You’ll find Quaker influence up and down the National Road across Indiana, but most prominently in Wayne and Hendricks Counties. A prominent Quaker, John Huddleston, settled on this 78-acre site and built his home here, just west of Cambridge City, near the town of New Auburn in Wayne County. He built this house in 1841.
In addition to being a home for his family (wife Susannah and 11 children), this house provided overnight lodging for National Road travelers. Guests slept on the first floor. The family’s kitchen, dining area, and parlor were on the second floor. The family’s bedrooms were on the third floor.
This was also a working farm, with the outbuildings you’d expect to find in such a setting.
I was most taken with the well house and this scene of the pump and barrel.
Indiana Landmarks purchased the property in 1966; it has been their eastern regional office pretty much ever since. It’s open for tours Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings and by appointment. A farmer’s market is hosted here on Saturdays in July and August.
I’ve yet to happen by when the farmhouse was open. We reached it this Saturday afternoon shortly after it had closed. Perhaps a special trip just to see its inside is in order.
I’ve driven the National Road from its beginning in Baltimore, MD to its end in Vandaila, IL. To read everything I’ve ever written about it, click here.
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