Things have been a little slow as of late, so the husband and I decided to do something I’ve had on my back burner for years: Drive the Elkhart County Visitor Center’s “Heritage Trail.” I had a copy of the map and 2-CD set, so why not give it a spin?
We drove from our new home in Middlebury to the Elkhart County Visitor Center (ECVC) near the tollway,
and started from the beginning, driving clockwise through Elkhart, Bristol,
Middlebury, Shipshewana, Goshen, Nappanee, Wakarusa, and back to Elkhart. Three hours and 95 miles later, we were back
around to the beginning.
One important note—the ECVC has changed locations since this
map and CD set was created! It is still
near the Cracker Barrel, but in a different building, at 3421 Cassopolis Street
now.
The two CDs gave very nicely detailed instructions for each
turn—and there were dozens! We found it
took two of us to navigate the trail, and even then, we missed a few
turns. We spent about half our mental
energy on this task alone! The map was
less helpful than it could have been—in the towns, particularly Elkhart, a more
detailed, close-up map was sorely needed to find all the many twists and turns
not shown on the big map.
Much history of the area was given along the way—the businesses
and industries, mainly, and famous residents.
(Take note—very few of the trail’s total miles go through “Amish
Country,” and most of the places that they do are in Lagrange County, not
Elkhart County.)
Highlights:
Elkhart: Follow the CD here, not the map, and listen
closely! The route goes along the St.
Joseph River and gives the general history of Elkhart.
Bristol: There were six stations of the Underground
Railroad around the Bristol area—who knew?
The Elkhart County Historical Museum is
there. It is one of many suggested stops
along the trail. By stopping at these
suggested places, as well as stopping for food, the entire Heritage Trail could
take several days to complete, rather than three hours.
Bonneyville: The history of Bonneyville Mill (still open to tourists a few days a week) and its very colorful founder
Edward Bonney are the main focus here.
Middlebury: Approaching Middlebury, the Amish are first
mentioned on the CD, but few Amish farms are to be seen in this part of
Middlebury. Suggested stops here include
Krider Garden, Essenhaus, and Jayco (they give
tours).
Lots of information about the Amish culture is given on the
CD starting at this point—most of it accurate.
(Exceptions I noticed included: (a) weddings are not held just after harvest
time, and not only on Tuesdays and Thursdays; (b) there is some limited use of
tractors by the Amish these days; and (c) half of local Amish kids are no
longer in public schools—nearly all of them are in Amish one-room schools now.)
Shipshewana: This is the only heavily Amish area on the
tour, and very little time is spent here.
(Shipshewana is actually not in Elkhart County, but in Lagrange
County.) Suggested stops for those who want to make the
tour a multi-day experience include the downtown shopping district, the 50-acre
Flea Market (open seasonally), and the Menno Hof museum,
as well as Yoder Popcorn – south of town on this
tour, but soon to move to the corner of Routes 5 and 20 in Shipshewana.
Goshen: It’s a long drive to the next town—Goshen—and
some of the scenery is pretty. Much
history of Goshen is given, highlighting the Old Bag Factory, a suggested stop.
Nappanee: Nappanee is the home of the former “Amish
Acres,” now morphing into “The Barns at Nappanee”
under new ownership. The Amish are
mentioned during this part of the tour, but very few of their homes or businesses can be seen from the
Heritage Trail.
Wakarusa: This is a small town north of Nappanee and
south of Elkhart. It is home to a maple syrup festival in the spring, and much info is
given about the maple syrup making process.
It is also home to the old Wakarusa Hardware Store and the Wakarusa Dime Store, home
of the jumbo jellybean—a suggested stop.
Elkhart: Driving north back into Elkhart, more
information is shared about the history of the Elkhart area, including the
railroads and the band instrument industry, as well as the charming story of “Curly Top,” a little girl who became famous for waving
at the train as it went by.
In summary, this tour might be good for someone who is a
museum/history buff, since it’s heavy on the [non-Amish] history of Elkhart County—spend
three hours or three days! But for Amish
culture and history, I’d stick to Lagrange County instead, particularly the
Shipshewana area—and read my blog posts for places to go and things to see. Hmmmm… maybe I’ll design my own road tour!