Located about 75 mi/125 km west-southwest of Indianapolis, Terre Haute means
high ground—a good place to be if you're sited along the Wabash River.
Both socialist Eugene V. Debs (co-founder of Industrial Workers of the World) and novelist Theodore Dreiser (Sister Carrie) called Terre Haute home. Once known as "Sin City" for its rampant gambling and prostitution that drew customers from as far away as Chicago, the town is now a model of Hoosier propriety.
A fun place to visit in Terre Haute is the Clabber Girl Museum downtown. http://www.clabbergirl.com.
The history of the American kitchen is on display at the home of Clabber Girl Baking Powder, a company founded there in 1848. Visit the on-site Bake Shop cafe for breakfast or lunch.
Also on display are racing memorabilia—the Hulman family owns both Clabber Girl and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
