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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: May 20-26
From The Indianapolis Times, Tuesday, May 23, 1922: At a special meeting of the Indianapolis school board today, superintendent Ellis Graff suggested pupils of School No. 4, Blackford and West Michigan Streets, be transferred in a body to the new School No. 5 building, California and West Washington Streets, and … Read More
100 Years Ago: May 13-19
From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, May 16, 1922: The city council, without discussion, passed an ordinance last night setting the legal height limit for new buildings constructed on Monument Circle at 150 feet with a setback of twelve feet at the 108-foot mark. The Indianapolis plan commission recommended the height … Read More
100 Years Ago: May 6-12
From The Indianapolis News, Wednesday, May 10, 1922: The purchase of the Frank D. Stainaker home and property, northwest corner of Fourteenth and Meridian Streets, for the new Cathedral High School was announced today by Rt. Rev. Joseph Chartrand, bishop of Indianapolis. Plans call for the new high school building … Read More
100 Years Ago: April 29-May 5
From The Indianapolis News, Monday, May 1, 1922: The Indianapolis Ministerial Association voted today, by a large majority, to back the campaign started by the Marion County Woman’s Christian Temperance Union to close Sunday motion picture shows. “We’ve got a bloody fight, and we better not go into it except … Read More
Pedal Power
Despite the cold, a large crowd gathered on the Circle the morning of Thursday, January 7, 1869 to witness the first public test of the velocipede, a two-wheel pedaled vehicle, that the hatter, John C. McIver, had brought to Indianapolis the preceding month. Believing that he had learned “to manage … Read More