Note: This story has been updated with new information about the Twisted House, which will be available to the public in September.
Summer is drawing to a close for many Hoosiers who can’t walk into a Target or a Walmart without being assaulted by loud signs advertising “back to school” sales.
Of course that doesn’t mean summer travel is over. The weather doesn’t even get chilly here until close to October. But where do you go if you’ve already been to the state’s usual summer hot spots, like Holiday World or Indiana Dunes National Park?
There are plenty of sights in Indiana worth seeing, and some of them are, well, delightfully odd. Here are five of them you could probably see over the weekend.
Indiana has a grave in the middle of the road
There’s an old grave in the middle of a country road roughly 30 miles south of Indianapolis. It’s an odd place for a burial plot, but relatives of Nancy Kerlin Barnett fought to keep it there, along with the bones of six of her kin.
Barnett died in 1831. Her final request was to be buried on a little grassy hill overlooking Sugar Creek near Amity, a request her grandson, Daniel G. Doty, meant to uphold – by force if necessary.
In the early 1900s, Johnson County officials decided to build a road running directly through a cemetery housing Barnett’s grave. When workers arrived with shovels to start digging in 1905, they were greeted by Doty, armed with a shotgun.
The 59-year-old Doty wouldn’t budge, according to local lore. He stood vigil over Barnett’s grave until county officials gave up and reached a compromise.
In a win for Doty’s shotgun diplomacy, a work crew split the road with Barnett’s grave in the center, creating a burial plot on a roughly 15-foot median of traffic.
The “Grave in the Middle of the Road” soon became an Indiana landmark and went mostly undisturbed for 185 years.
In 2016, members of the Johnson County Highway Department, along with the Johnson County Museum and University of Indianapolis, labored to both widen County Road 400 and preserve the gravesite from natural erosion.
Archaeologists carefully exhumed Barnett’s remains and discovered six more bodies. After construction finished, the seven were laid to rest once again with a small plaque bearing Barnett’s name.
Where to find it: The grave is roughly 30 miles south of Indianapolis, in the middle of County Road 400, about 1.5 miles east of U.S. 31, a little south past Amity.
NOTE: There’s no place to park and the plaque can be hard to spot. According to some travelers, County Road 400 isn’t usually busy but you should exercise due caution while on the median. Visitors have reported finding flowers and coins left in honor of Barnett.
The Pyramids in Indianapolis
Other than Salesforce Tower, one of Indianapolis’ most recognizable landmarks are the Pyramids, which we are 99% sure have never been looted by the British Museum.
These 11-story office buildings at College Park overlook a 25-acre lake. Current tenants include Indiana Tech, the family law firm Katzman & Katzman P.C., and the American Academy of Osteopathy.
Believe it or not, inspiration for their unique triangle shape came from a chunk of concrete on the side of the road, an official history page reads. The site could have looked much different.
The architectural firm of Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, now Roche Modern, originally planned to build nine triangle-shaped buildings, but only three were constructed.
In 2022, Speedway-based KennMar, a privately-held real estate investment firm, purchased the Pyramids and spent 18 months renovating the its facades and upgrading the facilities.
Where to see it: 3500 DePauw Blvd. near Michigan Road and Interstate 465.
An Indiana town has the world’s largest ball of paint
If anyone ever asks how long it’s going to take you to finish painting something, casually drop this name: Michael Carmichael.
Since January of 1977, Carmichael has been painting a baseball. It began as a father-son art project in Alexandria, Indiana. Carmichael and his wife, Glenda, added roughly two coats of paint per day.
After nearly 50 years and more than 30,000 layers of paint, a baseball that once weighed about five ounces now clocks in at more than 11,500 pounds.
The “World’s Largest Ball of Paint” has been recognized by Guinness World Records. Carmichael’s once diminutive baseball now requires an industrial-strength steel beam to support its ever-growing size.
Moreover, the family hasn’t stopped painting, and visitors to their Indiana residence are welcome to pitch in.
There’s no admission fee, according to Carmichael, but T-shirts are available for purchase and donations are appreciated to support this unique Indiana attraction.
Where to find it: You can find the world’s largest ball of paint at 10696 N. 200 W. in Alexandria, Indiana, but don’t just show up out of the blue with a paint brush in hand. To schedule a visit, call 765-724-4088 or email WorldsLargestBOP@yahoo.com.
A truly ‘twisted’ house in Indianapolis
Indianapolis is no stranger to quirky architecture.
Remember the “Dolphin House” in Meridian-Kessler? Some dubbed it the “ugliest home in America.” On the other end of the spectrum are the city’s beautiful gems, such as Union Station and the Athenaeum, both within walking distance of each other in downtown Indy.
In the past, travelers who ventured further north to the Indy Art Center near Broad Ripple might’ve run across a fairy tale-esque cottage whose frame seems to have fainted in the Midwest summer heat.
The “Twisted House” is the product of artist John McNaughton, whose furniture and sculptures are in hundreds of private collections, including the Smithsonian Institute.
As of July 29, the house is undergoing restoration work from students with the Herron School of Art and Design, who are replacing its wooden shingles, according to a spokesperson.
The restoration is part of the Art Center’s $3.7 million renovation of ARTSPARK, the free outdoor greenspace that will reopen with 26 sculptures, a spokesperson said in an email to IndyStar, along with a new White River boardwalk, terraces and a small amphitheater.
McNaughton used his knowledge of woodworking to turn the idea of a home “literally on its head,” according to IndyArts.org, in which everything, including the flowers in the windowsills, is made of wood.
Where to find it: Well, you won’t – not until Sept. 27. That gives you plenty of time to rent a ball gown and find seven little men to join you at its unveiling. In the meantime, you can enjoy other exhibits at the Indianapolis Art Center, located at 820 E 67th St, off N. College Ave.
Story continues after photo gallery.
This Indiana nature preserve in Shoals has the largest free-standing rock formation east of the Mississippi
Travel to Southern Indiana’s hilly forests and you’ll discover a paradise for hikers, bikers and nature-lovers. You can also run across the awe-inspiring geological oddity known as “Jug Rock.”
Standing at 60-feet tall, Jug Rock is what happens when sandstone looks at a tall tree and thinks: “Neat, I can do that too!” Or perhaps some ancient giant out on a nature stroll paused to prop up a massive stone pillar, then balanced a flat rocky table on top of it.
Wiser geologists, of course, will explain the formation is the byproduct of erosion, water and wind – in this case, creating the largest free-standing rock formation east of the Mississippi.
Where to find it: You won’t have to spend hours hiking through Indiana wilderness to see Jug Rock. It’s relatively close to the entrance of the nature preserve at 722 Albright Ln in Shoals, just off route 150.
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Vic Ryckaert, Serena Puang, and IndyStar reporter Alexandria Burris contributed to this article.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Five strange Indiana landmarks worth a road trip
Reporting by John Tufts, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Tufts, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
