Past meets present at Wayne County’s historical attractions

Radiating out around the Old National Road, Richmond and Wayne County boast a rich history dating back to the earliest Quaker settlement of the region in the early 1800s. Since that time, the area has grown to accommodate its expanding local population and industry. Covering everything from natural history and notable manmade inventions to art, sports and music, Wayne County’s fascinating roster of museums and historical attractions provide plenty of opportunities to learn all about it.

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The Joseph Moore Museum on the Earlham College campus takes a deep dive into the geology and animal life of Wayne County, and is home to one of the two authentic Egyptian mummies that reside in Indiana, both in Richmond. Guests can find the other mummy, along with a vast and varied collection of historic artifacts, early Richmond-made auto mobiles and locally oriented exhibits at the Wayne County Historical Museum.

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Head north to Fountain City to discover the Levi and Catharine Coffin House and Interpretive Center, an Indiana State Museum Historic Site that details the journey of more than 1,000 freedom seekers who passed through this residential structure during their escape from slavery to new lives in the north.

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Art buffs can admire and appreciate the beauty on display at the Richmond Art Museum, the second oldest facility of its kind in Indiana, and the only art museum in the country within an active public high school. The Overbeck sisters put Cambridge City on the ceramic arts map with the lovely hand-crafted pottery they produced through the first half of the 1900s. The restored home and studio that sheltered their efforts now reveal an in-depth look at the lives and work of this creative family.

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Sports fans gravitate to the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in downtown Richmond to celebrate the men and women who’ve made the beloved sport what it is in the Hoosier state. Or, rev your engine over to the nearby Model-T Ford Museum & Garage and take a gander at a painstakingly preserved assembly of time-honored motor vehicles. The museum’s setting in the Historic Depot District provides a perfectly reasonable excuse to stick around and explore the neighborhood’s welcoming hometown shops, galleries and restaurants.

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Richmond’s history wouldn’t be complete without mentioning its music heritage as the home of Gennett Records, where some of the most significant gospel, blues and jazz artists of the early 1900s made a name for themselves from a one-room studio in the Whitewater Gorge. Although the recording studio itself is long gone, the Gennett Walk of Fame offers a primer on how Richmond came to be recognized as the “Cradle of Recorded Jazz.” 
Due to Covid-19, some museums listed are by appointment only or have modified hours of operation. Please call ahead prior to visiting.