Our Story...
The Tanglewood is located in downtown Versailles, Indiana in a National Register of Historic Places District, adjacent to the Versailles State Park. The property has a first-floor venue with seating for up to 200 plus overflow to a courtyard with modern restrooms and a certified kitchen. The second floor houses five hotel rooms. One ADA-compliant, handicap accessible hotel room is available on the first floor. The buildings originally housed the Masonic Lodge and a buggy shop. The large event space was a movie theater for 50 years starting in the early 1900s, and the former buggy shop was a hardware store for many years.
Care was taken to preserve as many historical elements as possible. The tin ceiling centerpiece was placed back in its original location. The hardwood floors were refinished. The hotel room headboards were made from tin ceiling panels, and the shelving and bedside tables are made from the floor joists removed from the event space when the floor was poured.
The hotel rooms are available to book independently or as part of an event package. We look forward to welcoming you to Versailles and The Tanglewood.
Downtown Versailles
The courthouse square in downtown Versailles is home to several locally owned businesses in addition to The Tanglewood - a coffee shop, clothing boutique, bookstore, antique store, a speakeasy-style bar, specialty grocery store, and restaurant. Additionally, a park next to town hall boasts an entertainment pavilion with weekend concert events, a splash pad that is open daily during the summer, along with a ride-and-share bike rack, picnic tables, musical instruments, and more. The square is the site of a weekly Saturday morning farmers market during the summer, as well as the famous Versailles Pumpkin Show in September, meaning there's something for everyone within walking distance of The Tanglewood. Learn more about events happening on the square here.
What's in a name?
c. 1830, a man ventured to Ripley County and stopped near a ravine in a tangled wood. The area came to be known as Tanglewood, and the farm community had a church, a schoolhouse, and even stores in the 1800s. The man was Samuel Jackson, my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather, with whom I share a birthday. He settled in the area, and his descendants made it their home. I have lived most of my life in the Tanglewood neighborhood, less than half a mile from that ravine in the tangled wood. The church, of which Samuel was an early member, and cemetery are the only remaining landmarks in the area, with six generations of my family buried there. Tanglewood is home, and The Tanglewood is a tribute to the place that holds my heart.
It was after the name was chosen and all the paperwork filed to register the name that I discovered the building already had a Tanglewood connection as the bricks had been made at a kiln on Tanglewood Road.
Years in the Making...
The process of bringing The Tanglewood to life was a multi-year process; from acquisition, to planning and design, to construction. Take a glimpse behind the scenes...
