Visit Yorktown Delaware Indiana and the surrounding area to see the top sights. Yorktown, Indiana: Small America with great history! Experience the historical battle of Tippecanoe and the Treaty of Paris friendship treaty in Battleground Park. Not to miss: the town itself with old houses from the 19th century Century and the Yorktown Covered Bridge.
Honestly, if you're wondering why I'm talking about Yorktown, Indiana at all, it's about his inconspicuous story: Founded in the 1830s by a few pioneers who wanted to remember the old York in England, the town has hardly felt the noise of the city since then. Immersed in the Yorktown Township of the same name in Delaware County, it lies between the fields of corn and soya, and this is almost a reason why I come here – the real middle-land feeling that you only know from film sets.
I usually get by car because the next train to Muncie is a bit too far; The I‐69 and US‐35 will bring you here in less than half an hour, and this is practical if you want to spontaneously decide whether to spend the day with a coffee in the local bakery or a walk through the old town hall. I don’t understand the hype around the “small cities with charm” completely, but the tranquility here is really great, and that makes me appreciate the small details – for example the creeping wood of the old barn on the outskirts, which I see every time I leave the highway.
If you ask yourself what you can see here at all, let me tell you: The Yorktown sights are not the typical tourist magnets, but rather the quiet corners that you only discover when you don't catch up. A short detour to the historic cemetery, a view of the old school building, which now houses a café, and you feel like breathing a piece of real Indiana history – without a buckling snack, for that with a pinch of local cynics I find here again and again.
I have to admit that what I love most about Yorktown is the old city administration – the creeping brick building on Main Street, which looks like it survived the Great Depression, just to please us today with its sloping facade. I once missed a meeting there because I was too busy admiring the artfully rusted door races; That was not a joke, that was almost spiritual. Parking is usually easy, except on Saturday night, there will be a real problem because then the entire county flows to the city to celebrate the weekly “Bier‐und‐Bingo-Fest”.
Right next to the town hall Yorktown Community Center, a place where I spent more time than I love – the swimming pool is small, but the water is surprisingly warm, and the gym has more old equipment than a museum of retro gymnastics. I don't understand the hype about the weekly yoga course, but the fact that you can just hop into the sauna after a busy day in the city is just fantastic. The approach is a Klack, because the center is located directly on the main road and you almost always find a free parking space there as long as you do not come to the “Friday-Feier-Stunde”.
A short walk further leads you to Yorktown Public Library, a charming little building that houses more books than I could read in my whole life – and that is not exaggerated. I once borrowed a book about local history, just to find out that the shelves tell more about the city's foundation than the current economic situation, but that's exactly what I appreciate in this place: the honest, undisturbed history. If you're lucky, you're sitting in the reading room and listening to the quiet sum of the air conditioning that almost looks like a calming background noise.
If you're looking for something nostalgia, that's it. Yorktown Historical Museum That's right. The museum is housed in the old school of 1902 – a building that snores so that you can almost ask if the walls still breathe a little history. I have seen an exhibition on the first railway lines that led through the area and must admit that I spent the whole day there because I could not admire the old photos of horse carriages enough. It is practical that the museum is right next to the park, so that after the visit you can make a short trip outside without taking the bus.
The Yorktown Park itself is a small paradise for those who like to be outdoors, but not necessarily looking for a national park. There is a baseball field, a few picnic tables and a playground that has more rust than color – but that gives it a certain charm. I once made a picnic with friends, and we exchanged ourselves over the “Yorktown Sights” while we tried to catch the flying frisbees that were constantly sweeped away by the playing teenagers. The parking lot is an open field behind the park, and you can almost always find a place there as long as you don't come on Sunday morning when the whole village hosts its barbecue.
Last but not least, Yorktown Main Street forget the small but fine shopping street that has more antique shops than you could visit in a whole day. I once found an old radio that still works – a real treasure when you are a fan of retro technique. The street is lined with old trees that look a bit like a film set in autumn, and the local cafes serve the best coffee I've ever drank in a place of this size. Parking is a bit more tricky here because the parking spaces are quickly occupied right in front of the shops, but a short walk from a few houses away still gives you a place when you are ready to walk a few minutes.
I could talk about the little corners and edges of Yorktown for hours, but the most important thing is that if you're in Indiana the next time, take the time to explore this city – it's not exactly a magnet for tourists, but that makes it all the more interesting. And believe me, after a few hours here, you'll understand why I get a little melancholic every time I leave the city.
I must confess that my first stop after leaving Yorktown actually Mounds State Park was – a place you can easily overlook when you are looking for “city life”. The hills of the prehistoric period project out of the green like a lunar finger that tells you: “Here something was going on.” I made a picnic there, while a few curious ducks stole my last crumbs; that was almost a historical ritual, only without the laborious excavations. Parking is usually easy, except on sunny Saturday afternoons, there is a small battlefield of caravans and family cars.
A short trip after Conner Prairie in Fishers, my expectations of a “open-air museum” have broken a little – not because it is bad, but because I spent the whole day feeling like an unhappy pioneer who tries to serve a 19-century cooktop. The interactive experiments are really great, but the constant “don’t touch!” of the guides sometimes seems to hide a secret recipe from the visitors. Nevertheless, if you want to taste a bit of history (in the truest sense of the word), this is your place.
A little further south, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I don't quite understand the hype about the racetrack – the whole ghunting, the flickering of the neon lights, the feeling that you live in a movie from the 80s. But the museum there, the Hall of Fame, actually surprised me: The old racing cars, the stories of drivers who had more courage than mind are fascinating. And yes, parking is a labyrinth that can only look through a real fan (or a very patient tourist).
If you're looking for a place where you can feel like a real Hoosier, that's what you're looking for. Newfields – Indianapolis Museum of Art That's right. I was there in a rainy afternoon, and the work of art “The Garden of Earthly Delights” almost made me question my existence – not because it was profound, but because I wondered why I wear my rain jacket in the museum. The entrance is free, parking is usually a walk from the main entrance, as long as you don’t go to the main exhibition “Mona Lisa of the Middle West” where a lot of people suddenly appear.
A little secret tip I almost forgot is that White River State Park. The river stretches through Indianapolis like a lazy cat who stretches through the city. I rented a kayak there and I paddle a piece upstream while I thought why I didn't just take a bike. The trails are well developed, parking at the main entrance is usually a children's game, and the view of the skyline is a nice bonus if you are looking for a city stroll.
For those seeking the feeling of “Kleinodien in the heart of the Middle West”, this is Hoosier Heritage Village in Hamilton County a must. I visited an old railway wagon museum there, which tells more about the local industry than any school lesson ever could. The leaders there have a dry humor that is almost as dry as the hay that they store next to the stables. Parking is an open field that you can hardly miss as long as you don't get too late – then the field suddenly becomes a parking lot full of tractors.
Whether you're a history fan, a motorsport junkie or just a curious traveler, the surrounding area of Yorktown has more to offer than one would suspect at first glance. The mixture of nature, culture and a bit of local nature makes the region a surprisingly versatile destination. So next time you roll out your card, remember that the Yorktown Attractions not only can be found in the city centre, but only in the surrounding areas develop properly.
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