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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
World War I 100 Years Ago: Oct. 5-11
From The Indianapolis News, Monday, October 7: Clad in olive tinged khaki and carrying shouldered rifles with long bayonets flashing in the sun, a detachment of the French Foreign Legion, led by a mounted police escort and the Indianapolis Newsboys’ Band, marched through Indianapolis downtown streets this afternoon amid the … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Oct. 5-11
From The Indianapolis Star, Monday, October 7: As a preventative measure, the city board of health yesterday afternoon ordered all Indianapolis schools, churches, theaters, and motion picture houses closed for an indefinite time in order to control the influenza epidemic. Public gatherings, except for small committee meetings, are also banned. … Read More
Good news of youth
High school; yes, those were the days. For most of us, memories of this time in our life were captured in the yearbooks that we scurried around on the last day of school to secure autographs of our classmates and teachers. Today, most of these receptacles of our “precious memories” … Read More
World War I 100 Years Ago: Sept. 28-Oct. 3
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, September 30: Permits were taken out yesterday for the construction of four buildings to house the Student Army Training Corps at Butler College in Irvington. The new structures, designed by Butler alumnus Lee Burns, will be erected on college ground, south of University Avenue between … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Sept. 28-Oct. 3
From The Indianapolis Star, Sunday, September 29: Negotiations toward unifying the two Indianapolis telephone companies have begun in response to the order from the director of telegraph and telephones, U. S. Postmaster General Albert Burleson. The Central Union Telephone Co has made a formal proposal to purchase the Indianapolis Telephone … Read More