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Real events too strange to have made the textbook.
Fort Wayne, IN
A 40-foot limestone shaft in Memorial Park supports an eight-foot winged figure honoring early aviation daredevil Arthur "Art" Smith. Nicknamed Birdboy, Smith built and flew his own airplane as a teenager, became a nationally known stunt pilot and died in a 1926 air-mail crash.
Anderson, IN
Mounds State Park protects a group of prehistoric earthworks constructed by Indigenous peoples beginning more than two thousand years ago. The largest, the Great Mound, is an impressive circular earthwork that can be reached from maintained park trails.
Amity, IN
Nancy Kerlin Barnett was buried here in 1831, and when officials later wanted to build a road through the burial ground, her descendants resisted moving her grave. The compromise left the burial site protected in the middle of County Road 400 South, where traffic still splits around the fenced grave and the additional remains discovered there in 2016.
Crown Point, IN
This historic jail became nationally famous after John Dillinger escaped from it in March 1934, reportedly using a fake gun to bluff his way past guards. The preserved complex has also developed a reputation among paranormal groups, but visitors should use official tours and events rather than attempting unscheduled access.
Bloomington, IN
Large surviving pieces of USS Indiana, including guns and part of the ship's mast, stand outside Indiana University's Memorial Stadium. The display has been assembled over decades from remnants of the battleship, creating a strange naval monument hundreds of miles from the sea.
Scottsburg, IN
This rural memorial marks the location of the Pigeon Roost settlement and a deadly 1812 attack during the violent frontier conflict surrounding the War of 1812. The state historic site preserves the location and memorial while modern interpretation places the event within the larger conflict between Indigenous nations, settlers and U.S. expansion.
Carmel, IN
Pirate Cat was a wandering orange-and-white cat who became a familiar sight to people using the Monon Trail and earned the unofficial title "Mayor of the Monon." After his death in 2020, admirers installed a black granite memorial topped with a life-size cat statue; some of his ashes are sealed inside.
Arlington, IN
East Hill Cemetery contains a marker tied to a bizarre 1978 accident in which a small airplane crashed into the cemetery while carrying figures from the auto-racing world. The cemetery itself is active and public, so visitors should approach the memorial respectfully and remain on normal cemetery drives and paths.
Greentown, IN
A grave in Greenlawn Cemetery is marked with an oversized stone pocket watch rather than a standard rectangular monument. The carved watch face and chain make the memorial immediately recognizable and give travelers a specific, respectful cemetery oddity to locate.
Battle Ground, IN
Tradition identifies this rocky overlook as the place where Tenskwatawa, known as the Prophet, watched or encouraged Native forces during the Battle of Tippecanoe in November 1811. A marker and public pull-off identify the location today, though interpretations of the battle should be understood within the larger history of Indigenous resistance to U.S. expansion.
Charlestown, IN
Rose Island was once a popular amusement park with rides, a swimming pool, zoo attractions and river access before the catastrophic Ohio River flood of 1937 left it beyond repair. Charlestown State Park now maintains a trail to the former park area, where visitors can see surviving foundations, the old pool and other ruins in the woods.
Mauckport, IN
Squire Boone, younger brother of Daniel Boone, settled in this area and developed a gristmill near the cave system in the early nineteenth century. His remains are associated with the cavern property, where guided tours descend through underground rooms, streams and formations around a site carrying both natural and frontier history.
Fremont, IN
Near Indiana's northeastern corner, a small benchmark marks the point where Indiana, Michigan and Ohio meet. A larger nearby monument makes the tri-state junction easier to find, but the actual survey point is much more modest and sits close to the road, so visitors should watch for traffic.
Battle Ground, IN
An 85-foot marble monument marks the landscape of the November 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, fought between William Henry Harrison's forces and warriors associated with Tecumseh's Native confederacy. The adjacent museum provides context for the battle and the broader Indigenous resistance to U.S. expansion rather than reducing the location to battlefield folklore.
Connersville, IN
Vivian May Allison died as a young child in 1899, and her family placed a fully furnished miniature house over her grave rather than a conventional monument. Community members have maintained the unusual memorial for generations; it was temporarily removed for restoration in 2025 before being scheduled to return to City Cemetery.
West Baden Springs, IN
When the present hotel opened in 1902, its enormous free-spanning atrium dome was considered an engineering marvel and was promoted as the "Eighth Wonder of the World." The restored building is again an operating hotel, but public areas and scheduled tours allow travelers to see the surreal circular interior legally.
Greencastle, IN
A captured German V-1 flying bomb is mounted outdoors on a distinctive V-shaped memorial near the Putnam County Courthouse. The weapon, infamous for its use against European cities during World War II, now forms part of a memorial to local servicemembers who died in the war.
