New book, 'My Indiana,' includes Canal Center

A new book by Earl L. Conn, titled "My Indiana, 101 Places to See," includes a site in Carroll County.

The Wabash & Erie Canal Conference and Interpretive Center, Delphi, is one of those "101 places."

A history and description of the Canal Center and other Canal Park buildings are on pages 142 and 143 of the 250-page book. Conn also took the photos for the book, including the four at Canal Park.

"My Indiana" is a compilation of columns Conn wrote for the Muncie Star Press. His columns, called "Traveling Indiana," have been transformed into a travel companion of interesting and unique sites to see in Indiana.

The sites are a mixture of highly visited Hoosier travel destinations and many off the beaten path, tucked in nooks and corners around the state. They include museums, state parks, historic sites, monuments, recreation spots, and more.

Presented in a conversational writing style, Conn offers opinion on each destination from a visitor's perspective.

To aid readers in locating each of the 101 intriguing places to see, the book includes several guide maps. Providing ease of use, the state of Indiana is divided into six zones: Northern, Eastern, Central, Western, South Central, and Southern Indiana. Each zone features at least 16 places to visit.

Some of the known and not-sowell known sites readers can discover include the Indiana Dunes, West Baden Springs Hotel, the site of the Reno Gang's first train robbery, and the Topeka Draft Horse Auction.

"My Indiana" presents facts and insight, mixed with a little humor, to many unique experiences and sites to be found on the Hoosier state's front roads, back roads and crossroads.

This collection of offerings includes more than 300 color photos, detailed route descriptions, travel information, local contact information, and fees.

Earl L. Conn, dean emeritus, College of Communications, Information and Media, Ball State University, is a well-known writer and columnist. He has written "Traveling Indiana" in the Muncie Star Press since 1998. "My Indiana" is a publication of the Indiana Historical Society Press. It is available in bookstores or can be ordered on line at shop.indianahistory.org.