. I learned some things. The staff is friendly.

Like most small population counties, funding for saving historical items is a challenge. So, I…read moredon't hold them to the same standards for presentation and prominence as I would a larger metropolitan location. So, when I visited the Montgomery County museum, I kept in mind how it compared with other county museums like Owen County in Spencer, or Johnson County in Franklin. And so my rating, as an outsider, is for an A-OK rating. The entrance is on the ground level and as you wind your way through the exhibits, you may find a large emphasis on having the displays being kid friendly or at least, kid focused. There are some antiques and some memorials to relatively famous people from Montgomery County. Through a back stairwell, the museum has a more spacious area on the second floor. There is a room with larger display items like a telephone switchboard, a doctor's buggy, a sign from a local business, and a piano owned by a prominent local family, the Elstons. But beyond that, there is a lot of open space that seems underutilized. Maybe they have activities that require more open space, but for visitors at other times, it seems like it could be put to better use. There is a small gift shop on the lower floor and a parking lot alongside the building since street parking is pretty limited in the area. I'm guessing the appeal to locals would warrant a higher rating, but without anything to separate this collection from many others around the state, it only has limited appeal. Perhaps if there weren't several other museums/homes down the street, there would be more to display here of the county's history. Review #1389