Organizations in Fountain County and Union City have won Indiana Landmarks’ 2025 Sandi Servaas Memorial Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in historic preservation.

Fountain County Art Council won for its proven record of championing community landmarks, including work to save the 1854 Cades Mill Covered Bridge, one of the county’s three remaining covered bridges and the state’s oldest in its original location.

The Union City Junior Historical Society won for its student-led work to share the community’s history and heritage, including honoring local veterans.

As winner of the Servaas Award’s youth-serving category, the Union City Junior Historical Society receives $1,000, and organizational category winner Fountain County Art Council receives $2,000. Both groups will receive an original sculpture “No Doors to Lock Out the Past” by late Evansville artist John McNaughton.

Established in 1976, the Sandi Servaas Memorial Award honors the dynamic spirit and contributions of former Indiana Landmarks staffer Sandi Servaas, who was working to raise public awareness and support for preservation before her untimely death in 1975.

Fountain County Art Council

Formed in the 1990s to encourage appreciation of art and heritage, the group’s first preservation win came in 2001, when the 1842 Fountain County Clerk’s Building in Covington was in danger of demolition. The art council rallied to save the landmark, raising money to buy the building before rehabilitating it as a local history museum. The group stepped in again to help save county heritage in 2018 by securing donations and matching grants to clean, repair, and reseal all 2,500 square feet of WPA-era murals within Covington’s 1937 Fountain County Courthouse.

In 2019, a contractor assessing the 1854 Cades Mill Covered Bridge in Fountain County discovered a broken chord putting the entire span at risk of collapse. Members of Fountain County Art Council’s historical committee saw saving the pedestrian bridge as an imperative, but knew finding the money for rehabilitation would be a tall order.

The group partnered with the Western Indiana Community Foundation to set up a fund for repairs and sent out letters seeking support. The campaign attracted statewide attention when Indiana Landmarks added the threatened bridge to its 10 Most Endangered list in 2022 and gave a grant to help develop rehabilitation plans. The art council persisted through pandemic-related labor and materials shortages and unexpected termite damage to raise $575,000 over five years, with a final “Buy a Beam” campaign pushing the project over the finish line. Members of the art council, community partners, and other supporters celebrated the bridge’s completed restoration at a rededication in June 2025.

“There were times we thought, ‘Are we going to get through this?’ But we prayed and prayed, and the money came,” says art council member Carol Freese. “We haven’t asked for recognition; we just did what we felt was important for us and our community. Knowing it is appreciated makes us feel it has been worthwhile.”

Union City Junior Historical Society

Looking for a way to benefit the Union City (pop. 3,477) and make history come alive for his students, in 2022 Union City Jr-Sr High School history teacher Kyler Purdin partnered with the Union City Preservation Society to form the Union City Junior Historical Society. High schoolers began by setting up a GoFundMe campaign and organizing a student vs. teacher basketball tourney to raise money for a statue commemorating local statesman Indiana Governor Isaac Gray. They helped sort archival documents, assisted in mailings, and were trained to lead downtown architectural tours.

Roughly 60 students have participated in the junior society since its formation, with a core group of 15-20 students driving its efforts. The students are currently creating a Veterans Memorial Wall in the school gym to recognize Union City graduates who are veterans. Raising money for signage through another online campaign, the students created a Facebook page and QR code to collect veterans’ names and began interviewing them to collect oral histories. In 2024 they organized a Veterans Day program for the community.

“These students went above and beyond with this initiative by being brave enough to call someone they didn’t know and ask them to share their history,” notes Purdin. “With this Veterans Wall, these students realized they were part of something very important. They took pride in it and the idea of making things better in their community. It’s really been awesome to watch them work.”

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About Indiana Landmarks

Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, strengthens connections to our diverse heritage, and saves meaningful places. With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. People who join Indiana Landmarks receive its bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation. For more information on the not-for-profit organization, call 317-639-4534, 800-450-4534, or visit www.indianalandmarks.org.

Media contact:

Mindi Woolman, Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534, mwoolman@indianalandmarks.org