Travel with Laurie: Historic Treasures in French Lick and West Baden Springs

Editor’s note: This is the first article in a new travel series called “Travel with Laurie,” by Laurie D. Borman, with a focus on southern Indiana. In this trip, Laurie takes us to French Lick and West Baden Springs to visit the historic, and sometimes hidden, treasures in these resort towns. West Baden Springs Hotel was just rated the 5th best resort in the U.S. by Trips to Discover, based on Trip Advisor reviews.

When the West Baden Springs Hotel was built in 1902, it was called the eighth architectural wonder of the world. | Courtesy photo

That first glimpse of West Baden Springs Hotel never fails to amaze, with its commanding 200-foot-diameter, 160-foot-high dome. A fire destroyed the previous hotel in June 1901, and owner Lee Sinclair wanted a new, grander structure to take its place. In 1902, when the supports holding the new dome were removed, the media waited outside, sure it would immediately collapse. When it didn’t, newspaper reporters declared it the eighth architectural wonder of the world. Today, more than 120 years after it was built, it seems that name was not hyperbole. 

“One of the amazing things is that the West Baden Springs Hotel was built in less than one year, which is pretty shocking,” says Jeff Lane, French Lick/West Baden Resort historian and archivist. “And that it’s still standing 120 years later.” The hotel’s grand reopening was on April 16, 1903.

Any historic tour of the area in Orange County, about 50 miles south of Bloomington, should include the West Baden Springs Hotel and its elegant sister property, French Lick Springs Hotel, a little more than a mile down State Road 56. Indiana Landmarks offers two-hour historic hotel tours of both properties throughout the year, and limited behind-the-scenes and twilight tours, ranging in price from $15 to $50. You’ll learn about architectural details and history, such as the intricate Rookwood Pottery fireplace and even see costumes from So Cold The River, a movie thriller based on the book of the same name by Michael Koryta. Purchase tickets at the Landmarks Emporium in the hotels, or online at frenchlick.com/activities/indoor/tours.

Beyond these obvious yet important landmarks, the two towns boast loads of historic sites, and it’s hard to pare them down to a handful to explore in a few days. So choose your own favorites from this historical treasure map with places and activities to explore.

The dome of the West Baden Springs Hotel is 160 feet high and 200 feet in diameter. | Courtesy photo

(1) First Baptist Church (Colored)

“You could stand inside and see the sunlight through the wood siding,” Mitchell says of the First Baptist Church (Colored) before its renovation. | Photo by Elizabeth Mitchell

At the corner of Sinclair and Elm streets in West Baden, this humble wooden structure was built in 1920 by Lee Sinclair for the many Black employees of the West Baden Springs Hotel. After the 1930s Depression, and further decline when illegal gambling was shut down in 1949, many Black employees left the area. The church changed hands, last serving a congregation in the 1980s. By 2014, it had fallen into disrepair and declared one of the ten most endangered historic landmarks by Indiana Landmarks. 

“You could stand inside and see the sunlight through the wood siding,” says Bloomington resident and historian Elizabeth Mitchell of the structure’s condition before renovation. It was going to cost $250,000 to repair. But an anonymous donor put up initial money, and a dedicated group from Bloomington’s Second Baptist Church took up the cause to repair it. Mitchell solicited more donations, Second Baptist’s Pastor Bruce Rose encouraged parishioners to assist, and six men from the church, all over 60 years old, started traveling down to West Baden with Mitchell twice a week to do repairs. The men figured out how to pull the bowed walls inward using chains. 

“Oh, it creaked and moaned,” says Mitchell of the process. Townspeople were generous, dropping off water, the owner of the McDonald’s restaurant across the street delivered free lunch, and some folks just stuffed bills in the door of the church.

Corner of Sinclair and Elm streets, West Baden Springs

A dedicated group of volunteers from Bloomington’s Second Baptist Church traveled to West Baden with Mitchell twice a week to do repairs. (l-r) Richard Brown, Deacon Cleveland Thomas, and Deacon William Brown. | Courtesy photo

(2) Oxford Hotel and Homestead Hotel 

There were 30 hotels and 15 clubs in the area during the 1920s, and two of those former hotels are right along SR56. The former Oxford Hotel now houses the Visit French Lick West Baden Visitor Center, and the Homestead Hotel has a bagel shop and other businesses. Due to segregation, smaller hotels housed Black celebrities such as boxer Joe Louis, while some drew visitors who couldn’t afford the rates of the big properties. The Oxford Hotel, built in 1910, and the Homestead Hotel, built in 1913, are both on the National Register of Historic Places.

Oxford Hotel: 8102 W. SR 56, (812) 936-3418

Homestead Hotel: 8163 W. SR 56, West Baden Springs

The Oxford Hotel (left) and Homestead Hotel, built in 1910 and 1913, were among the 30 hotels and 15 clubs in French Lick and West Baden Springs during the Roaring ’20s. Both buildings are now on State Road 56 and the National Register of Historic Places. | Photos by Laurie D. Borman

(3) French Lick Scenic Railway

The French Lick Scenic Railway began in 1978 and now departs from the original French Lick depot. | Courtesy photo

Back in their heyday, French Lick and West Baden welcomed more than a dozen trains a day, stopping at each town and in-between for guests at other hotels. The French Lick Scenic Railway, started in 1978, departs from the original French Lick depot. 

“It amazes me to think of 14 trains coming in loaded with people wanting to visit our small area,” says Joanie Dingman, business manager of the railway. 

The railway offers 20-mile-long scenic trips from March through October that roll south past Larry Bird’s boyhood home, through Indiana’s second-longest tunnel at 2,200 feet (built in 1906), past waterfalls, and beside part of the Hoosier National Forest. Other special trains throughout the year include a 2-hour-and-20-minute Easter Bunny Express (this year it was on April 1), a Dinosaur Adventure trek in June and September, and tasting tours in July and October featuring chocolate and bourbon. 

The most popular, quickly sold-out train tour is the Polar Express, which takes kids and their families on an adventure just like the book of the same name to the “North Pole.” By the first week of January, the railroad had already sold $1 million in tickets for that trip alone, so it’s often fully booked before summer. The Polar Express Train Ride runs in 2023 Friday through Sunday at 5:30 & 7:30 p.m., November 3–December 17, and December 20–23. A 3:30 p.m. matinee ride is also available on most Saturdays, Friday after Thanksgiving, and on those last 4 days in December. Tickets went on sale in January, and many time slots are already sold out.

8594 W. SR 56, French Lick, (800) 748-7246

(4) Pluto Spring Pavilion/Pluto Bath

Spring houses still dot the scenery, but most of the springs have been capped, and all commercial bottling of Pluto Water stopped in 1971 because water samples contained high levels of lithium. | Courtesy photo

“These two towns exist because of an old animal trail and some smelly water,” says Barbra Bowling, an Indiana Landmarks tour guide. That old animal trail, Buffalo Trace, led creatures to the salt and mineral-laced waters from springs that exuded a sulphur odor. “When nature won’t, Pluto will” cleverly defined the constipation-relieving effects of the mineral water that originally brought tourists in the late 1800s. 

By the early 1900s, seven springs were available to sample, and after a guest consulted a medical doctor, they were given a prescription for which springs to try and how many glasses to take per day, according to Bowling. Outhouses were stationed near each spring, and guests would put a cane by the door to indicate it was occupied. 

The Jesuits, who bought the West Baden Hotel from Ed Ballard for $1 in 1946, capped most of the springs, and, finally, only the Pluto Spring behind the French Lick Springs Hotel was left open. All commercial bottling stopped in 1971 because water samples contained a high level of lithium, a drug now used for treating depression and bipolar disorder. The Pluto Spring’s deep well discourages guests from drinking the unfiltered water, as the water level is several feet below the top of the well lip. If you want to sample the waters, you can take a 20-minute, $65 Pluto Water bath at either resort spa. Bring your own cup if you want to drink before dunking. 

French Lick Springs Hotel (garden) 8670 W. SR 56, French Lick, (888) 936-9360

(5) French Lick Museum

Kenton Allbright, assistant director of the French Lick Museum, with a statue of Pluto. | Photo by Laurie D. Borman

Opened in 2014 in the historic Dickason building, the French Lick Museum makes a great stop to learn about the history of the area, view springs memorabilia (such as canes and water dippers), eye Larry Bird artifacts, and even see old casino roulette wheels. “We were Las Vegas before Las Vegas was even a thought,” says Kenton Allbright, assistant director of the museum. Allbright revels in the past, occasionally dressing as a Monon train conductor or a circus ringmaster, recalling the old days. 

The museum’s main attraction is the world’s largest circus diorama: a circus train and big top displays, which fill two rooms. Ed Ballard, the enterprising owner of the West Baden Springs Hotel, purchased the hotel in 1923 from Lillian Sinclair, Lee Sinclair’s daughter. Ballard also owned one of the largest circuses in the United States at the time, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus. The circus often performed here, even inside under the dome of the hotel, with elephants getting on their knees to clear the doorways, says Bowling. 

The museum hosts a “Circus Day” each year, this year on June 24, with circus performances outside the museum, with acrobats, clowns, live music, bounce house, dunk tank, food trucks, and more.

469 S. Maple St., Ste. 103, French Lick, (812) 936-3592

The museum’s main attraction is the world’s largest circus diorama: a circus train and big top displays, which fill two rooms. | Photo by Laurie D. Borman

The Ole Show Barn used to house part of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus when it was in town. | Photo by Laurie D. Borman

(6) Ole Show Barn

This building, recently refurbished by its current owner, Daydream Woodworks, housed part of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus when it was in town. While you won’t see any elephants or lions inside, there are circus memorabilia, a portrait of Ed Ballard, and woodworking items for sale. A Saturday farmers’ market runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June through August. Check out the unusual sign out front, an antique pickup truck painted with the woodworks’ name.

8272 County Road 25 South, French Lick

(7) The Elite Café, now the American Legion Post #76

This former café housed a gambling casino in the early 1900s. Gambling was illegal before 2005 in Indiana, but the local authorities “looked the other way” as French Lick Hotel owner Tom Taggart encouraged casino operations. Taggart had close connections with the Indiana governor, and until Kentucky Derby Weekend of 1949 offered gambling off the big resort properties. That all came to a halt when Indiana Gov. Henry Schricker called a raid on the casinos. People who had arrived to gamble on their way to the Churchill Downs in Louisville left quickly. French Lick Hotel suffered. 

Another famed casino, The Gorge, burned in 2017, so the former Elite Café is one of the few remaining spots to see where the action happened. 

The American Legion hosts events open to the public, such as a Friday Chili or Fish Fry. Their Facebook page provides details on events.

8595 W. Main St., French Lick, (812) 936-9394

Historian and archivist Jeff Lane leads the French Lick Historic Trolley Tours in French Lick and West Baden Springs. | Courtesy photo

(8) French Lick Trolley Tour

A convenient, free trolley operates between French Lick Resort and West Baden Springs Hotel. But if you want a deep dive into French Lick and West Baden Springs history, you better secure a seat on the French Lick Historic Trolley Tour, led by French Lick Resort historian and archivist Jeff Lane. He’ll point out some of the sites listed above, as well as Ed Ballard’s Beechwood Mansion, the Dixie Garage, the Pluto Corporation (where Pluto water was bottled), and Our Lady of the Springs Catholic Church, which was built in 1887 and is the oldest church in French Lick or West Baden Springs, among other sites. 

The Dixie Garage has been an auto repair shop, a roller-skating rink, and a 7UP bottling plant, says Lane. “My grandfather was manager of the 7UP bottling plant when it was located in that building. Then it later became a warehouse for a furniture manufacturer called Wood Design.” It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The tour lasts an hour, costs $25 for adults, $15 for kids under 12, and runs on Mondays at 11 a.m. in March, May, and September. It meets at the West Baden stop. Tickets are sold at West Baden Mercantile.

8538 West Baden Ave., West Baden Springs, (812) 936-9300

(9) Thomas D. Taggart Home (The Mansion) at Pete Dye Course at French Lick. 

Drive the winding Mt Airie Road up through the Pete Dye Golf Course gates to the peak of Mt. Airie for a panoramic view over some 40 miles of southern Indiana hills. The golf course hosted the 2015 Senior PGA Championship, and today the mansion built in 1928 for French Lick Hotel owner Thomas D. Taggart’s son is now the course clubhouse. While you must be a guest of the course (greens fees can top $350) to dine or drink there, you can look up to the widow’s walk atop the brick home and step around back to admire the view from the patio. Architectural Digest named the mansion the most beautiful clubhouse in Indiana in 2018. If you do get a chance to go inside, check out the detailed woodwork, arched doors and doorways, and the photo of the JFK Museum in Hyannis, Massachusetts, a mansion built in 1926, on which the Taggart mansion was modeled.

8670 W. SR56, French Lick, (888) 936-9360

The Thomas D. Taggart Home (The Mansion) was built in 1928 for the son of French Lick Hotel owner Thomas D. Taggart. It is now the clubhouse at the Pete Dye Golf Course. | Courtesy photo

The Pop Top treehouse in West Baden Springs | Courtesy photo

Laurie’s Tips

French Lick and West Baden Springs have two main hotels. The West Baden Springs Hotel has a grander atrium because of the dome, is more expensive, and has a fine dining restaurant, Sinclair’s, that is well worth a visit. The French Lick Springs Hotel has an amazing restored lobby and mural ceiling, is also historic, and has equally beautiful rooms for a lower price than West Baden Springs Hotel.

Neither is inexpensive, though. French Lick Springs Hotel is closer to the casino and the restaurants and shops and the museum downtown. You can’t go wrong with either choice, as both have spas and offer equal access to resort amenities. 

Other unique hotel options include a treehouse on AirBNB  that is 30 feet up in a poplar tree, and a communal dinner nightly. Sleeps 2.

There are several quaint cabin choices on VRBO, such as John’s log cabin in a wooded setting with its own hiking trail, a 5 minute drive to French Lick downtown. Sleeps 8.