Batesville
On the quiet, tree-lined streets of Downtown Batesville, you will find the kind of neighborhood you can enjoy with your friends and family. It is the center of the community, home to a mixture of unique shops, specialty retailers, and service providers. You can visit the Saturday farmer's market, buy a unique gift or flower arrangement, and purchase a best seller. You can visit the salon for a new look, buy that special added touch for you home décor or buy fabric and notions for your next sewing project. Friendly, independent business owners offer the personal customer service you deserve.

Oldenburg
First settled in 1817, Oldenburg offers an old world flavor in its food as well as its architecture. The town proudly preserves its religious, cultural and architectural heritage. The old stone and brick structures, clapboard houses, tin facades and cornices, bilingual street signs and combination of shops and residences attest to the Old World influence. The Village of Spires still has a strong German flavor, with a heavy concentration of German Catholics. The community is dedicated to preserving the heritage of the town. Oldenburg holds a German beer festival on the third weekend of July every summer called Fruedenfest which further celebrates the town's heritage. Oldenburg, Indiana was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March 1983. To visit Oldenburg, Indiana is truly a unique experience, a step back in time.

Greensburg
The city of Greensburg was established in the 1820's. The architectural style of the downtown buildings is eclectic and true testimony to the progression of popular architecture; from Neoclassical, Italianate, Federal and Victorian. It is best known for the tree that started growing out of the top of the courthouse in the 1870s and is still there today; if you visit the courthouse stop in Stories Restaurant that has full plate lunches and pies that are better than homemade. Greensburg is home to the Decatur County Historical Museum, downtown antique shopping district, a bowling alley, 3 golf courses, skydiving, a movie theatre, plenty of restaurants, and so much more. Click here to find out more.

Metamora
A wonderfully quaint town full of history and scenic beauty. At Metamora you'll escape to the past and experience what it was like in the 1800's. Visit the water-powered Grist Mill and pick up a bag of their freshly stone-ground corn meal or flour. Take a ride in the canal boat through the only existing wooden aqueduct in the United States. Board the train for a short trip on the Whitewater Railroad. Shop in stores housed in buildings dated back to the early 1800s, eat and above all else... Enjoy the slow relaxing pace of the past. Click here to find out more.

Brookville
Established in 1808, Brookville was home to several Native American tribes and the flood of pioneers after the war of 1812 poured into this cities region. Brookville is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once the cultural and political center of Indiana until the State Land Office was moved to Indianapolis. The Whitewater Canal, a 76 mile canal and lock system from Cambridge City through Metamora to Lawrenceburg, runs through the Brookville area. It is best known for the Brookville Lake and Whitewater Memorial State Park and the Dairy Cottage restaurant. Click here to find out more.

Versailles
Founded back in 1818, today Versailles is well known for the Versailles State Park, Pumpkin Show, Ripley County Courthouse, Ohio Rod Products, the Ripley County Jail, and Historic Yellow Dog Tavern & Eatery – built only two years after the two was founded. Many of the community buildings were made possible by James Tyson and his 18,000 shares of Walgreen Company stock he left to the town. Tyson was born and raised in Versailles, travelled and eventually met Charles Walgreen in Chicago and worked for the company in several different positions.

Milan
Rich in history, Milan dates back to the 1820s and is located in Southeastern Indiana near Cincinnati, Ohio. The village was known as a substantial business center, as it laid along a main railroad line that runs from Cincinnati to St. Louis and it was part of the Underground Railway Station of Antebellum days. Perhaps most famous for its legendary high school state basketball championship in 1954 when the small town beat Muncie Central High School, a school ten times its size. The 1986 movie "Hoosiers" is loosely based on the story of this team. There is a local museum that tells the story of the 32-30 victory: '54 Museum, located at 201 W. Carr Street, Milan, IN, call (812) 654-2772 for more information.

Osgood
Dating back to the 1950s, Osgood is a quaint small town that is quieter today than when trains regularly traveled through. Most notably know to the surrounding communities for its historical Damm Theatre. Built in 1914 and owned by German immigrant Louis Damm, it offered its customers everything big-city movie houses could. Still today the exterior reflects the original architectural look of the block and blends in harmoniously with the neighboring businesses. The Osgood community was so proud of its Damm Theatre that the city's welcome sign included the motto: "Home of the Damm Theatre." Osgood is home to the 2009 State Basketball Champions of Jac-Cen-Del High School.

Sunman
In 1853, the railroad was built across Ripley County and opened for traffic from Lawrenceburg to Indianapolis. The original town of Sunman was laid out in 1956 parallel to the railroad tracks and became a major trading center. Sunman's Fireman's Festival and Strawberry Festival are unique events to attend.

Friendship
The small, quaint village in the valley of Friendship is home to the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association. Each fall and spring the Association hosts national competitions when people come from all over the country and world to compete. Primitive lifestyles of pre-1840s can be seen on the hillside across from the shooting range. Education has become a passion for the organization and special events are held throughout the year to teach people of all ages about history and firearms. For more information, call (812) 667-5131.

Lore of the Laughery, is a wonderful event for all ages to experience the past from the mid 1700s to early 1800s. See how people lived and hear the music of the time by military bands and fife & drum corps. Each fall and spring, during the shoots, flea markets are held in and around town. Treasures can be bought and sold throughout the weeklong events. For more information, call (812) 667-5322 or (812) 667-5645.

Southeastern Indiana Covered Bridges
Ripley County

• The Busching Bridge, near Versailles at the Versailles State Park entrance, a Howe Truss structure was built in 1885 by Thomas A. Hardman. Restored in 2005.
• Holton Covered Bridge, also known as Otter Creek Bridge, northeast of Holton on CR850 West, was built in 1884 by Thomas A. Hardman.

• Westport Bridge was built in 1880 by Archibald M. Kennedy and Sons. Restored in 2004, it crosses Sand Creek near

• Stockheuter Bridge, also known as the Enochsburg Covered Bridge is located northeast in Enochsburg on CR640 South was built in 1910 by the Smith Bridge Co.
• Snow Hill covered Bridge located on CR950 East at Snow Hill Road, also known as Johnson's Fork Covered Bridge was built in 1885 by William Butts and John Horn.
• The Aqueduct Bridge in Metamora was originally built in 1843, and then was rebuilt after the 1847 flood. This is the only known covered wooden aqueduct still operating in the US.

• Guilford Covered Bridge was built by Archibald M. Kennedy and Sons in 1879 moved several hundred yards in 1960 and restored in 1997. It is located off 101 near Sunman.

• Scipio Covered Bridge built 1886 by the Smith Bridge Company and spans Sand Creek.
• James Covered Bridge, also known as Graham Creek Bridge, built in 1887 by Daniel Baron.

• Longwood Bridge was built 1884 by the Kennedy Brothers.

• Smith Bridge was built in 1877 by Archibald M. Kennedy and spans Big Flat Rock River.
• Offutt Ford Covered Bridge was built in 1884 by the Kennedy Brothers and spans Little Blue River.
• Forsythe Covered Bridge was built in 1888 by Emmet L. Kennedy and spans Big Flat Rock River.
• Moscow Covered Bridge was built in 1886 by Emmet L. Kennedy, spans Big Flat Rock River. Destroyed June 2008 by a tornado.
• Norris Ford Bridge was built in 1916 by Emmet L. Kennedy and spans Big Flat Rock River.

Underground Railroad Tours
Spend a day or two traveling the countryside and learning about the history of the Underground Railroad through Ripley County. Six driving tours will be open soon, as well as an audio CD that will take you back to the 1800s. Information is available at the Ripley County Tourism Bureau and Ripley County Historical Society. (812) 689-3031.

Scenic Countryside Driving Tours
Within Southeastern Indiana are some of the most beautiful scenic drives to be found anywhere. What is particularly unique are the beautiful rolling wooded lands and the many meandering streams. In many areas the trees near and above the streams provide a green canopy through which the explorer can pass, observing the many different species of trees, shrubs, wild flowers, and birds, from the smallest hummingbird to the Great Blue Heron with the largest wingspan of any bird in North America.

One of the more popular tours passes through the tiny County Seat of Ripley County, Versailles, Indiana whose County Treasury was robbed by the Confederate Army's Morgan's Raiders during the Civil War. Versailles is also home to the beautiful rolling hills and valleys of the nearly 6,000 acres of Versailles State Park. Some of the most popular sites include the Trail of the Confederate Army's Morgan's Raiders, homes that were key components of the Underground Railroad, and the Versailles State Park of nearly 6,000 acres constructed as a WPA (Works Progress Association) project after World War II.

Further south from Versailles the drive along Cavehill Road as it follows Laughery Creek provides a beautiful autumn view. Laughery Creek was named after an Army General who was killed by a local Indian tribe in a battle near the point where Laughery Creek meets the Ohio River. Cavehill Road takes travelers to the small village of Friendship, Indiana, home of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association and its grounds, which host national shooting events each spring and fall.

Another favorite drive is through the old German town of Oldenburg, Indiana, only three miles away and the rolling hills, valleys, and streams just to the North. Oldenburg has a rich German heritage and is filled with many quaint shops. The street signs in are all in German as well as in English indicative of Oldenburg's rich German heritage.