Hendricks County Civil War Heritage Days June 25th and 26th

Indiana Tourism welcomes today’s guest blogger, Jaime Bohler Smith:

Jaime Bohler Smith is a veteran of Indiana’s tourism industry, and joined the Hendricks County CVB in 2002 in her hometown of Danville, Indiana after several years with the Brown County, Indiana CVB. She is responsible for all the HCCVB marketing programs and public relations. Smith has her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing from Marian College and is a two-time finalist of Central Indiana’s Junior Achievement Indy’s Best and Brightest. Smith resides in Pittsboro, Indiana with her husband Scott and her new son, Connor. Find her on Twitter @jbosmith or visit the destination website TourHendricksCounty.com.

150 years ago America engaged in the fiercest battle of all time on U.S. soil, the Civil War. To commemorate this history-making event the Town of Danville, Indiana has been working to host the 1^st Annual Civil War Heritage Days this weekend, June 25^th and 26^th. Activities are planned from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm Saturday and 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Sunday and the whole event is sponsored by the Danville Public Library and the Hendricks County Historical Museum.

Events during the weekend will be held throughout the Historic Downtown area including at the Danville Public Library, the Hendricks County Historical Museum, the Hendricks County Courthouse and on the grounds of the Hendricks County Government Center. These facilities are easily within walking distance of one another and each venue will host civil war units, agriculture and transportation displays, music, demonstrations and more. The majority of the event activities including the civil war ancestor show and tell, Sunday morning church service, music performances, and the demos on cricket and living history are free. Only a few of the events incur a fee and that is the Civil War Fashion Show at 3:00 pm Saturday in the Courthouse Rotunda for just $5.00 and the two seatings of High Tea at Courthouse Grounds at 2:00 and 4:00 pm for just $15.00. Vendors will also be throughout town showcasing civil war era items.

I will be making time to visit on Saturday with my family taking my 2 year old and my Dad. I’m excited for the little guy to be able to run around downtown Danville and my Dad is excited to show me what the Zouaves uniforms look like. He says it will be surprising! I’m also looking forward to checking out the refurbished Civil War room at the Hendricks County Historical Museum that will be showcasing a number of era documents.

Three civil war units will be camped out in town including Company D of the 11^th Indiana Zouaves and Company C of the 27^th Indiana Infantry, on the grounds of the Hendricks County Historical Museum and the 7^th Indiana Calvary and the Armies of Tennessee will be camped on the Hendricks County Government Center grounds.

Danville is an easy drive just 20 minutes west of Downtown Indianapolis. Take US 36/Crawfordsville Road west from I-465 or use State Road 39 if traveling from the north or the south. Parking and public restrooms are available throughout town. Numerous shops and restaurants line the area to add to you experience. Find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @DanvilleIN. For a schedule of events and detailed event descriptions, visit CivilWarHendricks.com. For additional travel information including overnight accommodations, call 800.321.9666 or visit TourHendricksCounty.com.