Early Bird Tours

Tuesday, April 6^th – Come early and join us for the tour to historic St. Francisville, Ill and Vincennes, IN. We will leave the host hotel at 8:00 AM touring on secondary roads for approximately 150 miles round trip. Lunch will be in Vincennes, IN. Repair facilities will be available, as well as a “vulcher” wagon during the tour.

Wednesday, April 7^th – Wednesday’s early bird tour takes us to Parke County for a day of touring and antiquing. Parke County, IN is known nationwide for its many covered bridges.  Several historic bridges well be visited all on paved roads.  We will leave the host hotel at 9:00 AM.  Once again repair facilities will be available at the host hotel. Of course, the vulcher wagon will be lurking in the background.

Historic Terre Haute – Visit the Paul Dresser home in Fairbanks Park. Dresser composed the State Song, “On the Banks of the Wabash” and was the brother of author Theodore Dreiser. Tour the Eugene V. Debs home on the campus of Indiana State University. Debs was a union organizer and ran for president five times on the socialist ticket in the early 20^th century. Terre Haute is forever linked to the Hulman family and Clabber Girl baking power. Don’t miss the Clabber Girl museum and country store in the old Hulman Building. Drive through the intersection of old Highways 41 and 40 which gives Terre Haute its nickname, “The Crossroads of America.”

St. Mary-of-the-Woods College  - Drive to the beautiful campus northwest of Terre Haute. Founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and the Sisters of Providence, “The Woods” is the oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women in the United States. Take time to stroll among the stately, old buildings, visit the cathedral and museum, and maybe have lunch in the magnificent O’Shaughnessy Dining Room.

Wabash and Erie Canal – The canal which opened in 1843 linked the Great Lakes with the Ohio River. A crucial portion of the canal was the “Cross Cut Canal” which ran from Terre Haute to Worthington, IN. You will see the remains of the famous canal that allowed Indiana to grow agriculturally and economically.  The tour will take you to several remaining sites.