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- 🤤 Where Is the Best Tenderloin in Indiana?
🤤 Where Is the Best Tenderloin in Indiana?
Plus - DYK 150K people gathered in Callaway Park for a presidential nominee speech? Read more below!
Austin Sellers & Nate Spangle
March 08, 2026
Elwood
Small Town Breakdown
Elwood, Indiana serves up award-winning tenderloins, glass festival fun, and a presidential history you won't find anywhere else.
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Fast Facts
📍LOCATION: Central Indiana
Elwood is located in northwest Madison County.
State Road 28 (Main Street) leads west to Tipton and east to Alexandria.
State Road 13 (Anderson Street) intersects with SR 28 in the center of town, leading north to Point Isabel.
State Road 37 passes the southeast edge of town, connecting to Marion to the northeast and Noblesville to the southwest.
One hour north of Indianapolis
One hour and 20 minutes south of Fort Wayne
👥 POPULATION & RANKING
8,495 residents (as of 2024)
Ranks as Indiana’s 93rd-largest town/city
Second-largest incorporated town/city in Madison County behind Anderson (55,851)
📏 LAND AREA
3.97 square miles
📅 FOUNDED
Madison County was organized in 1823 and named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States.
Anderson was selected as the county seat.
Elwood was first named Quincy in 1853, and the first post was established in 1855 and named Duck Creek.
In 1869, the town was renamed Elwood because locals learned there was already an Indiana town named Quincy.
The name Elwood came from one of the town founder’s son.
Elwood became incorporated in 1872.
🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Agriculture
Red Gold is a tomato processing products manufacturer.
Ascension St. Vincent Mercy Hospital and ER is a critical care hospital with advanced specialty care services.
History Lessons
Elwood was originally an agricultural community, but it was the natural gas boom in the area in the late 1880s that led to rapid growth.
In 1890, Elwood’s first glass factory MacBeth-Evans brought 365 glass craftsmen from Pittsburgh. Elwood also manufactured the first tinplate in the United States in 1892. But by the early 1900s, natural gas started to dissipate and agriculture again took center stage.
Elwood is recognized as the hometown of Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Republican presidential candidate. On Aug. 17, 1940, his nomination acceptance speech in Elwood drew an estimated 150,000 people to Callaway Park, one of the largest political crowds in American history at the time.
Photo by The Star Press
In 1942, Grover Hutcherson and his daughter Fran purchased and reopened a cannery in Orestes, Indiana, to supply food for World War II troops. Originally named Orestes Canning Company, Inc., the name “Red Gold” was purchased in 1970 from a cannery in Trafalgar, Indiana. Operations for America’s largest privately owned tomato and canned tomato food processor then expanded into Elwood.
Glass Festival
The Elwood Glass Festival has occurred annually since 1971, celebrating the town’s unique hand-blown art-glass produced in town since the gas boom more than 125 years ago. The 55th annual Glass Festival is Aug. 14-16, 2026, and includes a parade, carnival rides, arts and crafts, food vendors, and the Rod Run featuring more than 300 classic and antique cars.
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Callaway Park
Most of the Glass Festival is held in Callaway Park. When the festival isn’t going on, the park hosts summer concerts at the Jim Knoop Amphitheater. It’s also home to walking paths and trails, ball diamonds, a playground and a festive Christmas lights display every winter.
Gatorade Indiana Football Player of the Year
Elwood Community Junior-Senior High School teams are known as the Panthers.
They have never won an IHSAA state title in any sport, but they can claim 2013-14 Gatorade Indiana Football Player of the Year, running back Sammy Mireles, as one of their own.
Photo by The Herald Bulletin
In his four seasons at Elwood from 2010-13, Mireles rushed for an IHSAA record 8,110 yards and became the first player in Indiana history to eclipse 2,000 yards in three different seasons.
His record held for six years until it was later broken by New Palestine’s Charlie Spegal in 2019 (10,867 rushing yards) and the latest record holder, Knox’s Myles McLaughlin in 2025 (11,839).
Today, Mireles’ jersey is retired by the school. His dad, Sammy Sr., also completed his second season as head coach of the varsity football team in fall 2025.
All roads lead to The Tin Plate. Standing as a tribute to the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company, once the world’s largest plating factory founded in the 1890s, the restaurant today is located near the original mill site.
Nate went with its award-winning breaded pork tenderloin, and needless to say, it lived up to the hype. If you aren’t feeling a tenderloin for lunch or dinner, go with the beef manhattan, onion rings or pulled pork sandwich. Tin Plate has 4.4 stars on Google among nearly 1,300 reviews.
For breakfast, you’ve got options. Friendly’s Restaurant on Main Street serves up breakfast, including its popular biscuits and gravy, seven days a week. Lincoln Square Family Restaurant is open seven days a week with a stellar salad bar and all-day breakfast. For a quick coffee, latte, panini, or donut, stop by Call Leader Cafe, open Wednesday through Sunday.
For a delicious dinner, check out Andy’s Diner, where they specialize in steaks, pork chops, tenderloins, hamburgers, and more.
Elwood Entertainment
Elwood Golf Links offers 18 holes of affordable play. The front nine was originally designed by William Diddel and opened in 1924. The back nine was designed in 2005, closed in 2011, and re-opened in 2017.
If traditional golf isn’t your game, maybe disc golf is? The Elwood Disc Golf Course is a highly rated course with 27 challenging holes to play.
Moving to indoor fun, Lucky Strike Elwood has 12 lanes open seven days a week. There is regular bowling, Cosmic bowling, six leagues, and it’s a great spot to host birthday parties, school outings, and fundraisers.