Destination: Southern Indiana

If your summer plans include embarking on a one-day trip or weekend getaway close to home, Historic Southern Indiana can open your eyes to hidden attractions in the region.

From natural beauty to recreational activities, Southern Indiana is abundant in historical sites, barns and covered bridges, holy grounds, trains and depots, wildlife, haunted buildings, parks, museums, caves, and more. Historic Southern Indiana (HSI), a part of USI's Division of Outreach and Engagement, is the heritage-based regional outreach program that identifies, preserves, enhances, and promotes historic, natural, and recreational resources for visitors and the local community.

Indiana Caverns, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Hoosier National Forest, Madison Railroad Station, Indiana's Historic Pathways, and the Ohio River Scenic Byway are just a few of the popular destinations within HSI's 26-county service area.  

The organization works closely with convention and visitors bureaus to learn of new and unique places to recommend to visitors. 

"We are about promoting Southern Indiana as a destination," said Leslie Townsend, director of Historic Southern Indiana. "We strive to increase tourism and attract visitors to the region. We provide an overall awareness about what Southern Indiana has to offer."

Jane Friona, SWI-AHEC executive director at USI, recently enlisted the help of HSI to plan a weekend trip for her family. She told Townsend the general direction she wanted to travel (toward Louisville) and asked for suggestions for interesting places to visit.

"Leslie recommended Perry County, and she provided me with brochures and other literature," said Friona. "She also recommended unique lodging-Forgotten Times Cabins-a secluded place overlooking a small river. We went boating and visited Marengo Caves, wineries, and small, unique restaurants along the way. Having HSI recommend people they knew and places they had been was a huge benefit for us. My family really enjoyed the weekend and it was a beautiful part of Indiana that we might not have discovered without HSI's help. We have visited places that looked nice on the Internet but did not turn out to be so great, so having the personal connection was wonderful."

Carol Burgdorf, senior administrative assistant in Public Safety, and her husband Gary Burgdorf, construction administrator in the Physical Plant, were part of a group that went on a Southern Indiana bus tour to celebrate HSI's 25th anniversary. Highlights of the trip for Burgdorf included shopping and visiting Tyson Temple, an Art deco-style church built without nails, in Versailles; the Red Wolf Sanctuary in Rising Sun; Stream Cliff Herb Farm and Winery in Commiskey; Great Crescent Brewery located on the sweeping curve of the Ohio River in Aurora; Schimpff's Confectionery, a historic candy-making and confectionery store and museum, in Jeffersonville; and Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg.

"Historic Southern Indiana is helpful in finding quaint, out-of-the-way places," said Burgdorf. "We visited places we didn't know existed. It's inexpensive and fun to do short trips. We plan to take a weekend and go back to visit some of these places again."

More information on Historic Southern Indiana and regional attractions is available on their website or on their Facebook and Pinterest pages.