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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: March 18-24
From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, March 21, 1922: “Daddy Buttons” are being sold for $5 (2020: $79) by the city’s fourteen Girl Scout troops as part of a week-long drive to raise $10,000 (2020: $157,224) to carry on the work of the movement in Indianapolis. Authors Booth Tarkington and Meredith … Read More
100 Years Ago: March 11-17
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, March 16, 1922: Yesterday, the Indianapolis board of public works rescinded its earlier action allowing the Ku Klux Klan to use Tomlinson Hall for a public meeting Saturday evening. The board took this step on advice of Taylor Groninger, city corporation counsel, who declared such … Read More
100 Years Ago: March 4-10
From The Indianapolis Times, Thursday, March 9, 1922: Only nine ex-service men are currently tubercular patients at Sunnyside Sanitarium according to the monthly report submitted to the county commissioners by superintendent Dr. Harold Hatch. “The veterans’ bureau is paying us $3 (2020: $47) per day for the maintenance of six … Read More
Ideals Betrayed
At a time when teaching a black person to read was a crime in some parts of the United States, and African American access to public education was virtually non-existent in Indiana, North Western Christian University (Butler University) was founded on the principle that admission was open to all on … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 25-March 3
From The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, March 1, 1922: As part of a nation-wide movement to force Congress to pass the bonus bill, Indianapolis World War veterans’ organizations, along with women’s auxiliaries and allied organizations, will participate in a mass meeting this coming Sunday afternoon at Tomlinson Hall. “The meeting will … Read More