Discover the Unusual

Looking for something a little out of the ordinary to do, see or experience on your next trip to east-central Indiana? Richmond and Wayne County are full of off-the-beaten-path discoveries that’ll have you exclaiming “Now, that’s something you don’t see every day!”
First up — set a course for fun photo ops. Family-owned and operated since 1944, Jones Family Farm in Milton grows giant pumpkins big enough to hug in addition to tending a scenic sunflower field and rows of flowers you can snip from to build your very own customized bouquet. Make sure to snap a pic of the 40-foot chair that frames the Richmond Furniture Gallery entrance in the Historic Depot District. Another larger-than-life landmark awaits at the Warm Glow Candle, where an oversized candle viewable from I-70 at the Centerville exit lets customers know they’ve arrived to the right place to do some serious shopping.

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Who knew? Richmond is the unlikely final resting place of not one, but two authentic Egyptian mummies lying in repose just a couple miles apart, one at the Wayne County Historical Museum and the other in the basement of the Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History on the Earlham College campus. Wayne County also claims the oldest Burr Oak tree in the state of Indiana, located on Boundary Road in Fountain City estimated to be at least 500 years old.

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Back in the 1800s when the National Road was constructed through Wayne County, Native Americans and pioneers alike worshipped together in Centerville’s Italianate-style Doddridge Chapel. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the small cemetery beside the church is home to five unmarked Indian graves.
Another structure worth viewing, the Reid Center (formerly the Reid Presbyterian Church) originally built in downtown Richmond in 1906 boasts 62 stunning Tiffany stained-glass windows to admire, tours are available to groups of 10 or more by calling 765-966-7618. You’ll find a few more overlooking the Reading Garden at Morrisson-Reeves Library just a few blocks away.

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For information about these and other unusual stops to check out across Richmond and Wayne County, go to visitrichmond.org. And look for the 2024 Visitor Guide publication coming soon with more details on trip ideas, itineraries, activities, events and attractions.