One look at this map of Indiana landmarks, and you may feel like you stepped inside a time machine. Produced in the 1940s, this guide to Hoosier hot spots is part of the Indiana Historical Society’s collection and demonstrates the state’s diversified interests as its tourism prospects prospered.
Outdoor spots like state parks, forests, lakes, game preserves, and fish hatcheries command nearly an entire sidebar unto themselves. Scales Lake State Forest in Warrick County makes the cut, but Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve wasn’t founded until 1972. Evansville College — known since 1967 as the University of Evansville — is featured among post-secondary institutions.
Proudly topping the list of historical, educational, and scenic sites is Angel Mounds State Historic Site. Regional standouts like Santa Claus, Indiana, and Lincoln Pioneer Village in Rockport, Indiana, also receive a shoutout.
1940s quirky hot spots include Indiana’s oldest covered bridge in a town called Raccoon, journalist Ernie Pyle’s birthplace in Dana, the site of the first electric streetlight in Huntington, and the statue of Perfection Fairfax, King of Hereford sires, in Kentland.
All Hoosier roads on the map lead to the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument in Indianapolis, but don’t forget that Evansville has its own tribute: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, built in 1916.
HOOSIERLAND
