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Indiana Scenic Byways

Indiana's Historic Pathways Scenic Byway

Total Segments Traveled

5/31/2024 Paoli Hotel/Courthouse. The Mineral Springs Hotel opened in 1896 and still stands on the public square in Paoli. The facade remains nearly the same as when it was built. The hotel competed with mineral spas in French Lick, West Baden, and Martinsville. The Greek Revival-style Orange County Courthouse was built in Paoli between 1848 and 1850 - one of the oldest in Indiana still serving as a seat of government; the courtroom ceiling is 26 feet high. Unfortunately the courthouse was covered in scaffolding with huge cranes around it, so the view was pretty poor. At this point we left the DH and headed west on part of Indiana’s Historic Pathways NSB (see tomorrow). We took this all the way to the short road south into West Baden Springs.

6/1/2024 Headed back into Paoli and continued SE on US 150 and the NSB. Indiana's Historic Pathways comprise two historically interconnected routes that total 250.2 miles in length: The first pathway is US 150, which encompasses portions of the old Buffalo Trace. This ancient path carved by the hooves of bison as they traveled on their annual migration to winter feeding grounds stretches from the interior of Kentucky to the Mississippi River. Parts of it parallel or overlap US 150, which is roughly the Vincennes to New Albany stagecoach line, first developed during Indiana Territory days. One of the oldest roads in the Midwest, US 150 has had various names—Vincennes Trace, Clarksville Trace, Harrison Road, and Kentucky Road, among others.... Back up to the DH, eventually leaving the NSB and entering New Albany.

The 1896 ...

... Mineral Springs Hotel

Orange County Courthouse

Me photoing ...

... highway signs in Paoli ...

... with NSB sign