CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. — John Zapp drives three hours once a month to sniff out good deals in the eight antique stores on Main Street in Cambridge City, Ind.

“There’s always good stuff here ... It’s worth the three-hour haul,” said Zapp, a Madison, Ind., antiques collector and dealer.

Zapp was traveling with antiques dealer Randy Riedel, who was carrying two armfuls of merchandise from the Vinton House, 20 W. Main St., newly acquired in May by Dan and Tami Hall.

“Dan is tops. He’s a very good finder (of unique items) and has a good name because of the way he treats customers,” Riedel said.

An example of a good “find” sits on the first floor of the two-story shop. An eight-foot wooden work table once sat inside a barn, broken and covered in debris. Tami Hall said Dan cleaned it up and fixed the sagging in the center.

Their store specializes in Early American and hosts various dealers, who deftly combine new with old: reproduction pillows sitting on vintage beds and scented candles lining Early American shelves.

Store owners in Cambridge City, 60 miles east of Indianapolis, Ind. on U.S. 40, said they are becoming a destination for antiques dealers, as well as collectors. “Cambridge City has grown tremendously in the past five to ten years because of the antique market,” said Mary Thalls, co-owner of The Log House Antiques & Art, which opened 18 months ago.

“We have a good group of owners and dealers here. We work together,” Thalls said.

The Log House and Vinton House are two of seven stores that have come together to represent Cambridge City Main Street antiques at the AntiqueWeek Antique Show in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 20-22. The antiques exhibit is part of the Indianapolis Home Show.

“We hope to introduce people to antiques and how functional they are. A chest can be a flatscreen TV stand; a pie safe can be an armoire in a bedroom,” Thalls said.

The message has gotten out if the number of red “sold” tags on furnishings in various shops is an indication.

“We’re selling a lot of big stuff now. It kind of goes in spurts,” Hall said.

Thalls said her shop’s success in the midst of a sluggish economy is due to the steady value of antiques.

“We’ve had rapid turnover (of merchandise) … We’ve done well considering the economy. Antiques hold their value. People say they’d rather spend money on real wood and good quality,” Thalls said.

Surrounded by rough-hewn wood walls and rafters, primitives such as an early pewter cupboard and mustard tin pie safe are right at home at The Log House, an 1830s log cabin, formerly one of the first inns in the area.

The cabin was taken apart and moved three miles to downtown Main Street and restored, complete with a working fireplace and a spiral staircase that leads to a second floor. Across the street, sturdy wooden tables are full with lunchtime visitors at the Pour House Antiques & Sweets, 109 W. Main St., where fresh fudge and gourmet coffees are served up amidst antique furnishings and candles for sale.

“We have so many nice shops, (our town) is becoming the place to go,” Hall said.

The other shops that are bringing mercantile samples to the AntiqueWeek Antique Show include Building 125, Doublehead Trading Co., Hole in the Wall Antiques and National Road Antique Mall.