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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
The Civil War: 150th Anniversary
January 1865 New Year’s Day open house was held in many Indianapolis homes; the ladies “dispensing hospitality” to their friendly callers. The second term of Northwestern Christian University (Butler University) began on Monday, January 2, 1865, and Indianapolis Protestant congregations joined Protestant churches across the nation during the first week … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Jan. 16-23
From The Indianapolis News, Monday, January 18, 1915: More than half of the women and girls employed in retail stores and in the garment factories in Indiana receive an average wage of less than $7.00 (2013: $158.88) a week, according to a Census Bureau bulletin. In stores, women and girls … Read More
World War I 100 Years Ago: Jan. 16-23
From The Indianapolis News, Monday, January 18, 1915: The Charles C. Carr Co, 146 N. Pennsylvania, has received a contract for a big supply of wool socks for one of the armies engaged in the European war. The socks are of heavy dark oxford gray material and considerably longer than … Read More
100 Years Ago This Week: Jan. 9-15
From The Indianapolis News, Thursday, January 14, 1915: “The home is a menace; its poor construction makes it a veritable fire trap,” asserted Fred W. Rubin, Irvington Civic League president, in his appeal to the county commissioners yesterday calling for action to remedy the alleged conditions at the Children’s Guardians … Read More
World War I 100 Years Ago: Jan. 9-15
From The Indianapolis Times, Monday, January 11, 1915: Prosperity is returning in great bunches to the Climax Machinery Co, 165 E. Morris St, which has reopened after having been closed for the past three months. “The war shut our doors,” said Ernest K. Hood the company’s secretary-treasurer, “but the war … Read More