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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
Land of the Lost
When I was in grade school during the ‘50s studying Indiana history, my teacher told the class that “Indiana was named for the Indians who lived here; but that no Indians live here today.” At that time, except for a few place names memorializing tribes like Miami, Delaware, and Potawatomi, … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 23-29
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, June 28, 1923: Yesterday’s “Red Letter Day,” sponsored by the East Side Commercial Association, was a great success. Businesses in the area bounded by Emerson Av, Michigan St, Sixteenth St, and the Monon tracks were closed while proprietors gave support to the celebration’s events. Front … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 16-22
From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, June 19, 1923: Last night the Indianapolis city council voted 2 to 6 to defeat a proposed ordinance that would prohibit the wearing of masks in public by anyone except on Halloween. A crowd of nearly 1,000 citizens, mostly made up of members of the … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 9-15
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, June 14, 1923: Last week the Englewood Christian Church board of trustees voted 19 to 10 calling for pastor Rev. Frank E. Davison’s resignation because of his denunciation of a “100 per cent Americanism” mass meeting organized on church property by the “Hustling Hundred,” a … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 2-8
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, June 5, 1923: Despite the impression in American Legion circles that An American History by Dr. David Saville Muzzey had been adopted by the Indiana state board of education for use as the United States history textbook in teaching high school American history, the board … Read More