Cambridge City

Small Town Breakdown

Cambridge City, Indiana is a small town with rich history, charming antique shops, and some of the best locally owned restaurants and bakeries along U.S. 40.

Fast Facts

📍LOCATION: East Central Indiana

• Cambridge City is located in western Wayne County.

• U.S. 40 (also known as the historic National Road) runs east-west through town, also serving as Main Street. It leads west to Lewisville and east to Centerville.

• Indiana State Road 1 runs north-south on the east side of town, leading north to I-70 and Hagerstown and south to Milton.

• I-70 runs parallel to U.S. 40 just a few miles north of town.

• 1 hour east of Indianapolis

• 20 minutes north of Connersville

• 20 minutes west of Richmond

👥 POPULATION & RANKING

• 1,736 residents (as of 2024)

• Ranks as Indiana’s 252nd-largest city

• Third-largest incorporated town/city in Wayne County behind Richmond (35,561) and Centerville (2,769)

📏 LAND AREA

• 1.02 square miles

📅 FOUNDED

• Wayne County was founded in 1811.

• It was named after Revolutionary War General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, who was mainly remembered for his service in the 1790s in the Northwest Indian War.

• Cambridge City was platted in 1836.

• It was named after Cambridge, England.

• Its location along the Whitewater Canal and National Road made it an early hub for trade from Cincinnati, manufacturing, and connecting travelers and traders across the Midwest in the 1800s.

🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Tourism

• Dot Foods is North America’s largest food industry redistributor, specializing in delivering LTL orders to its distributor customers in 2-4 days.

• Taconic Biosciences provides customers with endless possibilities for drug discovery and advancements in human health through animal model solutions that drive critical research from idea to cure.

• Healthcare providers in the area include medical clinics Cambridge City Family Health Partners and Julian Healthcare, plus general practitioner Reid Primary & Specialty Care.

• Cambridge City is full of antique stores, detailed below the map.

Antique Alley

Downtown Cambridge City is known statewide as a hotspot for antique lovers, and it’s the heart of “Antique Alley” running from Knightstown to Richmond. The town boasts multiple antique shops within walking distance of each other, including Building 125 Antiques, National Road Antique Mall, and Vinton House Antiques, the last of which resides in a former hotel that was established in 1847. Each store is filled with unique finds from vintage furniture to old signage and memorabilia, making the perfect weekend treasure hunt.

Canal Days

Cambridge City’s Canal Days Festival is a celebration of the town’s canal heritage with food, crafts, carnival games, a famous duck race, and evening concerts. 2025 marked the 55th Canal Days, held annually on Labor Day weekend.

Golay Community Center

The Golay Community Center is a nonprofit that was presented to western Wayne County in fall 1981. It has a pool, weight room, cardio room, basketball court, and gym, and offers aerobics classes. Day passes are available for youth 18 and under ($5) and adults 19 and older ($7).

Cambridge City Cuisine

Start your day at Lumpy’s Cafe, the go-to spot in town for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Everything is affordably priced, with favorites being biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls, and tenderloin sandwiches.

Legato Coffeehouse and Market serves up morning brews and baked-from-scratch goods. It opened in March 2025 and is already building a strong reputation with over 1,100 Facebook followers.

If you’re looking for a classic small-town drive-in with window service, Hilltop Drive-In offers burgers, tenderloin sandwiches, ice cream cones, milkshakes, and onion rings locals love. It has 4.6 stars on 640 Google reviews.

No. 9 Grill is a must-visit for lunch, dinner, and dessert lovers, and it’s open seven days a week. It’s known for its breaded tenderloin sandwiches, premium cut steaks, Rihm’s smoked pork chops, and Cajun shrimp pasta, plus desserts like New York cheesecake and fresh strawberry cake.

For lunch or dinner with a view of water and Indiana wildlife, head to Lakeview Restaurant and sit on the patio while enjoying live music on select nights. Guests can’t get enough of its tenderloin sandwiches, beef Manhattan, and peanut butter pie.

For the late-night crowd, Chug-A-Lug Pub is filled with auto racing murals of Cambridge City native and driver Larry “Crash” Crockett, who finished ninth and earned Rookie of the Year honors in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1954. Tragically, he died in a sprint car racing accident at Langhorne (PA) Speedway in spring 1955.

Cambridge Clicks

• Cambridge City is part of the Western Wayne School District, and is home of the Lincoln Middle/High School Golden Eagles. They do not have any IHSAA state championships in school history, but softball has been Lincoln’s most successful sports program, winning eight sectional titles and a regional title in 2019.

• Dance Dynamics is a dance studio that offers dance classes for all ages.

• Winding Branch Golf Course is an 18-hole course just southeast of town. New ownership took over in 2021, and the course and clubhouse have improved with renovations.

• Creitz Park is home to walking paths, a picnic shelter, disc golf course that was added to the park in fall 2021, and a brand-new playground introduced in spring 2025.

• History buffs will enjoy the Huddleston Farmstead, which sells native plants and is home to a restored 1840s brick farmhouse that served as an inn for travelers along the National Road.

If you find yourself traveling on U.S. 40, stop at the many antique shops in Cambridge City. You’ll gain an appreciation for small towns that hold some of Indiana’s greatest treasures.

Check out Nate’s breakdown of Cambridge City ⬇️