List of Indiana state historical markers

This is a list of Indiana state historical markers.

Indiana counties

Interest in a statewide system of historical markers for the U.S. state of Indiana arose as the state prepared to celebrate its centenary in 1916; the Indiana Historical Commission observed the lack of a system of historical markers and memorials, and as a result of its work, many individuals, organizations, and local governments began to erect various types of memorials to commemorate historic sites. Increasing numbers of historical markers through the 1920s and 1930s prompted the Commission and its successor, the Indiana Historical Bureau, to develop statewide lists of markers, and it asked the General Assembly for authority to become involved in the placement of historical markers in order to improve the numbers, quality, and topics of the markers. The New Deal administrations created to fight the Great Depression of the 1930s provided the manpower for the Bureau's first effort; workers from the Works Progress Administration produced steel signs for locations across the state, but their intentionally temporary nature meant that many had greatly deteriorated by the time that they were removed for scrap during World War II.[1]

After the war's end, state officials began to plan for a system of aluminum markers that could be expected to endure indefinitely. Although a few markers were placed privately in the first two decades after the war ended, the majority of the few markers that were erected during this time were state-funded markers to celebrate the centenary of the Civil War in the early 1960s. The state made its first substantial foray into the program in 1966 as it reached the sesquicentenary of statehood, and the Sesquicentennial Commission quickly doubled the number of state-financed markers. However, permanent financial involvement only began in 1989, when substantial funding was first granted for the purchase of markers on a long-term basis. More new markers were placed over the next fifteen years than had been placed since permanent markers were first produced in 1947.[1] By 2012, more than 500 historic sites in 89 of the state's 92 counties had been commemorated by an official Indiana state historical marker.[2]

Numbers of listings by county

The following are tallies of current marker listings in Indiana by county. These counts are based on entries in the Indiana Historical Bureau's marker list as of March 2012.[2] There are yearly additions to the listings and some markers may be missing or stolen.[3]

Pivot Point, in Orange County
State Capitol, in Marion County
Williamsport, Warren County, in Warren County
Farmland Downtown Historic District, in Randolph County
Burial Place of Francis Godfroy, in Miami County
Dr. Elwood Mead (1858-1936), in Switzerland County
Fountain Park Chatauqua, in Jasper County
Michigan Road, in Boone County
Whitewater Canal, in Franklin County
Monroe County's Carnegie Library, in Monroe County
Cairo Skywatch Tower, in Tippecanoe County
Brig. General Benjamin Harrison 1833-1901, in Marion County
McCurdy-Sears Building, in Vanderburgh County
First State Capital, in Harrison County
County # of Sites Oldest[a] Newest[a]
1 Adams 2 1977 2006
2 Allen 5 1963 2003
3 Bartholomew 9 1988 2007
4 Benton 3 1966 1999
5 Blackford 2 1989 1994
6 Boone 5 1961 1985
7 Brown 2 1992 2016
8 Carroll 3 1963 1992
9 Cass 1 1966 1966
10 Clark 12 1962 2008
11 Clay 3 1999 2001
12 Clinton 0 N/A N/A
13 Crawford 4 1992 2006
14 Daviess 10 1966 2007
15 Dearborn 1 1999 1999
16 Decatur 4 1980 2008
17 DeKalb 3 1992 2019
18 Delaware 4 1981 2008
19 Dubois 0 N/A N/A
20 Elkhart 14 1966 2009
21 Fayette 1 1966 1966
22 Floyd 18 1966 2007
23 Fountain 5 1970 2005
24 Franklin 12 1949 2006
25 Fulton 1 1949 1949
26 Gibson 2 2002 2005
27 Grant 7 1947 1995
28 Greene 2 1998 1998
29 Hamilton 5 1994 2008
30 Hancock 2 1966 1967
31 Harrison 22 1948 2008
32 Hendricks 6 1972 2007
33 Henry 2 1966 1976
34 Howard 1 1966 1966
35 Huntington 10 1949 2007
36 Jackson 7 1951 2008
37 Jasper 6 1964 2008
38 Jay 0 N/A N/A
39 Jefferson 13 1963 2006
40 Jennings 7 1966 2003
41 Johnson 2 1992 2000
42 Knox 7 1966 2009
43 Kosciusko 8 1962 2007
44 LaGrange 1 1966 1966
45 Lake 8 1949 2014
46 LaPorte 7 1962 2003
47 Lawrence 4 1966 2005
48 Madison 3 1966 2001
49 Marion 62 1946 2009
50 Marshall 2 1949 1966
51 Martin 1 1966 1966
52 Miami 2 1992 1992
53 Monroe 8 1996 2008
54 Montgomery 8 1962 2009
55 Morgan 1 1957 1957
56 Newton 1 1966 1966
57 Noble 5 1963 1999
58 Ohio 1 1961 1961
59 Orange 3 1961 2004
60 Owen 3 1966 2008
61 Parke 13 1966 2004
62 Perry 4 1961 1966
63 Pike 3 1966 1992
64 Porter 4 1995 2009
65 Posey 5 1966 2006
66 Pulaski 1 1988 1988
67 Putnam 3 1966 2006
68 Randolph 2 2005 2009
69 Ripley 7 1949 2006
70 Rush 4 1969 1969
71 St. Joseph 17 1963 2003
72 Scott 16 1963 2004
73 Shelby 4 1951 1966
74 Spencer 4 1992 2001
75 Starke 1 2000 2000
76 Steuben 2 1976 2000
77 Sullivan 8 1972 2008
78 Switzerland 2 1966 1980
79 Tippecanoe 10 1953 2001
80 Tipton 2 1966 1994
81 Union 1 1963 1963
82 Vanderburgh 6 1947 2003
83 Vermillion 5 1960 2001
84 Vigo 12 1966 2009
85 Wabash 8 1962 2007
86 Warren 2 1992 2002
87 Warrick 1 1966 1966
88 Washington 5 1963 2005
89 Wayne 7 1962 2003
90 Wells 1 2001 2001
91 White 4 1961 1992
92 Whitley 4 1959 2001
Total: 517 1946 2009

See also

Notes

^ a: The Indiana Historical Bureau does not provide the year of placement for a few markers; some of these markers have a range of possible years, and others have no years at all and are presented with a question mark. For the purposes of the "Oldest" and "Newest" columns, these markers are not considered; each county's entries are those of the markers with the oldest and newest certain dates. The only exceptions are the "N/A" entries given for counties with no markers at all.

References
  1. Rippel, Judy A. "History of the Indiana State Historical Marker Program". Indiana Historical Bureau, n.d. Accessed 2012-03-15.
  2. Indiana Historical Markers by County, Indiana Historical Bureau, n.d. Accessed 2012-03-15.
  3. Policies Governing the Indiana State Historical Marker Program, Indiana Library and Historical Board, 2012-02-24. Accessed 2012-03-15.
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