You Have to Visit These 3 Incredible Museums in Terre Haute

Terre Haute is home to the famous Coca-Cola bottle design, a baking revolution and a Holocaust survivor. History, culture and inspiration come alive for visitors at three museums in Terre Haute.

The Vigo County Historical Museum opens this summer

The Vigo County Historical Museum, opening this summer, welcomes visitors with a wonderful Coca-Cola mural on the outside of the building next to Square Donuts. Explore three floors of rich local history in the building that originally housed the Ehrmann family’s textile manufacturing company.

See an original mold for the now-famous Coca-Cola bottle shape. Enjoy a glass of ‘pop’ at the 50s-style diner soda shop or visit the museum store. Explore clothing from the late 1800s. Take in the area’s textile, music, sports, military, Prohibition and transportation history. Find out about the haunted legend of Stiffy Green.

The stunning stained-glass awning that hung over the door of Madame Brown’s Brothel and the Bindley Pharmacy Collection are fascinating additions to the museum’s collection. “Every piece to me is a treasure,” says our guide and Operations Manager Tanis Monday. The museum features a 100-seat auditorium for music, lectures and first-Friday events. Admission fees are minimal and memberships are available.

The Clabber Girl Museum and Bake Shop

The Clabber Girl Museum takes visitors back to the early days of a baking revolution called baking powder. Before baking powder, leavening for breads and cakes was a tenuous process. Thanks to chemistry and modern science, baking was reinvented and simplified.

In addition to the rich history of baking powder, visitors are immersed in life around the turn of the century and the war years. Get a glimpse into bygone eras of commerce, transportation, communication, rationing and Prohibition. In 2007 the American Chemical Society dedicated the development of baking powder as a National Historic Chemical Landmark at Clabber Girl headquarters.

CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center

Holocaust survivor Eva Mozes Kor opened CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in 1995.  Eva passed away on July 4, 2019, and it was a great loss to the Terre Haute community, the state of Indiana and the world. Fortunately, you can still interact with her and hear her story first hand throught he wonders of technology.

“One power left, I could use to help me cope was the power of forgiveness. I never went back,” Kor says. “If there’s nothing you can change you have two choices: be angry, or forgive.” An interactive “Dimensions in Testimony” installation allows visitors to ask an ‘Eva’ hologram questions and hear her testimony. The installation was developed by the USC Shoah Foundation to preserve and share Holocaust survivor stories.

Restaurants

Terre Haute’s restaurant scene is extensive. (Rumor has it there are more restaurants per capita in this town than anywhere in the state!) Here, unique local restaurants shine. From cinnamon rolls and coffee at the Clabber Girl Bake Shop, to ‘ate-a-monster’ burger at Fifi’s to steaks at Stables, there’s always a culinary adventure just around the corner!