Traveling always comes with one guarantee: eventually, you're going to need to sleep, so you'll have to find a good place to stay. Sure, you can always stay in a chain hotel... or you can get creative with it! Turns out, there are a lot of historic places to stay in Indiana, many of which are at least a century old. Let's take a look at a particularly wonderful historic bed and breakfast in Indiana built in 1851 (making it just shy of 200 years old): it's the old Pepin Mansion, a wonderful bed and breakfast (and venue space) that's absolutely worth a weekend trip for. Check it out:
The Pepin Mansion has an interesting history behind it.
It was built in 1851 for a Mr. Pepin and his family, though they only spent four years in the home before selling it to the Howard family for $25,000. Today, this would be the equivalent of about $975,000. But this ownership would also be brief - the Howards lost the home to foreclosure some years later, and the home continued to bounce from family to family for decades.
Once its tenure as a private home had ended sometime in the early 1950s, it became a nursing home through the late 1960s.
But like seemingly everything and everyone in the home's history, this, too, would be short-lived - it would also eventually become an antique shop for a while until 1996.
Fast forward to 2007, when the Smiths acquired this old place after it had once again been foreclosed upon. It was in shoddy shape, but that was okay: they had plans for this place.
Over the next seven years, the Smiths remodeled and resurrected the old Pepin Mansion (according to local laws and standards for historic buildings, of course). In 2013, it reopened at a wedding venue. In 2014, it also became the wonder bed and breakfast it is now.
And so far, so good: the Pepin Mansion Historic Bed and Breakfast shows absolutely no signs of slowing down any time soon.
It's so lovely and comfortable in its current iteration that it almost feels as if this is what it was meant to be all along.
It's an intimate experience, too, with just four beautiful suites to choose from.
You can't go wrong with any one of them; each has its own sense of charm and rustic wonder, and I truly feel that you will love staying here so much that it could become your go-to when you need to get away.
Oh, and of course: a large, hearty breakfast is served every morning... so bring your appetite!
To book your stay (which I suggest you do well in advance), be sure to visit the official Pepin Mansion website. The Pepin Mansion Historic Bed and Breakfast is located in a delightful small town known as New Albany, where there are plenty of things to do and see. It's the perfect choice for a weekend away! Oh, and while you're here, you have to indulge a little and have some of the best ice cream in Indiana. You won't regret it. I promise.
Where are your favorite places to stay in Indiana? Let me know in the comments - you might just see your picks featured someday!
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