But I eventually made it through the pack then ventured about a half mile off of the Dixie Highway. The National Studebaker Museum shares its location and admissions desk with the Center for History whose premier attraction is the J. D. Oliver mansion, Copshaholm. I've been to the Studebaker museum a couple of times but the last tour of the mansion begins at 2:00 and I've always been too late. Dale, a hard core Oliver tractor fan, was particularly disappointed when he and I missed the tour on our stop in 2009. I made it today and learned that interior photographs are not permitted.

There are actually two houses on the tour. The first is a "worker's house" furnished to represent the home of a Polish worker in the 1930s. There are some nicely landscaped gardens behind Copshaholm and the guide told us the grounds see a wedding almost every week. The area at the end of the long covered walkway is a favorite spot for that sort of thing. From there we rounded the corner and entered the house and that was the end of the photos. J.D. Oliver, the son of the inventor of the chilled plow and the man who drove the Oliver Company to its great success, moved into his dream home at the very start of 1897. His daughter, Catherine, was the last to live there. When she died in 1970, the next generation donated the mansion to the historical society after removing just a few items. The way it is is the way it was.

The three miles that lead to US-30 also lead to the town of Plymouth where the Blueberry Festival was in progress. Part of me really wanted to stop but parking looked to be a hassle and the festival was off in some park area so didn't pull me in visually. I kind of regret it already but I drove right on by.