Statewide Preservation Efforts Receive a Boost
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNearly a dozen projects throughout the state will share in more than $360,000 in historical preservation grants. The funds will support efforts including rehabilitation of the Indiana Medical History Museum exterior, repairs to the Muncie Masonic Temple building and refurbishing stained glass in the Daviess County Courthouse. June 3, 2015
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Annual grants to strengthen and preserve Indiana’s history have been awarded for 11 projects.
The grants total $363,341 in federal funds allotted by the DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology. They will be matched by $465,456 in local and private funds, for a total investment of $828,797.
The funds come from the National Park Service, a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which distributes federal funds to the states through the Historic Preservation Fund Program.
Since 1974, the state has awarded more than $18 million to Indiana communities through the program.
Projects are listed below.
Benton County: Ball State University’s anthropology department received a $49,929 grant to conduct an archaeological survey on 900 acres in Benton County. Three identified sites, including historic house sites listed on General Land Office maps, are targeted for additional study to determine their integrity and cultural significance.
Fishers: Conner Prairie received a $37,460 grant to repair and restore interior features of the 1823 Conner House at the Conner Prairie Museum. The house is used to interpret the residency of William Conner, a wealthy man in early Indiana history. Water infiltration and decades of public tours have damaged the walls, plaster, woodwork, wallpaper, interior finishes and the stair handrail.
Floyd County: The University of Indianapolis received a $50,000 grant to survey approximately 1,000 acres with high vulnerability for urban development or erosion. This includes areas in or along the Ohio River floodplain or areas that are under development pressure. The university also will survey on public or county park land to offer the public an opportunity to get involved.
Fort Wayne: The City of Fort Wayne received a $3,873 grant to produce brochures for the West End Neighborhood and The Landing historic districts in Fort Wayne. West End was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Landing was listed in the National Register in 1993. It’s next to the route of the Wabash & Erie Canal and derives its name from a docking and maneuvering bay on the canal. It is the largest concentration of early commercial buildings with high integrity in Fort Wayne.
Georgetown: The Town of Georgetown received a $10,000 grant for repairs and restoration to Georgetown State Bank, which was built in 1909. In 1981 the town purchased it for a town hall, and it served that purpose until 2009.
Indianapolis: The Indiana Medical History Museum received a $50,000 grant to rehabilitate the exterior of the Old Pathology Building at the Central State Hospital complex, which now houses the Indiana Medical History Museum. Built in 1896, it was a state of the art medical research and teaching facility until 1968. The building has been suffering from extended years of water infiltration problems.
Monrovia: The Hall Civic Association received a $10,150 grant for masonry repairs on the Hall School. The schoolhouse was built in 1911, with additions in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. The grant project is limited to the 1911 portion. The school was decommissioned in 2005, and in 2010 the building was transferred to the Hall Civic Association, which seeks to rehabilitate it for community purposes.
Muncie: The City of Muncie received a $50,000 grant to assist with rehabilitation of the Muncie Masonic Temple, now the Cornerstone Center for the Arts. The building is a six-story Collegiate Gothic style. When built in 1920, it was the largest Masonic Lodge in Indiana. The grant project will assist with exterior masonry repair, roof repair, and window-and-door repair and rehabilitation.
Newton County: Ball State University’s anthropology department received a $49,929 grant to conduct an archaeological survey of 800 acres in Newton County.
Shoals: The Town of Shoals received $2,000 to help prepare a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for the Shoals Historic District. This district includes the commercial core of the community and a surrounding residential area. There are approximately 63 historic resources, including the 1857 Star Mill and the 1965 Post Office/Federal Building.
Washington: The Daviess County Commissioners received a $50,000 grant to stabilize and rehabilitate the stained glass skylight in the Daviess County Courthouse. The current courthouse was built in 1928 in the neoclassical revival style.