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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
Civil War — 150th Anniversary, January 1863
The artillery men at Noble Barracks announced the arrival of “Sixty-three.” Four salutes of eighteen guns each boomed out shattering the midnight silence — to Gov. Morton, “the soldiers’ friend,” to Gen. Noble, “the man worthy of his name,” to Maj. Frybarger, “the working Major,” and finally to “the New … Read More
100 Years Ago
From The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, January 15, 1913: Nine alleged “speeders” were arrested yesterday and last night by a police squad patrolling North Side streets in the police emergency automobile under Mayor Shank’s direction. The arrests were the first of a campaign directed against law-breaking autoists, and results from a … Read More
100 Years Ago – Jan. 4-11, 1913
From The Indianapolis Star, Friday, January 10, 1913: Miss Goldie Heathco, 337 N. Webster Av, Irvington, has been sworn in as a deputy constable by Irvington Justice of the Peace Albert Deel. The fair-haired, blue-eyed 21-year old, whose face is constantly lit with a smile, does not resemble any image … Read More
100 Years Ago: Dec. 7-14
From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, 9 December 1912: Despite the city ordinance prohibiting children under age 14 from attending moving pictures except when accompanied by a parent, guardian or someone over the age of 21 authorized by a parent, there was little trouble finding underage children, without escorts at the … Read More
150 Years Ago: The Civil War
Note: 2012 continues the 150th anniversary of the greatest conflict in which Americans were ever engaged — the Civil War. This is the nineteenth 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. JULY, … Read More