Southern Indiana
October 5, 2016
There are many reasons to visit Southern Indiana but here are 5 Reasons You’ll Love To Visit Southern Indiana Now.
#1 Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches.
From Northern Kentucky, Dave and I took a leisurely drive across the Ohio River into Indiana. As cooler weather approaches, this drive will be even more beautiful when the trees begin to show off their Fall colors. We drove through Lawrenceburg and in Aurora we headed south and drove along the river on Hwy. 56.
Enjoying the rolling hills and the scenery, we drove through Rising Sun, Vevay, Madison, Scottsburg, and stopped for lunch in Salem. In Salem is a little restaurant named “Christy’s On The Square”.
The friendly people who work here make you feel so welcome! The restaurant is clean and neat. Aside from that, they make the best ‘breaded pork tenderloin sandwich’ I have ever had! The breading is light and delicious. The pork is tender and so filling. The French fries are some of the best we have ever had, too. (Dave ate half of mine!) But, I would definitely go back for their breaded pork tenderloin!
From Salem, we headed west, driving through Livonia, Paoli, and into French Lick. We had booked a room at the French Lick Hotel.
#2 The French Lick Hotel
This hotel is beautiful! The whole atmosphere is laid back. The people who work at the hotel are, once again, so friendly! The whole weekend, they all smiled and greeted us as they walked by.
Visitors were taking in the view while resting on chairs and benches on the huge wraparound porch, as we came from and went to the hotel.
Take a look at these beautiful ceilings, not to mention the gold highlighting the architectural elements! The entrance and lobby are just breathtaking.
Our room overlooked the upper and lower gardens. Of course, we chose the wing with the garden view over the casino and the spa wings.
The tranquil Asian garden was a calming surprise here.
#3 West Baden Hotel
The West Baden Hotel was once called the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’. You can see why if you check out a picture of the atrium dome! There were 12-million 1-inch tiles artistically applied to the floor in this gorgeous room. It is truly impressive.
Al Capone, boxer Joe Lewis, Helen Keller, the Studebaker’s, and many other famous people and families have visited these hotels.
In 1902 the wooden building was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt using brick and as many inflammable materials as possible, in place of wood. This time, the 200′ dome, which was the world’s largest dome at the time, was also created.
It was a very successful business until the Wall Street Crash of 1929. People started leaving the hotel and it was pretty well cleared out overnight. In just over two years the hotel was closed. During the depression, people weren’t staying at luxury hotels.
The Jesuits bought the property for $1.00 after the depression in 1934. Sadly, they filled in some of the mineral springs and today they are covered with cement. They also removed some of the beautiful things in the hotel and dismantled the four Moorish towers.
They opened a seminary called West Baden College, which closed in 1964.
In the picture, you can see the cement floor that now covers one of the springs. The windows are Tiffany glass!
The outside of this building is brick and limestone. When it was built the brick was covered with glazed brick as white and smooth as porcelain. The sign outside the building said these bricks were known as ‘Tiffany’ and are worth about $100.00 each.
In 1966, the Jesuits sold the property to a Michigan couple who donated it to a private college that was in operation until 1983.
A small cemetery still stands adjacent to the back of the garden where several of the Jesuits were buried.
In 1974, the property was listed as a National Historic Landmark.
In 1983, the property was abandoned and left to deteriorate. Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana purchased the property in 1996 and began to restore this beautiful landmark.
From 1985 -1994 there was a battle to decide who really owned the property.
Finally, in 1996, Cook Group Incorporated of Bloomington, Indiana started restoring the property.
In 2003, the Indiana Legislature approved the overseeing of the hotels and the casino. In 2007 the hotel reopened.
A more detailed story of the West Baden Springs Hotel can be found here ►West Baden Springs Hotel.
I took a lot of pictures here and at the French Lick Hotel. More are posted on
My Humble Home and Garden’s Facebook page if you are interested.
# 4 The Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper, Indiana
The first time I ever ate at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant in Jasper was in the early 70’s. I had their ‘Sauerbraten with Potato Glaze.’ Tender beef marinated with a sweet & sour wine gravy. The ‘potato glaze’ is a potato dumpling ball centered with bread crumbs and covered in sauerbraten gravy. If we lived closer, maybe we would try more of their German dishes!
As it is, this has been an occasional craving of mine since that day! Anytime we are near Jasper, we make it a point to stop here.
#5 Having to S l o w Your Pace Enough to Enjoy the Scenery!
Driving through parts of Southern Indiana, you might have to slow down for farm equipment or an occasional horse and buggy driven by the Amish.
As I drove, (We took my car.) it struck me how really beautiful the cornfields are! Growing up in Southern Indiana, I don’t think I recognized the true beauty of the cornfields.
Memories of running barefoot through the cornfields to my friend’s house and back came flooding back. I had to smile.
On this trip, we passed freshly picked cornfields, cornfields ready to be picked, and some in the process of being picked. Spread across many acres, field after field, it was really a beautiful sight.
Yes, although there are more, there you have it, 5 Reasons You’ll Love to Visit Southern Indiana Now.
