Indiana Historical Society awards more than $700,000 in Heritage Support Grants to local historical organizations

Last Updated on October 15, 2025 by Cass County Communication Network

Funding supports 20 local history organizations across 16 Indiana counties through Project and Impact Grants

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) has announced the recipients of its latest round of Heritage Support Grants, awarding more than $724,000 to 20 historical organizations across Indiana.

The Heritage Support Grants program, provided by the Indiana Historical Society and made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc., offers critical funding to local, county and regional historical societies, museums and sites. These grants support projects that address high-priority needs in collections stewardship, capacity building, sustainability and planning.

Heritage Support Grants – Project Grant, Cycle A
In Project Grant Cycle A, the Heritage Support Grant program awarded $524,840 to 18 local history organizations representing 16 Indiana counties.
● Carmel Clay Historical Society, Hamilton County — $50,000 to establish a paid internship program for collections management and to purchase archival supplies and equipment.
● Cass County Historical Society, Cass County — $22,848 to cover architect fees for designing a permanent, secure exhibit space for their rare 1920 ReVere Tourer automobile.
● Cedar Lake Historical Association, Lake County — $50,000 to fund Phase 3 of its exhibit redesign project, creating complementary indoor and outdoor exhibits on preservation trades, Potawatomi heritage and ice harvesting history.
● Evansville Wartime Museum, Vanderburgh County — $19,234 to install three interactive touchscreen displays to showcase WWII maps, wartime contributions and rotating exhibits.
● Friends of the 1818 Rome Courthouse, Perry County — $50,000 to begin restoring century-old windows of Indiana’s second-oldest public building, advancing its use as a community center and museum.
● Friends of the Huntington City-Township Public Library, Huntington County — $42,000 to digitize endangered copies of the Huntington News newspaper (1930–1969) and create a free online archive.
● Friends of the Marion Public Library and Museum, Grant County — $14,950 to hire a coordinator to digitize and research 300 Chronicle-Tribune photographs related to local
Black history.
● Hayden Historical Museum, Jennings County — $5,000 to complete a historic
structures report on former governor Edgar D. Whitcomb’s boyhood home.
● Hillforest Historical Foundation, Inc., Dearborn County — $5,000 for a historic structures report on its 1855 mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
● Historic Madison, Inc., Jefferson County — $50,000 to construct an accessibility ramp and exterior restroom enclosure as part of restoring the Jeremiah Sullivan House, a National Historic Landmark.
● Indiana Entertainment Foundation, Marion County — $17,000 to digitize high-priority audio and image files for a free public archive.
● Madison County Historical Society, Madison County — $31,000 to complete installation of a fire suppression system protecting important museum collections.
● Montgomery County Historical Society, Montgomery County — $22,353 to replace aging HVAC units and purchase environmental monitoring equipment for collections preservation.
● Reitz Home Preservation Society, Inc., Vanderburgh County — $50,000 to repair the foundation and roof of the Ice Box Room at the Reitz Home Museum.
● The Indiana Album, Inc., Marion County — $28,475 to purchase digitization equipment and train assistants to conduct scan-a-thons, preserving 6,000 historical images from underrepresented communities.
● Twin Forks Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Inc., Franklin County — $20,000 to complete stabilization of the North wall of the Brookville Stone House, an 1829 structure which the DAR plans to use to house and make archives accessible to the public.
● Union Literary Institute Preservation Society, Randolph County — $25,000 to remove remains of the North wall of the historic Union Literary Institute, the first school in Indiana to admit both Black and white students.
● Washington County Historical Society, Washington County — $50,000 to rehabilitate its 1929 Monon Railroad Caboose with roof, siding and safety improvements.

Heritage Support Grants – Impact Grant, Cycle A
In Impact Grant Cycle A, the Heritage Support Grant program awarded $200,000 to two
organizations representing two Indiana counties.
● Hoosier Heartland Trolley Company, Howard County — $100,000 to complete cosmetic and structural restoration of Union Traction Company Interurban Rail Car No. 429, preparing it for operational use as the centerpiece of an electric heritage railway.
● International Circus Hall of Fame, Miami County — $100,000 to stabilize and assess the Wagon and Baggage Shed on its National Historic Landmark campus, housing historic wagons and artifacts.

Since the program launched in 2015, IHS has awarded millions of dollars in Heritage Support Grants to strengthen Indiana’s historical organizations. In addition to funding, the program also provides fundraising education workshops, coaching and opportunities for participants to serve on award selection panels.

Guidelines and applications are available on the IHS website at www.indianahistory.org/grants or by calling the IHS at (317) 232-1882

SOURCE: News release from Indiana Historical Society