In his early years with Indiana Landmarks, fresh from completing his master’s thesis on vernacular architecture at Ball State University, Davis used his research to help develop survey methods for recognizing humble rural structures, such as barns and simple houses typically passed over in traditional preservation work. During this time, Davis met Rush County resident Eleanor Arnold, whom he credits with expanding his knowledge of rural buildings and landscapes.

When Rush County commissioners targeted the county’s iconic covered bridges for demolition, Davis partnered with Arnold and Larry Stout to form Rush County Heritage and launch a successful campaign to save and restore five covered bridges—an early and precedent-setting preservation victory. Eleanor Arnold attributes Davis’s diplomatic, calm, hard-working approach to preservation success then and now.

“He really helped get our group going, and when we finally got the bridges saved, we made Marsh an honorary Rush County citizen,” says Arnold. “We couldn’t have asked for a better person to lead Indiana Landmarks as he has through the years. The perfect person got into the perfect occupation. Indiana’s been lucky to have him.”

Building on a legacy

Since its founding in 1960, Indiana Landmarks has grown into the nation’s largest statewide preservation organization, with more than 6,000 members and nine field offices. Widely recognized as a preeminent leader in his field, Davis built on and expanded his predecessor Reid Williamson’s legacy, guiding Indiana Landmarks to its status as a national model in historic preservation.

As president, Davis led Indiana Landmarks in impactful preservation projects, including turnkey restoration of Evansville’s Art Moderne Greyhound Bus Depot and the restoration-in-progress at the House of Tomorrow in Indiana Dunes National Park. Under his direction, Indiana Landmarks helped save Richmond’s Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church and establish its reuse as a cultural center, sparked broad-based revitalization in Wabash’s East Wabash Historic District, and secured National Historic Landmark designation for Samara, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed John and Catherine Christian House in West Lafayette, co-stewarded by Indiana Landmarks with the John E. Christian Family Memorial Trust.

Among his favorite preservation victories, Davis counts helping establish Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation in Gibson County to save the 1919 Lyles Station School, one of few historic buildings left representing the free Black settlement’s heritage. On the corporation’s behalf, Indiana Landmarks won grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Efroymson Family Fund that, together with other contributions and grants, totaled $1 million to restore the school as a museum sharing the community’s unique story.

Through Davis’s leadership, Indiana Landmarks acquired and restored the former Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis as Indiana Landmarks Center. Completed in 2011 with support from the Cook Family of Bloomington and other generous donors, the $24 million restoration transformed the historic church into Indiana Landmarks’ statewide headquarters and a stunning events venue in the city’s Old Northside Historic District.

“Indiana Landmarks Center helped establish the reputation of Indiana Landmarks as an organization that practices what it preaches,” notes Davis. “And it has introduced us to new audiences who become familiar with our work in a tangible way through this building.”

Expanding Preservation

Furthering his commitment to recognize overlooked places, Davis led efforts to launch Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program in 2022, securing funding from Lilly Endowment Inc., the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and other donors to establish and endow the program, which focuses on saving and sustaining places that embody Indiana’s Black history.

He also helped establish Sacred Places Indiana, an unprecedented partnership between Indiana Landmarks and the national nonprofit Partners for Sacred Places, to address the critical needs of religious congregations stewarding historic places of worship. In 2022, Indiana Landmarks expanded the program through a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment, which will allow distribution of over $8 million in planning and capital grants.

As a national leader, Davis served on the board of trustees for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as chairman of the Trust’s Statewide and Local Partners program from 2008 to 2010, and as a Trust advisor since 2016. He currently serves on the board of directors for Preservation Action, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, and the Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation.

Indiana Landmarks’ board of directors has formed a committee and engaged executive search firm Aspen Leadership Group to conduct a national search for Davis’s successor, aiming to have a candidate in place by next spring.

“Marsh leaves behind a thriving, robust organization built on his thoughtful leadership,” says Indiana Landmarks’ past board chair Doris Anne Sadler, who is leading the search committee. “He oversaw broad programmatic growth that expanded the reach and scope of historic preservation as a tool for community revitalization and engagement. His impact on Indiana Landmarks—and on modern preservation—will be memorable and long-lasting.”

This article first appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Indiana Preservation, Indiana Landmarks’ member magazine.