TikTok really has opened my eyes to hidden treasures everywhere. I'm sure that I'm not the only one…read morethat feels this way. When you doom scroll, you come across many different places that are true hidden gems. Door To Nowhere, or Heigold House, is definitely an oddity and salute to the past. Some housekeeping, you know, things to know about this place. BE CAREFUL. This sits on a roundabout island with steady traffic. Be mindful to the traffic flow and businesses nearby (I parked at a nearby business off the road and walked over here). Be kind to the natural beauty that surrounds this. And most of all, be respectful. As I said, this sits on a roundabout with flowerbeds surrounding it. Whether you are facing front, as in looking at the front of the façade, or looking from the rear, please stay on the sidewalks provided. Take in the informational plaques as well. Built by Christian H Heigold, a successful stonecutter. Majority of the house was completed in 1853. Heigold was a master at stonecutting and completed the home with busts of Presidents George Washington and James Buchanan. Heigold was also a staunch opponent of the 'Know Nothing Party,' and anti-immigration political party and I would like to think that he built his house with all the busts was a big middle finger to those that were anti-immigration. This façade sat in what was known as the The Point neighborhood, which was favored by those that moved to the city from the New Orleans area. Once Louisville diverted the Beargrass Creek away from downtown, this place started to flood annually. Shifting people away from the neighborhood and then the Great Flood of 1937 happened. Slowly the city started buying houses and demolishing them. Ultimately using the land as a dump site. Then this façade was listed on the National Registry of Historical Places. Remained in that area which became Thruston Park. That is until a developer bought the land adjacent to this and build condos. They moved this massive beast, 70,000-pounds, across River Road to where it sits today.

Such amazing history, a must see spot ! Right off a main road but there is parking nearby !read more

I was in the Franklin area for a work obligation and finally made it over to see the famed "Grave…read morein The Middle of The Road." One of the more unique graves around, this grave nearly always shows up on any list of Indiana's most unique roadside attractions. Of course, this isn't "roadside." It's in the middle of the road and serves as a sort of divider in the road. The grave is for Nancy Kerlin Barnett, married to William Barnett. Fun fact: William was the great great great grandson of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Nancy passed away on 12/1/31. She was buried here - a place that used to be a hill overlooking Sugar Creek. Over the years, the area became a small cemetery. Eventually, a small footpath was made. Finally, they wanted to put a small county road here. While it's not certain, it's believed that most graves in the area were moved. However, Nancy's grave stuck around as one of the son's protested moving it. Eventually, they wanted to widen the road - this time around, per report, grandson Daniel showed up with a shotgun essentially saying "Over my dead body." So, she stayed again. They built the road around her and a concrete slab was placed over the grave. On August 8, 1912, a historical marker was also placed. To this day, the grave remains and is definitely considered an "attraction." Anyone who visits roadside attractions in Indiana will eventually make it here. It took me way too long. Surprisingly, it's also fairly accessible and the road is really fairly lightly traveled. It's not hard to stop and see it, though given it's a hill you do have to be a bit cautious even with slow traffic. Is this the best roadside attraction you'll ever see? Of course not. It is, however, a cool sort of cultural icon in Indiana and worth a stop for those in the area. It's definitely not what I'd call a destination attraction. Franklin is a great community to visit, however, I'd certainly not drive down just for this unless you're truly a gravesite person.

This was on a list of unusual things to do/see in Indiana so I had to check it out. The story goes…read morelike this. They were developing the road and it was going right through where the grave is. So they decided to dig the grave up, to which the grandson of the deceased said, ohh heck nawww. It ain't going down like that, and he grabbed his shotgun and threatened the powers. to be so bad that they came up with the compromise of incorporating his gam gam's grave into the new road. So, here we are. Down the center line of the road you will find a tombstone covered with pennies and an occasional flower or two. There is also a historical road marker on the side of the road as well, detailing the significance of the spot. This stop is just or brief stop or drive by. There is really no good place to pull over. I had to be creative and pray. To my favor was that the street was not very busy. An occasional car would pass by. Well now, I can check off "seeing a grave in the middle of the road" off of my bucket list. On to the next adventure.

The Historical Covered Bridge was hard to find. There is NOT a lot of signage, so keep your eyes…read morepeeled. It is located just off Route 450. There is some parking there. The covered bridge is no longer in use. The local heathens have used paint to write graffiti all over the inside and on the 2 entrances of the bridge. Really defacing this beautiful old red covered bridge. I am on a mission to see the over 90 covered bridges in the State of Indiana and was very upset that the locals have done nothing to preserve or police the bridge area. The bridge is over a 120 yrs and the town has turned it's back to the history of the bridge...it is a crying shame.

One of the longest historic covered bridges in the state is to the southwest of Bedford near…read moreWilliams, IN. The road to the bridge is quite winding and though GPS tells you it is not far, that it measures a straight line, not the slow and actual mileage. So, be prepared for the trip to take a bit longer than you expect. Once you get close to the bridge, there is a small road that passes under the railroad trestle and leads south. There is another small road on the left that leads to the bridge which is quite visible by then. Parking is available at the base of the bridge which is closed off to vehicles. The bridge has been restored on the outside with fresh paint and a nice sign over the entry identifying it as Williams Bridge 1884 with an oddly listed occupancy limit. I didn't see any other information on site to share the history of the place. As mentioned in other reviews, the site is frequently falls prey to vandals who spray juvenile/stupid graffiti all over the blacktop approach and on the floor of the bridge. Seems a shame that this small town can't seem to figure out who is doing the damage and make them responsible for clean up costs. The bridge spans 402' and is a treasure that once lost, can't be replaced. I hope someone in the area can champion bringing the rest of the site up to the quality of the new look of the bridge itself. Review #2654

My spouse and I went on the Columbus architecture tour. The Miller House and Garden is the focal…read morepart of the architecture of Columbus. The architect Saarinen developed plans for only three houses all for the Miller's. Almost all the doorways are handicapped accessible and the house is one level. Although built in the 1950s many of the design concepts are still seen today. if you are going for the architecture tour, this is a must

loved the aesthetic of this house. first saw it on Kogonada's film Columbus and just had to go see…read moreit. the one thing though is the movie makes it seem like you can walk freely through the house, you cannot. it's an informative guided tour. and you're only allowed to take pictures on this particular rug. I'm fine without getting anymore photos, but I would have loved to spend some more time outside exploring the grounds. also I saw pictures of the couch with red cushions, it was definitely more eye catching with those. (big thing: read your confirmation email and show up at the visitor center first)

One of the longest covered bridges in the state is nearly finished on its restoration. Located…read moreabout four miles west of Seymour, this bridge is somewhere between 355 and 366 feet depending upon your source material. It was built in 1876 to span the East Fork of the White River on East County Road 200 N. The red sided, white roof and approach bridge relies upon a center support to span the river. The bridge was closed to traffic in 1980 when a bypass bridge was built. So, with the nearly complete bridge being saved, why only three stars? First, the area around the bridge has a lot of trash and the Private Property signs make you question if it is safe to pull off the road to look at the bridge. Also, the bridge blocks anyone from walking through (note that there aren't any window cutouts to look out anyway.) The bridge also lacks any identifying plaques or signage that identifies it. Locals should look at that bridges of Parke County or Decatur County for how to make the bridge informational. Procuring a safe pull off spot that is clearly marked would also benefit the visitors. After spending over $1 million dollars in restoration, it seems like a lost opportunity for tourism for the community. At least the restoration so far has bought the county time to make the project complete. Review #2648

The Shieldstown Covered Bridge is old! It carried traffic for over 100 years, until it was bypassed…read morein the late 1970's. Although it is quite literally falling apart, I have great hope the help is on the way. BRIDGE FACTS Year Opened: 1876 Builder: Joseph J. Daniels Length: 331 feet (355 feet including the 12-foot approaches at each end) Width: 12.5 feet Truss type: Burr Arch Truss (double span) Crosses: East Fork of White River Notes: The road was rerouted to bypassed this structure in 1977. 'Save Our Jackson County Covered Bridges' is an organization established by the Jackson County Parks & Recreation Dept and the J/C Visitors & Convention Bureau. It is largely responsible for raising funds to restore and protect county bridges. Shieldstown and Medora are the last two covered bridge remaining in this Indiana county. Medora has already been beautifully restored (see review): http://www.yelp.com/biz/medora-covered-bridge-jackson?hrid=LtsCXxFSW6HF3ARaGZ_lNw However, as of October 2014 there were no visible renovations detectable to the eyes of this covered bridge fan. If anything, the renovations made in the 1980's were long deteriorated and the bridge itself looks as though it needs to be condemned... like yesterday! Near the entrance on the east side of the bridge is a monument to James Aldred Cash (June 1934 - November '08). The inscription on the bench interestingly reads: "Dad always said if your gonna be stupid you better be tough." It looks like it is part of the bridge property but in fact it's on land directly adjacent to the bridge, so finding out what it means has been difficult. But I promise I'll update this review as soon as I discover it's meaning. For now, the best I can figure is it references this song by Roger Allan Wade - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aczrDOa5Asc FINAL THOUGHTS A gorgeous piece of history that I am certain the county and state will soon bring back to its former glory. Indiana seems to be very proud of its collection of covered bridges, mostly scattered throughout the central and southern parts of the state. I look forward to a return visit when renovations are complete. Be sure to check out the Covered Bridge Loop, a route that highlights 9 historic bridges around the state: http://www.visitgreensburg.com/docs/CoveredBridgeLoopMap.pdf

According to the mill's website, it was idle for 50 years and then restored to working condition…read moreled by a local non-profit and some generous donations. The mill is now only open weekends and is run by volunteers. Unfortunately, there aren't enough Yelp visitors to have kept the hours updated, so I attended on a Friday only to find out they are open exclusively on weekends. Still, they have a convenient parking lot across the road and even though the mill waterwheel was not spinning during my visit, the water was flowing down the waterfall and hill which made for some cool photos. It appears that there are some trails behind the mill as well, but I haven't found much information about those other than that there are multiple paths. The mill was originally built in 1807, and then restored just over 200 years later, being completed in 2008. The site is a bit of a drive from downtown Salem, but if you happen to catch them during open hours, you should have a better chance of enjoying your visit. Review #2650

This old mill was established more than two centuries ago, set up by a creek running out of the…read morerock. It lay dormant for 50 years, but it's up and running again, thanks to a tenacious non-profit and grants adding up to more than a million dollars. Worth the $5 admission to get a glimpse of the frontier economy. Be sure to see the old wool picker machines they keep upstairs too. The mill itself is not as big and perhaps not as impressive as the larger one that is preserved just west of here at Spring Mill, but it's every bit as authentic and arguably set in a more idyllic setting. I think that explains the billion mosquitoes that call this place home. The best part? In the summer, the Garden Table Market across the road uses the mill's grist in their corn muffins. Definitely make it a two-for-one. Also noteworthy are the couple miles of hiking trails through the surrounding wood. They will give you a map at the entrance.

This is a cool castle that I took my family to over the summer. I enjoy visiting random unique…read moreplaces. It's one of my favorite things to do in exploring and adding things to help. So of course we had a great time at this castle in Lagrange

Located in a quaint little park, this bridge was actually moved here from the Brownsville area…read more Originally build in 1840 , it had to be restored after a fire. They did great work. While it looks somewhat small from afar, it seems to really grow once you are inside. Very photogenic by itself or as a backdrop for your selfies or even important photo shoots. Don't forget to enjoy the rest of the park as well.

It seems like it is a "new" bridge but in fact the Brownsville Covered Bridge was built between…read more1837 and 1840. It originally spanned the East Fork of the Whitewater River in Brownsville, measuring 182 feet long. Built by Henry Mason, it is a "Long truss" style bridge. It was then dismantled in 1974 with the plan of installing it in Indianapolis. Instead, it was relocated here to Mill Race Park in Columbus in 1985. The bridge is open to vehicular traffic and the posted limits suggested that my Sprinter van would work. It did. There is parking nearby (for the park and the tennis courts) so I was able to walk the bridge in addition to driving across it. [Review 20530 overall - 75 in Indiana - 1511 of 2023.]

On the lawn of the Jackson County courthouse is a memorial to the veterans of the county who "made…read morethe supreme sacrifice in the defense of these United States of America". The marble wall is carved with the insignias of five branches of the service and a bald eagle. On the opposite side is an artist's interpretation of a landing force laying siege. Along the wall are the names of local soldiers who served in each of the wars. The memorial is showing some need of maintenance and cleaning to return it to its original quality. Note that an actual Sherman Tank is located across the lawn from the memorial donated by the local American Legions. Review #2164