The Yellow Trail Museum & Visitors Center

10/24/2026

You just never know what kind of donations you will get on a museum day. This is a WW1 uniform from a local soldier, Leonard Essex. Very cool. The museum continues to be open Tuesdays and Thursdays 1pm - 5pm and Saturdays 12noon - 4 pm. The museum will close for the winter after our annual Christmas of Yesteryear event on Friday, December 4, 2026. We reopen the first week of April 2027.

10/21/2026

Hope to see you Friday evening!

10/21/2026

10/20/2026

Thank you to David Webster and HSJ Online for the wonderful writeup on our latest exhibit, featuring our agricultural heritage. https://hsjonline.org/news/2026/oct/12/the-yellow-trail-museum-hopes-agricultural-history-a-must-see/?fbclid=IwY2xjawVEVupleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMVFUYzBvS2tFTmh0Tmxubm1zcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeBVRBmiq_vWPIgTczeOuSrcdPX-yfh_RiZKeYSCpXeylnXQTPePptQ-KLOIc_aem_R5Y4TLbqDwK7RMoEJcq2EA

I purposely went to the Yellow Trail Museum to view the Farming Exhibit when first hearing about it and was so impressed that I recently returned to do this deserving article.

09/18/2026

09/18/2026

We are officially one week out! Join us in Hope for the 58th Annual Hope Heritage Days! Enjoy vendors and booths, live entertainment, worship, a special presentation, a flyover, and the annual parade on Sunday, Sept. 27. Events run throughout the day, with the parade beginning at 2:30 p.m. Visit hopeheritagedays.org for details.

08/05/2026

This Friday!!

08/01/2026

What do you do on a rainy day? Come visit the Yellow Trail Museum/Hope Area Visitors Center. Our special exhibit right now is a tribute to our Native American heritage and the tribes who resided in the northeast corner of Bartholomew County. Amazing artifacts are furnished by the Shoaf family. Museum hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1pm - 5 pm and Saturdays 12 noon - 4 pm. Come see us! Admission is FREE.

07/29/2026

Last night was the monthly board meeting for the Yellow Trail Museum. With Shawn McNealy, Abby Calender , John Ziegler, Kathie Clouse, Gary Dodd, Steve Sweet, Bruce Neal , Darlene Allen , and Susan Thayer Fye . A great group of community leaders!

07/24/2026

The Indiana fashion tradition of senior cords is having a moment in the fashion world: the nostalgic collegiate look has recently been revived by the brands Polo Ralph Lauren and Bode. The Eskenazi School's The Sage Collection houses more than 75 examples of senior cords, which functioned as "wearable yearbooks" from the 1920s to the 1970s, when students painted their corduroy garments with their "individual symbology." Tracing the origins of senior cords, The Magazine Antiques interviewed curator Kelly Richardson about the many examples in the Sage Collection.

Read the story at https://eskenazi.indiana.edu/news/2026/2026-06-26-senior-cords-antiques.html

Photo: Senior cord skirts and pants decorated by Indiana University students were exhibited in "Illustrating Identity: Senior Cords in Monroe County" in 2024 at the Monroe County History Center in Bloomington. Photo courtesy The Elizabeth Sage Historic Costume Collection