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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: July 21-27
From The Indianapolis News, Monday, July 23, 1923: The annual Feast of Lanterns, sponsored by the Brookside Civic League, will feature a pantomime by children of Midsummer Night’s Dream Wednesday night in beautiful little Spades Park. Gyrating gnomes in red suits will amuse King Oberon while fairies clad in the … Read More
100 Years Ago: July 14-20
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, July 19, 1923: Last night a crowd estimated at 5,000 surrounding a burning cross in a commons at Miley Av and Vermont St attacked firefighters and police with rocks. The incident began when a group lit an electric cross at New York St and Miley … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 30-July 13
From The Indianapolis Times, Wednesday, July 4, 1923: Early today, members of the Ku Klux Klan were hissed by a crowd of young men after a special interurban car carrying the Klansmen through Indianapolis to a tri-state celebration in Kokomo stopped at the downtown Terminal Station. Police were called to … Read More
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