Indiana Historical Society awards Heritage Support Grants
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The Indiana Historical Society is awarding more than $450,000 to local historical societies and organizations representing 13 counties in Indiana. The IHS says the Heritage Support Grants serve local, county and regional historical societies, museums and sites by funding projects that meet high-priority needs in collections stewardship, DEI, sustainability and planning.
The IHS says the program, which was launched in 2015, recognizes the critical role the organizations play in upholding the state’s heritage. The current iteration of the program will award $2.5 million through 2024.
The recipients are listed below:
Daviess County Historical Society, Daviess County – $50,000 to help fund the final phase of the renovation of the museum’s ground floor to use as collections and museum programming space. The renovation will allow the historical society to provide programming in a more accessible space and have an area to evaluate and process collections items.
Friends of T.C. Steele, Brown County – $12,000 to fund Phase I of a virtual experience-based historic trail of sites related to the life of Hoosier artist T.C. Steele. The app will provide access to a variety of individuals and educational institutions.
Goshen Historical Society, Elkhart County – $35,840 to replace deteriorating and damaged windows on the existing storefront and to retrofit the front door with an automatic door opener. The work will allow the museum to better protect its exhibits and provide improved accessible entry to the museum.
Greentown Historical Society, Howard County – $50,000 to make structural repairs to damaged walls. The project will stabilize the structure, prepare the building for future work and improve the collections environment.
Historical Society of Ogden Dunes, Porter County – $50,000 to install a vertical platform lift. The lift will allow the organization to better serve visitors by increasing accessibility to museum spaces.
Hoosier Heartland Trolley Co., Howard County – $40,000 to electrify Interurban Rail Car No. 429, enabling the car to move and stop under its own power, marking the first time an Indiana interurban rail car has done so within the state of Indiana in more than 80 years.
Irvington Historical Society, Marion County – $26,881 to make preservation upgrades to the Bona Thompson Center. The grant will fund UV protection on multiple museum windows, improving protection and better preserving collections objects.
Jackson County History Center, Jackson County – $40,750 for work on the 1890 Ball Museum, including interior and exterior brick walls and completing the final phase of building repair and restoration.
Jane Ross Reeves Octagon House Foundation Inc., Hancock County – $5,860 to fund the installation of a handicap ramp and handrail, improving access to the building to serve wider audiences.
LaGrange County Historical Society, LaGrange County – $30,000 to restore and re-install a stained-glass window, which will replace a temporary window covering and provide a more secure building envelope.
Marshall County Historical Society, Marshall County – $50,000 to renovate existing exhibits, working with the Citizen Potawatomi Cultural Heritage Center to expand content and present a fuller picture of Native American life in Indiana.
Monon Civic Preservation Society, White County – $17,340 to microfilm early editions of the Monon News and to purchase a microfilm reader. The project will preserve the newspaper content and allow the organization to prepare them for digitization.
North Manchester Historical Society, Wabash County – $10,000 to fund an accessibility study of and make changes to the current museum restrooms. The project will provide better facilities for museum staff and visitors, as well as help the museum plan for future accessibility projects.
Union Literary Institute Preservation Society, Randolph County – $50,000 to fund the first phase of the foundation replacement for the 1860 building. The project will help stabilize the building and prepare it for further work with the goal of creating public programming as well as exhibit and archive spaces.
You can connect to guidelines and applications by clicking here.