Long-standing farming families honored with the Hoosier Homestead Award

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Last Updated on March 22, 2024 by Indiana State Department of Agriculture

INDIANAPOLIS — At the Indiana Statehouse Friday, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Don Lamb presented 59 farming families with a Hoosier Homestead Award in recognition of their commitment to Indiana agriculture.

“These long-standing Hoosier farming families are the backbone of our state’s rich agricultural history,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “They have dedicated their lives to supporting our strong agricultural economy, and it was a pleasure to honor them today.”

To be named a Hoosier Homestead, farms must be owned by the same family for more than 100 consecutive years and consist of more than 20 acres. If less than 20 acres, the farm must produce more than $1,000 of agricultural products per year. Indiana farms may qualify for three honors: Centennial Award for 100 years of ownership, Sesquicentennial Award for 150 years of ownership and the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of ownership.

Since the program’s inception in 1976, over 6,100 families have received the Hoosier Homestead Award. Many past awardees can be identified by the sign proudly displayed in front of the family farm or field.

“The Indiana statehouse is a historic venue for hosting this historic ceremony,” said Lamb. “Honoring over 50 farming families today was an unique look into Indiana’s rich past, especially when celebrating two bicentennial awards. Thinking of how much agriculture, and our whole world, has changed in the last 200 years was an incredible thought and we are so thankful to these farming families for remaining committed to agriculture production.” 

During the ceremonies, two Indiana farms received the Bicentennial Award for 200 years of continuous ownership: the Dorton family from Harrison county and the Coleman family from Parke county. 

Below is a list of the Hoosier Homestead Award recipients honored during the spring 2024 ceremony:

CountyAward NameAward YearAward Type
AdamsGirod1865Sesquicentennial
AllenKruse1872Centennial & Sesquicentennial
BartholomewDavid & Brenda Simmons1850Centennial & Sesquicentennial
BlackfordTwibell1870Sesquicentennial
CassIde1874Sesquicentennial
ClarkTrainor1920Centennial
DaviessFerguson1852Centennial & Sesquicentennial
DaviessFlinn1893Centennial
DaviessKavanaugh1894Centennial
DearbornAndrews-Probst1916Centennial
DearbornGaynor1924Centennial
DelawareFelton1881Centennial
DuboisFeldmeyer – Holtzman1848Sesquicentennial
ElkhartZollinger1899Centennial
FloydLeonard C. Lemmel1918Centennial
FranklinElmer & May Brack1919Centennial
FranklinWerner1923Centennial
FultonShewman1905Centennial
GibsonSpindler1924Centennial
GrantDearduff1870Sesquicentennial
HancockTroy1921Centennial
HancockGundrum-Long1906Centennial
HarrisonDorton1824Bicentennial
HuntingtonKennedy1919Centennial
HuntingtonBone-Ulrich-McPherson1912Centennial
JacksonCummings1924Centennial
JacksonDurham1919Centennial
JacksonKoop/Otte/Rieker1867Centennial & Sesquicentennial
JacksonSpeaker/Otte/Rieker1886Centennial
JacksonTatlock Farms1888Centennial
KnoxMarchino1865Sesquicentennial
LakeMerritt G. Bailey1882Centennial
LaPorteSpence1868Centennial & Sesquicentennial
MadisonMoore-Rydman1890Centennial
MadisonDrake1920Centennial
MadisonMcClintick-McClintock1898Centennial
MiamiPeter/Fisher/John H. Balsbaugh/Raymond E. Musselman1837Centennial & Sesquicentennial
MiamiPeter/Fisher/John H. Balsbaugh/Raymond E. Musselman1873Centennial & Sesquicentennial
MontgomeryRichard S. & Sandra K. Clouser1848Sesquicentennial
MontgomeryGentry1918Centennial
MorganRhea1920Centennial
OrangeMcDonald1922Centennial
OrangeMcDonald1887Centennial
OwenStahl-Williams1902Centennial
ParkeColeman1824Bicentennial
PerryHagerdon1919Centennial
PikeWhitehead1869Centennial & Sesquicentennial
RipleyAmy & Edward Rodriguez1852Sesquicentennial
RushHalterman/Wallace/Mull1883Centennial
SpencerHildenbrand1923Centennial
St. JosephBerger1907Centennial
St. JosephBesinger1873Sesquicentennial
St. JosephBesinger1873Sesquicentennial
TippecanoeCharles Dill1896Centennial
TippecanoeStan Thayer1850Centennial & Sesquicentennial
TippecanoeCharles & Theresa Shelby1835Centennial & Sesquicentennial
VanderburghHerman Wortman1866Centennial & Sesquicentennial
WellsTed B. & Valerie N. Markley1874Sesquicentennial
WhitleyKeiser-Fenker1923Centennial

To view photos from the Spring 2024 Hoosier Homestead Award Ceremony at the Indiana Statehouse, click here. All family photos will be available online by March 27, 2024. 

The 2024 Summer Hoosier Homestead Award Ceremony will take place on Aug. 14, 2024 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. 

SOURCE: News release from Indiana State Department of Agriculture

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