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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 15-21
From The Indianapolis Times, Tuesday, July 18, 1922: Indianapolis may once again have a public zoo. Walter Jarvis, superintendent of parks and recreation, will ask the city park board for $5,000 (2020: $78,612) next year to build cages in Riverside Park and buy a few animals. Indianapolis once boasted a … Read More
100 Years Ago: July 1-14
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, July 6, 1922: The city council voted 7 to 2 last night to prohibit dancing and professional theatrical performances in the city’s parks. Children’s folk dances and amateur theatricals are exempted. The original ordinance prohibited dancing in the parks and was favored by South Side … Read More
When Greeks Came to Irvington
Greeks came to Irvington in 1875. No, not those from the classical lands of Socrates and Plato, but the collegiate Greek lettered secret societies of North Western Christian University (Butler University) when that school relocated to Irvington from its near northside Indianapolis campus. The oldest of these societies was Gamma … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 24-30
From The Indianapolis News, Tuesday, June 27, 1922: Mayor Lew Shank today signed the ordinance annexing Broad Ripple to the city of Indianapolis thereby adding $3,000,000 (2021: $50,374,618) in property valuation to the city’s tax base. Despite threats from remonstrators, Shank said, “Why shouldn’t Broad Ripple be annexed? The natural … Read More
100 Years Ago: June 17-23
From The Indianapolis News, Friday, June 23, 1922: The City Normal School will close following a recent opinion on the school’s legality by Indiana Attorney General Ulysses S. Lesh. It was determined that the Indianapolis public school board has no authority in law to appropriate money for the operation of … Read More