Tourism milestones: state honors longtime attractions and organizations.

AuthorLewers, Christine
PositionTOURISM

EACH YEAR THE INDIANA Office of Tourism Milestone Awards recognize businesses, museums and organizations celebrating 75 years or more of operation. Each entity is selected for its one-of-a-kind contribution to quality of life in the Hoosier state. Among this year's recipients:

Indiana Beach Amusement and Camp Resort. It was 80 years ago this summer that this old-fashioned boardwalk amusement park opened. Indiana Beach is part of a 1,400-acre complex on the shore of Lake Shafer that also features 1,200 tent and RV campsites, cabins, hotel and cottage accommodations, miniature golf, playgrounds, a boat launch, a water park, a sand beach and swimming pool. The amusement park has 27 adult and nine kiddy rides, as well as arcades, souvenir and gift shops and stands selling carnival-style food including the park's original Pronto Pup hot dog. The park operates daily through Labor Day It celebrates its anniversary every year on Father's Day with 25-cent rides, hot dogs and sodas. For more information, call 574/583-4141.

The National Road. Celebrating 170 years since reaching Indiana, the National Road was the first federally funded interstate highway. Accepting the award is the Indiana National Road Association, with Cambridge City headquarters housed in the Huddleston Farmhouse Museum. The original owner of the farmhouse served travelers on the road in the 1840s. Today the building is owned and operated by the Historic Landmarks Foundation and serves as a place where visitors can learn the history of what is now the Indiana section of the National Road (U.S. 40), which stretches 156 miles from Richmond to Terre Haute. Indiana's portion of the National Road was designated a State Scenic Byway in 1996 and given National Scenic Byway status in 1998. For more information, call 765/478-3172.

The Indiana Historical Society. This organization marks 175 years as one of the country's oldest and--with more than 10,000 members--largest historical societies. Its mission As to tell the story of Indiana's past through collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating Indiana history. The "Treasures from the Collection" exhibit runs through December and is free during regular business hours at the downtown Indianapolis headquarters. The exhibit features three rotations: "Hoosier: Civil War, Families and the World Wars," "Northwest Territory, Early Collections, Railroads and Women's Suffrage," and "Early Statehood, Agriculture, Cities and...

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