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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 14-20
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, May 15, 1921: Yesterday afternoon, a large crowd at Irwin Field in Irvington watched the baseball team of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, trounce the Butler College nine in a speedy contest, 2 to 1. With the game devoid of spectacular hitting and fielding, the work … Read More
100 Years Ago: May 7-13
From The Indianapolis News, Thursday, May 12, 1921: The first National Hospital Day was observed today throughout the United States and in Indianapolis with the city’s hospitals throwing their doors open to the public. Visitors were welcomed at City, Methodist and Deaconess Hospitals. These hospitals have contracts with the U.S. … Read More
“ . . . How Does Your Garden Grow?”
Gardening came to the Indianapolis east side neighborhood of Irvington as naturally as an April shower, and over the years the community became known as “the Garden Spot of Indianapolis.” Early accounts tell of gardens fashioned in stiff geometrical designs — stars, crescents, and triangles — ablaze with colorful geraniums, … Read More
100 Years Ago: April 30-May 6
From The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday, May 4, 1921: The “doo-dad” is the curse of the modern American home,” declared Ross Crane of the Art Institute of Chicago in remarks given at the opening of the Better Homes Institute he is conducting at Tomlinson Hall under the auspices of the Indianapolis … Read More
100 Years Ago: April 23-29
From The Indianapolis Star, Friday, April 29, 1921: “Spite fences” are not legally recognized in Indianapolis or authorized by Indiana law said superior court Judge Theophilus Moll who ruled yesterday in favor of Dr. Lucius Merriwether, a colored dentist residing at 2255 N. Capitol Ave., who had sued his next … Read More