Last Updated on August 17, 2023 by State Senator Stacey Donato and State Representative Ethan Manning
STATEHOUSE –The Steinberger Frushour Kruck Farm in Cass County recently received a Hoosier Homestead Centennial Award for being in operation since 1909, according to State Rep. Ethan Manning (R-Logansport) and State Sen. Stacey Donato (R-Logansport).
“As a farmer myself, I know that agriculture plays a critical role in Indiana’s heritage and economy, and family-owned farms are essential to sustaining our growth,” Manning said. “Congratulations to the Steinberger-Frushour-Kruck family and thank you for your commitment to this important industry.”
“I always look forward to seeing family farms in our community get the recognition they deserve for their years of dedicated service in the agricultural industry,” Donato said. “Owning a farm is a great commitment requiring constant hard work to keep things running, and I commend the Steinberger Frushour Kruck Farm for continuing this work for more than a century.”
Farms owned and maintained by the same family for 100, 150 and 200 years can qualify for centennial, sesquicentennial or bicentennial Hoosier Homestead awards.
The farm family was among 100 awardees recently recognized at the Indiana State Fair for their commitment to agriculture.
Hoosier Homestead award ceremonies are conducted yearly in the spring and summer to commemorate farm families for their legacies and contributions to Indiana’s agriculture industry. Since the program started in 1976, the state has honored more than 6,000 farms with this designation.
For more information on the Hoosier Homestead Award Program and to nominate a farm, visit in.gov/isda. Nominations for the March 2024 ceremony are due by Nov. 1.
SOURCE: News release from Indiana General Assembly – State Senator Stacey Donato and State Representative Ethan Manning
103 historic farm families presented Hoosier Homestead
Recognized for their families’ longstanding commitment to agriculture, 103 Indiana family farms were presented the Hoosier Homestead Award at the Indiana State Fair from Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Don Lamb.
“The Hoosier Homestead ceremony is always a highlight of the Indiana State Fair for me,” said Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Celebrating these longstanding farming families and their ancestors for their work and commitment to our state and Indiana agriculture is a true honor.”
To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years, and consist of 20 acres or more, or produce more than $1,000 in agricultural products per year.
Based on the age of the farm, families are eligible for three different distinctions of the Hoosier Homestead Award. They can receive the Centennial Award for 100 years, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years or Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.
“Keeping a farm operational for 100 years or more is no simple task,” Lamb said. “Each passing generation has certainly had to adapt and evolve their farming practices and techniques to ensure their farms continued success.”
Since the program’s inception in 1976, over 6,100 families have received the award. Often, a Hoosier Homestead farm is easily recognized because most recipients proudly display their awarded sign on their property.
During the ceremonies, three Indiana farms received the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of continuous ownership: the Craig / Day family from Lawrence County, the Harry Goss Dow & Bessie M. Dow family from Morgan County and the Wise/Hobbs family from Madison County.
The following list includes the August 2023 Hoosier Homestead Award recipients.
| County | Award Name | Award Year | Award Type |
| Adams | Kenneth Schueler | 1917 | Centennial |
| Bartholomew | Johnson-Bey | 1900 | Centennial |
| Carroll | McCain | 1858 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Cass | Steinberger Frushour Kruck | 1909 | Centennial |
| Clay | Fogel | 1879 | Centennial |
| Clay | Lyon | 1866 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Clay | Hofmann (Jeffers Barn) | 1867 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Clay | Hofmann (Jeffers House) | 1867 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Clay | Forest A. and Dorothy M. Keiser | 1879 | Centennial |
| Clinton | F.W. Clark Farm, LLC | 1834 | Sesquicentennial |
| Daviess | Dove | 1888 | Centennial |
| Daviess | Graham | 1841 | Sesquicentennial |
| Daviess | Paul J. & Mary J. Ryan | 1861 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Dearborn | Graf-Lingg | 1847 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Dearborn | Lutz | 1923 | Centennial |
| Dearborn | Stone | 1908 | Centennial |
| Decatur | Henry Cooper | 1923 | Centennial |
| Delaware | Maitlen | 1837 | Sesquicentennial |
| Dubois | Ring | 1857 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Dubois | Lange / Wendholt | 1922 | Centennial |
| Dubois | Mann | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Dubois | Jochem | 1847 | Sesquicentennial |
| Elkhart | Blue-Moser-Pergrem-Geiger | 1847 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Fayette | Vaughn | 1890 | Centennial |
| Fountain | Basinger | 1918 | Centennial |
| Franklin | Miles | 1905 | Centennial |
| Franklin | Thompson | 1854 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Franklin | Bulmer | 1916 | Centennial |
| Franklin | Meier-Bachus | 1889 | Centennial |
| Greene | Ball | 1845 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Hamilton | Hancock | 1904 | Centennial |
| Hamilton | O’Bryhim | 1835 | Sesquicentennial |
| Hancock | Snodgrass | 1864 | Sesquicentennial |
| Harrison | Glenn and Robert Franks | 1923 | Centennial |
| Harrison | Schoen / Cunningham | 1919 | Centennial |
| Harrison | Yeager | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Hendricks | Walton | 1918 | Centennial |
| Henry | Reddington | 1902 | Centennial |
| Henry | Hernly | 1844 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Huntington | Schoeff | 1910 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Thomas L. & Ruth A. Hackman | 1910 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Hazard Homeplace | 1886 | Centennial |
| Jackson | Hazard Homeplace West | 1886 | Centennial |
| Johnson | Wild-Henry | 1896 | Centennial |
| Kosciusko | Kolberg | 1899 | Centennial |
| Kosciusko | Jacob Bucher | 1923 | Centennial |
| LaGrange | Wisler | 1872 | Sesquicentennial |
| LaPorte | Kovas | 1920 | Centennial |
| LaPorte | Mrozinski | 1881 | Centennial |
| LaPorte | Fischer | 1923 | Centennial |
| Lawrence | Craig / Day | 1823 | Bicentennial |
| Lawrence | Stipp | 1923 | Centennial |
| Lawrence | Beal | 1923 | Centennial |
| Madison | Wise / Hobbs | 1823 | Sesquicentennial & Bicentennial |
| Madison | McClintick, Carpenter, Bracken | 1916 | Centennial |
| Madison | Ned A. Craig | 1923 | Centennial |
| Madison | Jarman | 1918 | Centennial |
| Montgomery | Coltrain/McNabb | 1840 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Montgomery | McBee | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Morgan | Harry Goss Dow & Bessie M. Dow | 1823 | Bicentennial |
| Morgan | Fulford, Jackson, Neal | 1900 | Centennial |
| Morgan | Parker | 1919 | Centennial |
| Morgan | Joanne’s Family Farm | 1865 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Morgan | Hodges | 1894 | Centennial |
| Morgan | Hodges | 1912 | Centennial |
| Parke | Coleman | 1824 | Sesquicentennial |
| Pulaski | McKinney | 1918 | Centennial |
| Pulaski | Knarr | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Putnam | Rissler | 1829 | Sesquicentennial |
| Putnam | Hubert L. McGaughey | 1916 | Centennial |
| Randolph | Edwards | 1887 | Centennial |
| Ripley | Ahrens | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Ripley | Bergman/Engle | 1923 | Centennial |
| Ripley | McNeelan | 1863 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Rush | Richardson | 1922 | Centennial |
| Shelby | Boring | 1852 | Sesquicentennial |
| Shelby | King | 1917 | Centennial |
| Shelby | Peter J. Lux | 1916 | Centennial |
| Shelby | John Lux | 1880 | Centennial |
| Shelby | Clark – Lux | 1879 | Centennial |
| Shelby | M & N Suits Farms | 1923 | Centennial |
| St. Joseph | Reed | 1853 | Sesquicentennial |
| Starke | Stark | 1916 | Centennial |
| Starke | Marks | 1911 | Centennial |
| Sullivan | Ballentine | 1839 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Sullivan | Ballentine | 1889 | Centennial |
| Tipton | Off | 1864 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Tipton | Smith-Fettig | 1837 | Centennial |
| Tipton | Darrow-Fettig | 1840 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Wabash | Descendants of Edward & Ethel (Cripe) Rautenkranz | 1920 | Centennial |
| Warrick | Kohlmeyer | 1923 | Centennial |
| Warrick | Philip & Debbie (Rauth) Springstun | 1871 | Sesquicentennial |
| Warrick | Ingram | 1848 | Centennial & Sesquicentennial |
| Washington | Temple | 1889 | Centennial |
| Wayne | Kinsinger Farms Inc. | 1923 | Centennial |
| Wayne | Myers | 1920 | Centennial |
| Wells | Augustus Reynolds | 1902 | Centennial |
| Wells | Captain | 1900 | Centennial |
| Wells | Graham | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Wells | Meyer | 1910 | Centennial |
| White | Habben | 1881 | Centennial |
| White | Jacob Booher – Philip Booher | 1873 | Sesquicentennial |
| Whitley | Michael D. & Cathy A. Schrader | 1872 | Sesquicentennial |
For more information about the Hoosier Homestead Award program, please visit isda.in.gov. Photos from the ceremony are available here.
SOURCE: News release from Indiana Department of Agriculture