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List of Indiana state historical markers

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Indiana counties

This is a list of Indiana state historical markers.

Interest in a statewide system of historical markers for the U.S. state of Indiana arose as the state prepared to celebrate its centenary in 1916; the Indiana Historical Commission observed the lack of a system of historical markers and memorials, and as a result of its work, many individuals, organizations, and local governments began to erect various types of memorials to commemorate historic sites. Increasing numbers of historical markers through the 1920s and 1930s prompted the Commission and its successor, the Indiana Historical Bureau, to develop statewide lists of markers, and it asked the General Assembly for authority to become involved in the placement of historical markers in order to improve the numbers, quality, and topics of the markers. The New Deal administrations created to fight the Great Depression of the 1930s provided the manpower for the Bureau's first effort; workers from the Works Progress Administration produced steel signs for locations across the state, but their intentionally temporary nature meant that many had greatly deteriorated by the time that they were removed for scrap during World War II.[1]

After the war's end, state officials began to plan for a system of aluminum markers that could be expected to endure indefinitely. Although a few markers were placed privately in the first two decades after the war ended, the majority of the few markers that were erected during this time were state-funded markers to celebrate the centenary of the Civil War in the early 1960s. The state made its first substantial foray into the program in 1966 as it reached the sesquicentenary of statehood, and the Sesquicentennial Commission quickly doubled the number of state-financed markers. However, permanent financial involvement only began in 1989, when substantial funding was first granted for the purchase of markers on a long-term basis. More new markers were placed over the next fifteen years than had been placed since permanent markers were first produced in 1947.[1] By 2024, more than 500 historic sites in 91 of the state's 92 counties had been commemorated by an official Indiana state historical marker.[2]

Numbers of listings by county

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The following are tallies of current marker listings in Indiana by county. These counts are based on entries in the Indiana Historical Bureau's marker list as of March 2024.[2] There are yearly additions to the listings and some markers may be missing or stolen.[3]

County # of Sites Oldest[a] Newest[a]
1 Adams 2 1977 2006
2 Allen 5 1963 2003
3 Bartholomew 10 1988 2013
4 Benton 3 1966 1999
5 Blackford 3 1989 2022
6 Boone 9 1961 2021
7 Brown 6 1992 2023
8 Carroll 6 1963 2021
9 Cass 1 1966 1966
10 Clark 17 1962 2022
11 Clay 4 1999 2022
12 Clinton 1 2018 2018
13 Crawford 4 1992 2006
14 Daviess 10 1966 2007
15 Dearborn 1 1999 1999
16 Decatur 5 1980 2014
17 DeKalb 7 1992 2023
18 Delaware 7 1981 2022
19 Dubois 2 2018 2021
20 Elkhart 14 1966 2009
21 Fayette 1 1966 1966
22 Floyd 23 1966 2021
23 Fountain 6 1970 2023
24 Franklin 14 1949 2018
25 Fulton 1 1949 1949
26 Gibson 5 2002 2022
27 Grant 11 1947 2022
28 Greene 2 1998 1998
29 Hamilton 9 1994 2022
30 Hancock 3 1966 2020
31 Harrison 23 1948 2016
32 Hendricks 7 1972 2017
33 Henry 2 1966 1976
34 Howard 2 1966 2021
35 Huntington 12 1949 2021
36 Jackson 8 1951 2022
37 Jasper 6 1964 2008
38 Jay 0 N/A N/A
39 Jefferson 16 1963 2022
40 Jennings 8 1966 2020
41 Johnson 5 1992 2023
42 Knox 10 1966 2021
43 Kosciusko 8 1962 2007
44 LaGrange 1 1966 1966
45 Lake 15 1949 2022
46 LaPorte 10 1962 2018
47 Lawrence 4 1966 2005
48 Madison 7 1966 2022
49 Marion 109 1946 2023
50 Marshall 3 1949 2011
51 Martin 1 1966 1966
52 Miami 3 1992 2023
53 Monroe 11 1996 2020
54 Montgomery 11 1962 2020
55 Morgan 6 1957 2020
56 Newton 5 1966 2021
57 Noble 7 1963 2014
58 Ohio 3 1961 2021
59 Orange 3 1961 2004
60 Owen 3 1966 2008
61 Parke 15 1966 2012
62 Perry 4 1961 1966
63 Pike 3 1966 1992
64 Porter 5 1995 2018
65 Posey 5 1966 2006
66 Pulaski 1 1988 1988
67 Putnam 3 1966 2006
68 Randolph 5 2005 2016
69 Ripley 10 1949 2022
70 Rush 4 1969 1969
71 St. Joseph 23 1963 2021
72 Scott 16 1963 2004
73 Shelby 5 1951 2011
74 Spencer 4 1992 2001
75 Starke 1 2000 2000
76 Steuben 3 1976 2022
77 Sullivan 8 1972 2008
78 Switzerland 4 1966 2022
79 Tippecanoe 11 1953 2014
80 Tipton 2 1966 1994
81 Union 2 1963 2017
82 Vanderburgh 13 1947 2023
83 Vermillion 6 1960 2018
84 Vigo 15 1966 2023
85 Wabash 8 1962 2007
86 Warren 2 1992 2002
87 Warrick 1 1966 1966
88 Washington 6 1963 2021
89 Wayne 14 1962 2021
90 Wells 2 2001 2019
91 White 4 1961 1992
92 Whitley 5 1959 2013
Total: 517 1946 2009

See also

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Notes

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^ a: The Indiana Historical Bureau does not provide the year of placement for a few markers; some of these markers have a range of possible years, and others have no years at all and are presented with a question mark. For the purposes of the "Oldest" and "Newest" columns, these markers are not considered; each county's entries are those of the markers with the oldest and newest certain dates. The only exceptions are the "N/A" entries given for counties with no markers at all.

References

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  1. ^ a b Rippel, Judy A. "History of the Indiana State Historical Marker Program". Indiana Historical Bureau, n.d. Accessed 2012-03-15.
  2. ^ a b Indiana Historical Markers by County, Indiana Historical Bureau, n.d. Accessed 2012-03-15.
  3. ^ Policies Governing the Indiana State Historical Marker Program, Indiana Library and Historical Board, 2012-02-24. Accessed 2012-03-15.
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