INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 23, 2021) — Eleven sites significant to Indiana’s African American history are receiving restoration and rehabilitation assistance through a fund established by late Eli Lilly chemist and preservation champion Standiford “Stan” Cox.

Grants totaling $190,000 are being distributed from the Standiford H. Cox Fund to sites across the state.

Stan Cox, who passed away in 2019, joined Eli Lilly and Co. in 1957 as its first Black chemist. He established the two funds with Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) to support the restoration, preservation, operation and ongoing maintenance of African American historic sites in Indiana.

The 11 organizations receiving grants are listed below, along with a brief description of how the funds will be used.

Fox Lake Preservation Foundation, Steuben County: $15,000 for rehabilitation of the K.T. Thompson Lodge, which served as clubhouse for the Fox Lake segregated resort community established in 1927.

Friends of the Town Clock Church Inc., New Albany: $7,500 to restore a gasolier light fixture that once served as the centerpiece of the sanctuary in the 1852 building.

Historic Eleutherian College Inc., Lancaster: $15,000 for the first phase of a plaster wall and ceiling restoration project at the 1855 Greek Revival building.

Leora Brown School Inc., Corydon: $10,000 for repairs and rehabilitation to the building constructed in 1891 as the Corydon Colored School.

Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corp. Inc.: $25,000 to continue rehabilitation of the Joseph Lucas Home for use as an interpretive center.

Roberts Chapel Homecoming and Burial Association Inc., Atlanta: $10,000 to repair water-damaged plaster in the 1858 church and restore damaged nineteenth-century tombstones in the adjacent cemetery.

Shaffer Chapel A.M.E. Church, Muncie: $12,500 for restoration of stained-glass windows in the circa 1893 building.

Southeastern District Association, Inc., New Albany: $15,000 for the construction of two canopies to shelter entrances at the First Baptist Church in West Baden Springs, an early twentieth-century church originally built as a place of worship for African American staff of the West Baden Springs Hotel.

Union Literary Institute Preservation Society, Randolph County: $40,000 for critical stabilization of the 1860 building that housed one of the first pre-Civil War schools to offer higher education without regard to color or gender.

Washington Street Church of God, Gary: $25,000 for roof repairs and stabilization for the 1928 Campbell Friendship House.

Wayman Chapel A.M.E. Church, Gibson County: $15,000 for critical repairs to the foundation and sanctuary ceiling of the 1887 church.

“Partnering with Indiana Landmarks allows us to honor Stan’s legacy by caring for sites that are important to our state’s African American history,” said Tamara Winfrey-Harris, vice president of community leadership and effective philanthropy at CICF.

“These grants that we make in conjunction with Central Indiana Community Foundation will result in brick-and-mortar evidence of Stan Cox’s visionary generosity,” said Mark Dollase, vice president of preservation services at Indiana Landmarks. “His impact on our state is immeasurable.”

The Standiford H. Cox Fund supports the restoration, preservation, operation, and ongoing maintenance of African American historic sites in Indiana. In addition to this fund, Stan Cox also created The Dovie Stewart Cox & Chester A. Cox, Sr. Memorial Fund in honor of his parents to provide support for Lost Creek Community Grove at the Lost Creek Settlement near Terre Haute, one of the state’s earliest settlements of free people of color. Indiana Landmarks’ African American Landmarks Committee serves as a preservation advisor to both funds, recommending projects.

Born in Brazil, Ind., Cox was an Indiana University graduate who worked for 32 years for Eli Lilly and Co., beginning as a chemist and holding a variety of positions during his career. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic society, he also earned a master’s degree from Butler University. An advocate for academic biochemical research, he endowed the Standiford H. Cox Professorship in Biochemistry at Indiana University in Bloomington.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Mark Dollase, Vice President of Preservation Services, Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534, 317-650-1650 (cell), mdollase@indianalandmarks.org

Mindi Woolman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Indiana Landmarks, 317-639-4534, 317-417-1204 (cell), mwoolman@indianalandmarks.org

Ben Snyder, Director of Marketing and Communications, Central Indiana Community Foundation, 317-634-2423, BenS@cicf.org

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Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, reconnects us to our 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.

Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) is an $850 million public foundation working to mobilize people, ideas and investments to make this a community where all individuals have equitable opportunity to reach their full potential—no matter place, race or identity. CICF was established in 1997 as a partnership between The Indianapolis Foundation, serving Marion County since 1916, and Hamilton County Community Foundation, serving Hamilton County since 1991. For more information about CICF, visit www.cicf.org or call 317-634-2423.