Free is a fair price, and this county deals in it. Walk a trail that students cut by hand, circle mounds that were old before Indiana had a name, and read the county’s stories off eight state markers, one roadside stop at a time. A river sunset costs nothing but the drive.
FREE ATTRACTIONS
Spend the day, not the money.
FREE IN TOWN
The square costs nothing to enjoy.
Downtown Sullivan gives away its best views. The limestone courthouse anchors the square, the Sherman Building on Court Street was celebrated as one of Indiana’s finest theaters in 1915, and the Carnegie library two blocks west has kept its doors open since 1905. The Sullivan Area Art Guild rotates local artists’ work in its storefront gallery on the square, and Robin’s Place is a used-book store and cafe with unique antiques mixed in. Stop in at the Sullivan County History Museum on Court Street while you’re there. There’s no charge, and it’s well done. Window-shopping downtown is its own free afternoon.
FREE OUTDOORS
No admission, no appointment.
The General Daniel Sullivan Nature Trail at 415 W. Frakes Street in Sullivan is open dawn to dusk, with parking in the gravel lot by the red barn west of the middle school. Near Fairbanks, Waapaahsiki Siipiiwi Mound Historical Park asks only what you care to leave in the donation box, and Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area, with its eight miles of Wabash frontage, is free to enter and always open.
FREE CAR SHOWS
Hoods up, no admission.
Every June the square in Sullivan turns into a car show. It’s the Shifters Car Club’s Be There or Be Square, with the hoods up on the muscle cars and classics around the courthouse and the owners right there with them, a DJ, food, and a silent auction. Come August it’s the Rat Rod Rust Rash car show out at Merom Camp and Retreat Center, where rat bikes, tractors, and even Radio Flyer wagons park right alongside the customs, antiques, and classics. Bring the kids. It’s all free.
