INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Indiana Landmarks distributed $176,250 to nonprofit organizations in fiscal year 2019 to help preserve meaningful places across the state. Drawing from a variety of funds, the grants support projects ranging from structural analysis for endangered places to a documentary about the West Baden Colored Church and an effort to place a rural farmhouse on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Not only do these grants help with material costs associated with saving places important to communities, but they also often spark community action and inspire other giving,” said Marsh Davis, President of Indiana Landmarks, the country’s largest statewide nonprofit preservation organization. “In that way, they deliver a return that reaches well beyond a specific project and well beyond a dollar amount.”

Efroymson Family Endangered Places grants can be used for architectural and structural assessments, rehab cost analysis, and reuse studies.

• The Cornerstone Society, Madison: $3,500 for a structural analysis of a fire-damaged 1844 house on West Street
• Develop New Albany: $2,000 to hire a consultant to recommend revitalization strategies along the city’s historic Vincennes Street corridor
• Fairfield Friends Meeting, Camby: $2,500 for reuse study of an 1892 meetinghouse and an 1871 school nearby, both currently vacant
• First Presbyterian Church, Brazil: $2,500 for a rehabilitation study for the 1924 church
• Glenn H. Leopold Fund for Hazelden, Brook: $2,500 for rehabilitation plan for Hazelden, the 1902 estate built for playwright and humorist George Ade
• Heritage Preservation Society, Putnam County: $2,500 for a rehabilitation assessment for the circa 1885 O’Hair House owned by DePauw University in Greencastle
• Masonic Temple Corporation, Connersville: $3,500 for a reuse study of the 1831 Elmhurst Mansion
• Main Street Greensburg: $3,500 for a reuse study of the 1885 St. Mary’s Catholic Church and 1917 school
• Montgomery Township, Jennings County: $2,000 for a reuse study of the 1953 Paris Crossing Gym
• Miller Historical Society, Gary: $2,500 for a rehabilitation plan for the 1911 Miller Town Hall
• Next Step Foundation, Terre Haute: $2,500 for a structural analysis and rehabilitation study for the 1894 Washington Avenue Presbyterian Church
• Osborn Prairie Christian Church, Veedersburg: $2,400 for a structural assessment for the 1892 church
• Promoting Wildcat Valley, Carroll County: $1,600 for a rehabilitation plan for the 1848 American House Hotel in Burlington
• Town of Lewisville: $2,500 for rehabilitation plan of the circa 1835 Houston Block on the Historic National Road
• Veedersburg Revitalization Association, Inc.: $2,500 for a rehabilitation plan for adaptive reuse of the 1903 Cloverleaf Depot
• Wabash Valley Trust for Historic Preservation, West Lafayette: $3,500 for rehabilitation assessments of the library and administration building, both built in 1896 at the Indiana Veterans’ Home
• Whitley County Economic Development, Columbia City: $2,500 for rehabilitation plan of a circa 1900 commercial building in downtown Columbia City

Indiana Landmarks’ Sacred Places program helps active congregations fundraise and harness their houses of worship for outreach and growth. As part of the program, 10 churches received grants for architectural studies, repairs, and rehabilitation in 2019.

• Allen Chapel AME, Indianapolis: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1927 church
• Brazil United Methodist Church: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1900 church
• First Christian Church, Columbus: $5,000 for repairs to the tower skylight at the 1942 church
• First Presbyterian Church, Mishawaka: $3,750 for steeple repair at the 1888 church
• God’s House Ministries, Marion: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1904 church
• God’s House Ministries, Marion: $25,000 for repairs to stone-faced chimney and parapet wall
• Grace Episcopal Church, Muncie: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1867 church
• North Christian Church, Columbus: $25,000 for HVAC restoration at the 1964 church
• Trinity United Methodist Church, Madison: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1873 church
• Unity Church, Indianapolis: $5,000 for an architectural planning study for the 1955/1963 church
• Wabash Presbyterian Church: $5,000 for a fundraising feasibility study for the 1880 church
• Wabash Presbyterian Church: $25,000 as a lead gift in the church’s $750,000 capital campaign

• Southeastern District Association, Inc., New Albany: $2,500 to produce a documentary about the origin, growth, decline, and preservation of First Baptist Church, also known as West Baden Colored Church, as well as accompanying print materials for teachers
• Micajah Walden Farmhouse, Atlanta: $500 to assist nominating the circa 1850 double pen house to the National Register of Historic Places. The home was built by one of the founders of Roberts Settlement, a rural African American Community

Indiana Landmarks and the Central Indiana Community Foundation jointly manage a fund created by contributions from each organization and private donors to award grants to preserve Marion County landmarks.

• Harrison Center for the Arts, Indianapolis: $5,000 to help with predevelopment costs in rehabilitating the former Polk Stables, the last remaining structure associated with the Polk Sanitary Milk Company Sunlight plant
• Columbia Club Foundation, Indianapolis: $5,000 to replace the existing front doors with period-appropriate doors at the 1925 Columbia Club