Ok. So I’m sure you thought something like “oh, Indianapolis.” Or “oh, Fort Wayne”. But, hold on to your pants…. We went to Hillsboro and Crawfordsville. Yep, they are small little towns in the middle of nowhere. There are some pretty big things here! From war stories to professional theatre, this small town area is pretty interesting and I really encourage you to check it out for yourself. Here are some of the things we found and were able experience in just one day.
There are several major hotel chains to choose from right in Crawfordsville so you won’t have any trouble finding a nice, safe place to stay. We chose the Holiday Inn Express in Crawfordsville and were satisfied with our stay. It wasn’t perfect but it was ok. Pro’s = Decently Clean, Close to highway and attractions, pool and hottub, friendly staff. Con’s = thin walls (teenage girl birthday party next door was loud until 2am), Shower Gel was empty and other bottles looked uncleaned.
We chose to eat at a local burger place called The Barefoot Burger. Super cool theming in the bar area. There is a dining room that is very plain, but when you walk into the bar area and the outdoor seating area, you feel like you just stepped into a Jimmy Buffet themed fun spot. My daughter claimed that the burger she got was possibly the best burger she had ever had! I had some loaded fries which were also fantastic. Their fries are fresh, house made fries and so good! Everything was decently priced and well worth it. I would love to come to this restaurant in the summer on a nice day to sit outside, it looks like a really fun place.
We found there is a lot of history in this little town. Our first stop was the Henry S. Lane House where we saw some cool wartime memorabilia and other interesting things including Abraham Lincolns cracker jar. We then visited General Lew Wallace’s Study and Museum. General Wallace was the author of Ben Hur. This is truly a spectacular building with amazing art and really neat stories. There are also other places that we did not have time to visit including the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, and The Rotary Jail Museum. Just a short drive away you can find other treasures like The Fowler House Mansion.
The Henry S. Lane House, 212 S. Water St. Crawfordsville, IN 47933. Visit their website HERE
General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, 200 Wallace Ave. Crawfordsville, IN 47933. Visit their website HERE
To wrap up the day, we headed down the road to Hillsboro. There is literally nothing here but a blinking light and an amazing Theatre Production. Myers Dinner Theatre produces professional theater and is definitely worth the drive! Currently they are showing The Marvelous Wonderettes. The lineup for their 25th anniversary season include Hello, Dolly, Oliver, The Drowsy Chaperone, Nunsense, Our Town, and A Christmas Story. I would have never thought such huge talent and quality theater would come out of such a small town. This is a Dinner theater where they serve home style food like Ham, Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fixin’s. Now if the menu isn’t what you fancy, you can also just purchase show tickets that do not include dinner.
Myers Dinner Theater, 108 Water St. Hillsboro, IN 47949. Visit their website HERE
What about Covid-19? Masks don’t seem to be required in the state and up to the individual businesses to require them, or not. The museums all required masks. The restaurants did not require masks. The theatre workers wore masks and gloves to serve you, required masks and provided gloves for you to walk through the buffet. Social Distancing wasn’t super great while seated, but they did try their best by keeping a chair empty between families. All in all, about 60% of people were wearing masks in stores and other public areas. If you are not comfortable where people aren’t masking up then I would wait to visit, but if you are vaccinated and comfortable, I highly recommend you plan a fun overnight visit to this interesting little town.
Please let me know in the comments below if you plan to visit Crawfordsville or Myers Dinner Theater. Also, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have, leave those questions in the comments down below as well!
We had a fantastic time and would love to come back and see some of the places we didn’t have time to see and maybe catch another amazing theatre production! Don’t forget to like and share this post and thanks for reading!!
The Mouse Traveler 
You need to correct 2 mistakes re. General Wallace and his Study.
1. His first name is LEW, not Lee.
2. The building pictured is NOT the Study, but rather the Carriage House Interpretive Center.
This is sloppy journalism.
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Thank you, Elaine, for catching the mistake on the name. I have corrected that. It Must have been an autocorrect thing. There are several pictures. It is a slideshow and I take pictures of everything when I go somewhere. If you click the arrows or swipe then you will see the other photos which do include the actual study. I’m sorry you think I am sloppy, I don’t claim to be a journalist. I just like to write about the places we visit. It is a hobby. My intention is to spark interest and I hope that people will be inspired to visit these places for themselves. Thank you for visiting my page.
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