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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 5-11
From The Indianapolis News, Friday, March 7, 1921: The Indianapolis board of public works announced today that no group would be permitted to use Tomlinson Hall for meetings at which propaganda against nations allied with the United States would be spread or at which foreign political questions would be discussed. … Read More
Orator for Social Justice
Through time stories have been told of the famous and the infamous. Most of these tales have been told to American children from a Eurocentric point of view of the great and not so great men with a sprinkling of women thrown in along with the rare non-European. Growing up … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 19-March 4
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, February 20, 1921: Indianapolis is book poor! The library is 100,000 volumes short of what a library for a city of this size should have, and with a 30% increase in the number of library patrons in the last three years the high schooler trying … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 12-18
From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, February 17, 1921: For the first time in the legal history of Indianapolis, and possibly the United States, a jury of twelve black women sat in a jury box yesterday hearing evidence in a damage suit brought by a black citizen. In the case before … Read More
100 Years Ago: Feb. 5-11
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, February 6, 1921: The new home of the Indianapolis Athletic Club will be built at the southwest corner of Vermont and Meridian Streets pursuant to a decision made yesterday by the club’s board of directors. Currently, the Fahnley Home occupies the site. With its façade … Read More