On Friday Feb. 24, the warm, brassy sounds of The Old Dam Community Band of Newburgh fill the din of the Evansville Wartime Museum.
The City of Evansville and Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch have just announced that a new historical “trail” is being developed to showcase the hundreds of military monuments and museums with special historical designations within the state — and it was inspired by Evansville’s own designation.
The city of Evansville received the designation of a World War II Heritage City in December, which got Crouch thinking about all the other sites in the state.
“How can we honor all those men and women who have served and have sacrificed so much, and do it collectively as a state,” she said. “And so this will be a big part of that initiative being featured as one of the sites that people can visit.”
Following up with the original idea, a new statewide coordinated trail of the hundreds of designated historical military monuments and museums will be unveiled just in time for independence day 2023.
Because she’s from the area, and was inspired by the local designation, she says it’s fair to call Evansville the "birthplace" of the future historical trail.
The Indiana Destination Development Corporation will handle development. The trail is expected to be a tourist attraction for those interested in Indiana military history.
Essentially, travelers will be able to explore the museums and monuments with either website or printed materials, like a guided tour.
Elaine Bedel is secretary and CEO of the Development Corporation. She thinks the demand for such a trail guide is strong.
“So our plan is to really focus on some of the big attractions that people may know about now,” Bedel said. “And then tell them what else is there, so that they go visit that one and then don't miss all these other things that are right around it, that they may not be as aware of.”
Interested visitors will be guided to locations like the Evansville Wartime Museum and the LST and many others within the state.
Crouch said there are many organizations involved in this trail. “It's going to be a pretty large endeavor,” she said. “We're going to actually unveil it July 4, because we'll have to collect all that get it documented, get the narrative included, to then be able to unveil the initiative.”
