Indiana Landmarks

🛠 Attention, homeowners! Don't miss our selection of heritage trades workshops happening this fall in Logansport, Fort Wayne, and South Bend — an ongoing series designed to equip property owners and contractors with skills to address historic building repair needs.

➡ Oct. 16-17 - Wood Window Restoration 101 & 201, Logansport
➡ Oct. 21 - Wood Window Restoration 101, Fort Wayne
➡ Nov. 4 - House Hazards and RRP 101, South Bend
➡ Nov. 18 - Plaster Repair 101, Fort Wayne

Hosted in partnership with Logansport's Memorial Center, ARCH, Inc., and South Bend TradeWorks.

Learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/heritage-trades-training-workshops-1701479

Indiana Landmarks is pleased to announce André Myers as the next director of our Black Heritage Preservation Program, part of our efforts to identify and preserve places important to Black heritage in Indiana.

Beginning October 19, Myers succeeds Eunice Trotter, who launched the program in 2022 and helped establish it as a statewide resource for identifying, preserving, and supporting Black heritage sites. Trotter will remain with Indiana Landmarks in a consulting role through the end of 2026. The program is also expanding its staff to two full-time positions with the promotion of Divine Holmes, who previously served part time as a historic preservation assistant.

The staffing expansion comes as part of Indiana Landmarks’ ongoing efforts to provide dedicated support, expertise, and resources for Black heritage projects throughout Indiana.

Since its inception, the Black Heritage Preservation Program has provided grants supporting preservation projects at important sites around the state, including Means Manor in Gary, Fox Lake in Angola, Roberts Settlement in Atlanta, Shaffer Chapel AME in Muncie, Good Samaritan Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Lyles Station Museum and Historic Site in Princeton, and the Evansville African American Museum.

In 2022, Lilly Endowment Inc. made a $5 million grant to help Indiana Landmarks establish the Black Heritage Preservation Program. Indiana Landmarks used $4 million of that grant to endow the program in perpetuity. By 2027, Indiana Landmarks will have used the remaining $1 million of the grant to provide direct support to local Black heritage projects throughout the state. The Black Heritage Preservation Program’s endowed fund is enabling its staff to continue the program's work, including providing training and assistance to regional volunteer groups working to research and preserve Black heritage. The endowment also enables staff to continue to offer Black heritage internships and scholarships, which are designed to help identify and encourage the next generation of historians and preservationists.

➡️ Read more: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2026/09/indiana-landmarks-names-new-black-heritage-preservation-program-director/

🏠️ FOR SALE: Ruffing-Atkinson House, 201 E. Franklin Street, Delphi⁠
$350,000⁠
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Step into this beautifully preserved turn-of-the-century home, where character and elegance greet you from the moment you enter the front foyer. Rich woodwork, grand pocket doors, and a gracefully curved staircase set the tone for a residence that blends historic charm and ornate design. This 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home offers spacious and functional layout on the main floor. The second floor features three generously sized bedrooms, each with ample closet space, and a full bathroom. Convenient second-floor laundry adds ease to your daily routine. Upstairs, the third floor expands your living options with a mini-split cooling system and additional square footage—perfect for a fourth bedroom, playroom, or family flex space.⁠
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Looking for an in-law suite or separate guest accommodations? The detached garage offers over 800 square feet of versatile living space, complete with an open-concept kitchen and living area, a full tiled shower, and a spacious loft ideal for sleeping quarters or creative use.⁠
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The property will be sold with Indiana Landmarks’ preservation covenants protecting exterior and select interior architectural features.⁠
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➡️ For more information, contact Joan Abbott, Joan Abbott Real Estate⁠
765-564-9822⁠
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📸: Joan Abbott Real Estate

🍂 Indiana Landmarks' guided tours of the Athenaeum are back for the season in Indianapolis!

Discover Indy's German roots and trace the late nineteenth-century building's evolution from German clubhouse to hub of modern urban life. You'll enjoy unique architectural features throughout the National Historic Landmark, while learning how they reflect the founders’ “sound mind in a sound body” ethos, and hear about the site's connection to the Vonnegut and Lieber families, influential in the city in the early 1900s.

➡ Learn more: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/event/athenaeum-building-tour/

📷: Kelly Harris

In Indianapolis, two manor estates representing the height of early twentieth-century opulence—The Lacy-Berger Mansion (photos 1-3) and Laurel Hall (photo 4)—achieved listing in the National Register this June.

The National Register of Historic Places recognizes properties the federal government considers worthy of preservation because of their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. Having a property distinguished by this listing conveys the honor of national recognition and may make owners eligible for certain tax credits and grants.

➡️ Read more: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2026/08/historic-indianapolis-estates-added-to-national-register/

👏 Congratulations to Indiana Landmarks' 2026 preservation award winners, recently honored for their transformative work in historic preservation at Indiana Landmarks' Annual Meeting.⁠
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🏆️ AP Development LLC won the Cook Cup for Outstanding Restoration for transformation of Crawfordsville's Ben-Hur Building (Photos 1-2)⁠
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🏆️ Save Our Stories, Inc., won the Sandi Servaas Memorial Award for its work to safeguard and raise awareness of Marion’s architecture and heritage, including the local legacy of Samuel Plato, one of Indiana’s first licensed Black architects. (Photos 3-4)⁠
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🏆️ Wabash High School's Pathways to Career and Postsecondary (P-CAP) Class won the Sandi Servaas Memorial Award for its student-led work to envision a new use for the community’s historic Sposeep Building in downtown Wabash. (Photos 5-6)⁠
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🏆️ Marjorie Kienle of Indianapolis won the Williamson Prize for outstanding leadership in historic preservation. (Photos 7-8)⁠
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🏆️ City of Lawrenceburg Redevelopment Commission and Dan McCabe’s Thigmotrope LLC won the Renaissance Award for the transformation of Lawrenceburg's Liberty Theater. (Photos 9-10)

🎼 VISITING VIRTUOSOS AT INDIANA LANDMARKS CENTER
Thursday, September 24, Indianapolis

In partnership with City Chamber Orchestra and Visiting Virtuosos, Indiana Landmarks presents an evening of special music with cellist Arkady Orlovsky and pianist Tamara Orlovsky featuring works by Fauré, Boccherini, and Mozart in Indiana Landmarks Center's acoustically stunning Grand Hall.

The event is the first in a series of Visiting Virtuosos performances at Indiana Landmarks Center designed to celebrate exceptional artistry and serve the community through music, education, and engagement.

➡ Learn more: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/event/visiting-virtuosos-at-indiana-landmarks-center/

📷 : Photos of Indiana Landmarks Center by Susan Fleck Photography and Mark Dickhaus

⚠️ 10 Days of — sites in imminent jeopardy on Indiana Landmarks' 10 Most Endangered List in 2026. Day 10: Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation in Charlestown

For nearly a century, Tunnel Mill Scout Reservation in Charlestown has provided generations of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts opportunities for camping, hiking, fishing, leadership development, and outdoor education. The 142-acre property, owned by the Lincoln Heritage Council, faces an uncertain future after the council announced plans to sell the camp, citing declining attendance and rising maintenance costs.

Tunnel Mill’s history dates to 1804, when John Work purchased 100 acres along Fourteen Mile Creek. Around 1811, he built his home and later established a grist mill nearby. To increase water flow necessary to power the operation, Work blasted a tunnel through a nearby limestone bluff and constructed a dam. Today, the Work House, tunnel, mill remnants, and family cemetery remain as reminders of the site’s history.

Following a fire that destroyed the mill, the property became a Boy Scout camp in 1928. The camp retains a collection of historic buildings constructed from the 1930s to 1950s, including rustic log cabins built in 1933 inspired by the vision of local scout leader H.A. Meyer, who proposed a “Pioneer Village” as the camp’s centerpiece.

Concerned that potential residential development could erase the site’s history, Friends of Tunnel Mill Scouting Heritage Society launched a fundraising effort to acquire the camp, but the Lincoln Heritage Council turned down their initial purchase offer. The friends group continues to raise money in hopes of acquiring the site, aiming to preserve and share its story while broadening the camp’s availability for all youth, as well as making it available for public events and venue rentals. It’s an ambitious financial and operational undertaking for the nonprofit, all-volunteer group, but one that supporters believe is essential to ensuring Tunnel Mill’s legacy endures.

➡️ Visit our website to see all the 10 Most Endangered: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/10-most-endangered/

📸: Evan Hale⁠
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⚠️ 10 Days of — sites in imminent jeopardy on Indiana Landmarks' 10 Most Endangered List in 2026. Day 9: Shirk-Edwards House in Peru

The Shirk-Edwards House is distinguished by its grand architecture and its connection to Marie Stuart Edwards, a nationally recognized leader in the women’s suffrage movement. Today however, the property’s legacy is increasingly threatened by deterioration, including peeling paint, a leaking roof, and a porch perilously close to collapse.

Real estate investor and banking magnate Elbert Hamilton Shirk added onto an earlier structure to create the Italianate residence c.1862, but its association with later owners Richard Elbert Edwards and Marie Stuart Edwards represents an equally important chapter in the house’s history. In 1921, the Edwards hired Indianapolis architect Merritt Harrison to give the house a Neoclassical makeover, including a new stucco exterior. Marie Stuart Edwards lived in the house from 1914 to 1970, using it as a base for her advocacy on women’s rights, civic engagement, and social reform. As a leader of Indiana’s Women’s Franchise League, she also played a key role in the formation of the National League of Women Voters.

Today, an absentee out-of-state owner holds the vacant property and has yet to take action to address the house’s growing list of code violations or the City’s direct requests for repairs. Meanwhile, the Shirk-Edwards House is at a critical turning point, in need of urgent investment to preserve its architectural and cultural legacy.

➡️ Visit our website to see all the 10 Most Endangered: https://www.indianalandmarks.org/10-most-endangered/

📸: Evan Hale