On Saturday, August 24, a go-at-your-own-pace tour will highlight historic landmarks and local cuisine in Noble County.

Sponsored by Indiana Landmarks and Noble County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the “Noble County Ramble: Historic Sites & Local Bites” tour features several places saved with help from Indiana Landmarks, including the 1838 Wolcott House in Wolcottvillle. After spotting it in a “Save this Old House” feature in This Old House magazine, physicians Dan and Anna Kragt bought the property and spent five years restoring it as their home. While looking for timber to repair a deteriorated section, they found a whole disassembled eighteenth-century house for sale in Connecticut. They worked with Amish craftsmen to rebuild the Yale House as a rear addition, adapting it for use as a bed-and-breakfast.

Participants on the self-guided tour will see the Wolcott House along with other inspiring saved landmarks, including Albion’s 1888 Opera House turned law offices and, near Sylvan Lake, a historic dairy farm turned event center and tasting room known as Sylvan Cellars. In Rome City, tourgoers can also visit author Gene Stratton-Porter’s “The Cabin in Wildflower Woods,” and the neighboring 1888 Sower House, repaired by Indiana Landmarks and the Noble County Convention and Visitors Bureau and awaiting a new tenant. Near Wolcottville, the Evers Family welcomes tourgoers to Plainview Farms, operated by their family for generations and winner of Indiana Landmarks’ 2023 John Arnold Award for Rural Preservation.

Tickets for the tour, which must be purchased in advance, include complimentary snacks from a selection of Noble County restaurants, bakeries, and cafés served at each tour site.

Tour stops include the following:

• Howard’s Opera House, Albion (tour check-in): Constructed in 1884, the Albion Opera House included commercial space on the first floor with a large public space on the second floor. Today, the restored site is home to Newman & Newman Law Offices after a partnership between Indiana Landmarks, the Albion STAR, and Courthouse Square Preservation Society saved it from demolition.
• Sower House, Rome City: The Sower House, rescued from demolition and rehabbed by Indiana Landmarks and the Noble County Convention and Visitors Bureau through a partnership with the State of Indiana, retains all original woodwork and pocket doors from the 1880s, with a restored exterior. It will soon open as a General Store featuring Indiana-made goods, snacks for nearby trail users, and bike rentals, among other visitor services.
• Wildflower Woods – Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, Rome City: Gene Stratton-Porter—a noted author, conservationist, photographer, and illustrator—helped design “The Cabin at Wildflower Woods,” her home on Rome City’s Sylvan Lake, completed in 1914 and situated on 120 acres purchased with money from her writing royalties.
• Sylvan Cellars, Rome City: Sylvan Cellars began life as a dairy barn for the adjacent Kneipp Springs Sanitarium and Convent. Beginning in 1901, Catholic nuns took over a health resort above Sylvan Lake, operating a spiritual health spa. The nuns sold the property in 1976, and its uncertain future landed it on Indiana Landmarks’ 10 Most Endangered list in 2011. Rachel and Nathan Schermerhorn converted the former dairy barn in 2015, now an event center and tasting room.
• Evers Plainview Farms, Wolcottville: Owned and operated by fifth, sixth, and seventh generation owners, the Evers family’s stewardship of the land and buildings making up their historic farmstead merited the 2023 John Arnold Award for Rural Preservation from Indiana Landmarks and Indiana Farm Bureau.
• Wolcott House, Wolcottville: George Wolcott founded his namesake community after settling in the area with his wife, Margaret, in 1837, constructing his home along the Little Elkhart Creek c. 1840. Indiana Landmarks and the LaGrange County Community Foundation rescued the deteriorated property, now restored and operated by Dan and Anna Kragt as their home with an attached bed-and-breakfast.

Featured food and beverages along the way include sweet and savory selections from Albion’s Fox Den Catering, Ligonier’s Grounded Coffee House, Kendallville’s Whatchamacakes, Shipshewana’s Yoder Meat & Cheese and Heritage Ridge Creamery, and Middlebury’s Rise’n Roll Bakery and Country Lane Bake Shop.

WHAT: Noble County Ramble: Historic Sites & Local Bites

WHEN: Saturday, August 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT (Check in any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.)

WHERE: Check in at Everett and Everett Law Offices, 107 W. Jefferson, Albion, for map and tour program any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

COST: Tickets cost $35/public, $30/member of Indiana Landmarks

TICKETS: Advance ticket purchase required. Buy tickets at www.indianalandmarks.org/event/noble-county-ramble/

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Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, strengthens connections to our diverse heritage, and saves meaningful places. With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. People who join Indiana Landmarks receive its bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation. For more information on the not-for-profit organization, call 317-639-4534, 800-450-4534, or visit www.indianalandmarks.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Todd Zeiger, Director, Northern Regional Office, Indiana Landmarks, 574-232-4534, tzeiger@indianalandmarks.org

Mindi Woolman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534,  mwoolman@indianalandmarks.org