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Author Biography
Steven R. Barnett is Executive Director at the Irvington Historical Society.
Steve Barnett was raised in Irvington. Steve attended School #57, Howe High School (’63), and received a degree from Purdue University (’70). He served in the Indiana National Guard. After a brief hiatus from Irvington, Steve returned to his home town in 1977 with his wife Sue so their three children could grow up in a family friendly environment.
Steve had the good fortune of working with U. S. Representative Andy Jacobs, Jr. and U. S. Representative Julia Carson in the Indianapolis Congressional District Office helping constituents.
After his retirement, Steve became the executive director of the Irvington Historical Society and curator of the Bona Thompson Memorial Center until 2025. Steve was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel by Gov. Wallace G. Wilkinson for service to veterans, and he was appointed a Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Joseph Kernan for service to Indiana. In 2016, Steve was named Marion County Historian.
Steven R. Barnett’s Story Archive
100 Years Ago this Week: March 14-21
From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, March 16, 1914: What is believed to have been the most radical plan ever adopted by an Indianapolis mayor to stop the illegal Sunday sale of liquor was disclosed yesterday by Mayor Joseph Bell in a letter to Chief of Police Samuel Perrott. The mayor … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: March 7-14
From The Indianapolis Sun, Monday, March 9, 1914: The experimental sewage disposal plant located at Wisconsin St and Pogue’s Run has been put in working order and will begin the disposal of sewage this afternoon under the direction of City Engineer Bernard J. T. Jeup. The plant consists of a … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Feb. 28-March 7
From The Indianapolis Sun, Sunday, March 1, 1914: The Union Co-operative Department Store Co, 342-58 Massachusetts Av, threw open its doors yesterday morning following a long campaign to get the project started. A representative of the Woman’s Label League made the first purchase. Ernest S. Phillips, store manager, estimated nearly … Read More
The Civil War: February 1864
Note: 2014 continues the 150th anniversary of the greatest conflict in which Americans were ever engaged – the Civil War. This is the thirty-eight in a series of articles providing a month by month synopsis from the pages of The Indianapolis Daily Journal of Hoosier reactions to national events. Hoosiers … Read More
Irvington’s Monuments Man
The release this month of the motion picture The Monuments Men brings to mind the role that an Irvingtonian played as an officer in the unique World War II unit known as the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA). Thomas Carr Howe, Jr., the son of former Butler University … Read More