When it comes to social media, there are pros and cons, but one definite positive is the connections you make. Recently, my Instagram friend invited me to visit her charming cottage in New Harmony, Indiana. Cindy and her husband Jeff run an AirBnB cottage and have an antique shop in their barn. Today’s blog post is all about our magical visit to New Harmony.
The Journey to New Harmony
The drive was the worst part of our trip—an eight-hour journey! Our family is known for frequent restroom stops, which only adds to the travel time. Initially, we planned to leave on Friday morning, but we decided to leave Thursday instead to break up the drive. Hubby was teaching summer school, so we set off as soon as he finished.
Our only stop along the way was in St. Louis at Walnut Grill in O’Fallon. The meal was mediocre, and the bathrooms were dirty, but the drink prices were fantastic. It seemed like everyone there was just there for Happy Hour!
Because we couldn’t partake in “Happy Hour” we stopped to get an adult beverage for night cap on the way in to town. However, Indiana doesn’t sell cold beer at the gas stations and the beer store closed at 8!! We arrived at the New Harmony Cottage a little after 9 PM had our drinks on ice and watched “Suits.”
Staying at the New Harmony Cottage
Inside the Cottage
Even in the dark, the cottage was adorable! This one-room home features a ¾ bath, laundry closet, and kitchenette. The building previously served as a massage parlor and salon/barber shop. The kitchenette included a small refrigerator, microwave, and sink. The sink was probably one of my favorites! They had taken an old checkout counter (picked up in Oronoco) and added a modern sink. The coloring on the cabinet was perfect! The cabinet was actually turned so that you could utilize the shelving. A salvaged piece of copper was added as a back splash.
Also in the kitchenette area was a long butcher block table with industrial stools. This could be used to eat at, play games or for food preparation. A coffee/tea bar was located on an antique cabinet with snacks. The snacks were arranged inside a jar around some oatmeal! It was such a cute display!!
The decor in the little cottage was perfect! Decorated with old antique pieces that were both stylish and functional! There was even a lot of local history highlighted through a New Harmony coaster, throw blanket, and framed map. Tons of Posey County and New Harmony ephemera were tucked in a pig mail holder. Local historical sites were framed and on display, as well as an old New Harmony feed sack.
One standout piece was an artist’s painting of the cabin, reflecting a local tradition where artists takeover the town. The First Brush of Spring Plein Air Paintout brings around 150 artists to the community. They setup at the river, in private yards, and at historical sites to paint. There are even special challenges like a timed painting called the QuickDraw. At the end of this event the art is put on display and available for purchase.
We immediately fell in love with the bed, it was memory foam! We have a memory foam bed and it is definitely what our bodies are used to! Hubby even guessed that it was one you can get delivered and turns out he was right. THIS is the bed we slept on.
The bed was flanked with cute little distressed side tables. There were lamps on each side and a charging station with every cord you could think of!! And there was free Wifi!! At the end of the bed was a long old bench that was handy for suitcases and to sit on to put our shoes on.
Antique Decor Filled the Cottage
The Barn
Jeff and Cindy used to own and run Firehouse Antiques. Their shop and home was located inside an old fire house. After a few years it worked out to buy this property (their current location) with a house, a cottage, and a barn! The barn was the main attraction as it is perfect for their old signs and this stage of their antique business.
The Firehouse is now ran by a new couple who sells antiques and lives above! What kid wouldn’t want to have a fireman’s pole to play on whenever they’d like! Sadly Firehouse Antiques was closed during our visit, but they do open by appointment!
The Barn by Jeff and Cindy is also open by appointment. Here are a few pictures from inside. See even more in THIS video.
Outside the Cottage
When you rent the cottage you also get access to the front of The Barn. The Smotherman’s added a porch to the barn using old bricks and salvaged materials. Here you will find lots of old hotel chairs to lounge in and enjoy the view.
I even learned something new!! Jeff added a goldfish to his stock tank to eat mosquitoes! Did you know goldfish did that??
Exploring New Harmony
After a good night’s sleep we got to say hi to our hostess’s! I had actually met Cindy in person, by chance, at a flea market a few years earlier. Watch THIS to see that meet up. Jeff happened to be with her that trip although he was buzzing around trying to find signs!
We started with a town tour via golf cart!! I must say that the weather while we were there was incredible!! For the middle to end of June with weather in the 70’s and low 80’s was amazing. It also seemed to be overcast a lot of the trip, which really helped set the mood on this magical town.
Between Jeff and Cindy, they knew all of the history of this historic place. You can read about that HERE. Let’s just say that this town has a lot of historical buildings and famous people and Jeff and Cindy didn’t skip a beat in rattling it all off for us! If you don’t have Jeff and Cindy to give you the tour, you are in luck because a little tram goes around daily highlighting the history of the town. Or, you can take a Ghost Tour!
Where everybody knows your name 🎶🎶 Are you singing now? It’s just like in Cheers! Everybody knew everyone and everyone waved and said hello.
When we made it back to the cottage we decided to split up for the rest of the day and meet back up for dinner. Hubby and I walked down to the Red Geranium to sit outside for an early lunch.This restaurant is full of beautiful art, original architectural features, and they host live music on Friday nights! Sadly the music was canceled for this Friday, but it was easy to see that it was the perfect space for a little event.
After lunch we walked over to tour the Roofless Church. The bright gold details on the doors of the church definitely didn’t seem like they belonged in this town, but it was still beautiful. Come to find out there was a whole story about the bright gold doors that had previously been in bronze. I must side with Mrs. Owens on this, the bronze seemed like a better fit!
From the roofless church we walked down to the Wabash River. It’s absolutely beautiful and there are tons of trails that you can walk.
We didn’t stay down on those trails very long as we wanted to explore the town. We walked by homes and admired their beauty. I tried to capture this on film, so be sure to watch the video. I hope it translates onto film how beautiful this place is. Homes are close together with towering trees. Everyhouse has unique architectural features and styles and beautiful gardens. Surprise lilies were in abundance, short ornamental grasses, flowering shrubs, even bamboo could be seen around the homes.
Explore New Harmony on Video
The town even has a u-pick poinsettia field, sadly they were not in season when we were there!
We stopped in Creation Station and got a tour by owner Rick Huffman. He told us about how the dulcimer saved his life after his wife and best friend were killed in a motorcycle accident that left him with a long physical and mental recovery. Listen to Rick and his friends HERE.
This town has about every major church denomination. They are all either well maintained or in the process of being restored…Episcopal, Methodist, Catholic, Nazarene, Christian, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist…
All of which are beautiful and of typical architecture for that denomination.
New Harmony doesn’t have a square, but it has a main street with lots of cute little antique shops and restaurants. We visited Just Looking|Back Beats, Lowry Hollow, artefakts, Antique Emporium, The Barn by Jeff & Cindy Smotherman, and sadly Firehouse Antiques was closed while we were there. Another cute shop with great gifts was Capers Emporium & Bakery. This shop has cooking classes and some date night activities. There is also a Clay Studio with some pottery making classes. There was a class the Friday we were in town, but I was too slow on making reservations! Other classes are hosted by the Artists Guild, Textile School, and Music Studio.
While we walked around we also stopped at the most unique ice cream joint!! HERE it is cued up for you!
I’ve seen a little of Jeff & Cindy’s home on social media, but I sweet talked her into giving us a tour!! Hubby and I were in love. The house had beautiful bones and everything they had done to update it made it even better!
Hubby and I keep a mental file of all of the things we like in homes we visit and we added a couple things from their home to that file!
Upstairs had very clean lines, was simple and retro. Downstairs was very cozy and collected. As antique dealers you have to keep your inventory or inventory that you can’t sell yet, somewhere! So much history down there!
For dinner we ate at the Yellow Tavern. This bar/restaurant is cash only and popular with the locals! We walked across the street after dinner so hubby could try the local New Harmonie Bier at Sara’s Wine & Bier Bar. We sat outside and enjoyed the weather and company.
Luckily we had to “pick up” a package for Jeff & Cindy’s friend who has a PAGODA and bridge over a Koi pond in the front of her house. We had already mentioned how awesome the house looked, so we got lucky and got a tour!!
The house had doors with rice paper on sliders! A sunken living room! A sunken bathtub/shower! A HUGE retro commercial style bar in the basement! The house was so cool!! New Harmony does do home tours in the winter season, something I would love to come back and do!!
Discovering the Charm of New Harmony
On Saturday we went to The Main for breakfast. The town was having it’s Farmer’s Market down the street so we walked to it. Not only did they have garden goods, but also had vendors selling quilted barn signs, baskets, textiles, and art. This community is full of creative people!
The Farmer’s Market is sat up in front of the library which is also home to the Working Men’s Institute. This is what they call their museum. Lot’s of fossils, inventions, paintings, and everyday items are out on display.
From there we walked to the Atheneum Visitors Center. While a lot of the town is home to maintained structures from the 1800’s, this building was built to represent the future. It definitely stands out on the open banks of the Wabash River!
Close to that is the other end of the spectrum, a very old structure, the double log cabin. This building as well as a lot of buildings in this community can be rented for events.
On this side of town are a couple trees called Tree of 40 fruits. Yes, it is a singular tree that produces a unique fruit. With branches from different trees that have been grafted together, it can make heirloom varieties of various stone fruits!
While a lot of these historic sites seem “closed” you can actually tour inside most of them. For example, the dormitory has a little gift shop inside and you can explore the entire building. Other sites like the gardens, fountains, labyrinth and other outside exhibits are more obvious to welcoming public exploration.
As mentioned, a lot of the historical sites can be rented for events. The Granary was getting ready for a weekend wedding, but we were allowed to take a peak anyway!! The Barn Abbey was being used for a large yoga retreat! We didn’t check to see if we could get a tour inside, but the outside made it look like a beautiful space overlooking a field and the river!
The town has a couple gas stations, a pharmacy, a beer store and fire station, but that is about it. They do have Dollar General which seems a little out of place for this cute little community, but it does not carry groceries. So if you need supplies you have to drive to a nearby town.
We had originally planned on walking around New Harmonie State Park, but it costs $7 to go and we didn’t really know what it was going to be like, so we opted to take a drive and explore Mt. Vernon.
Let’s just say that after a quick tour around New Harmony we were on Zillow searching for properties!! So we figured we should get to know the area a bit! Mt. Vernon was right on the river and people were boating while the barges were shuffled around. There was a thrift store and again, a lot of churches!! Overall the town seemed very poor, except for a neighborhood around the golf course! That subdivision was gorgeous!
While the town is completely walkable, it’s also a lot of fun to explore on the golf cart! So when we got back from Mt. Vernon, we did take Jeff & Cindy’s out for a spin!!
For dinner we went to Say’s Restaurant, which makes their own ginger ketchup! Say’s opens up to Sara’s where we had gone after dinner the night before. Tonight they had live music on the patio, so we listened and enjoyed each other’s company for awhile.
Cindy and I about forgot to take a photo together!! So in the lit patio at Sara’s we made sure to get one in!! Next time we will get one of the four of us!!
Heading Home
Saturday morning we walked across the street to Black Lodge Coffee Roasters. Another unique shop serving not only coffee and breakfast, but also filled with local artisans work.
Driving back to Iowa we made a visit to the Treasure Aisles Antique Mall and had breakfast at First Watch.
Plan Your Next Adventure
Our visit to New Harmony was magical. The community and atmosphere are hard to describe but easy to fall in love with. Hearing how so many visit and then move there, its easy to understand why. I highly recommend scheduling a stay at The Cottage and experiencing New Harmony, Indiana for yourself.
