First Things First

Getting organized and making a plan are critical steps in preserving historic places. Indiana Landmarks’ Efroymson Family Endangered Places program helps nonprofit organizations by making grants for organizational development, as well as professional architectural and engineering studies and rehabilitation plans for threatened structures. Three groups in northwest Indiana recently received grants to boost their efforts to save historic sites.

Historic Preservation Association of Jasper County Inc., an affiliate of Indiana Landmarks, in partnership with St. Joseph College received a $3,500 grant to develop rehabilitation plans for Rensselaer’s 1888 Drexel Hall.

Built as in 1888 as St. Joseph’s Indiana Normal School, Drexel Hall has been a part of the St. Joseph campus since 1921. After serving a variety of school purposes, the building was shuttered in the 1970s. Increasing deterioration and the high cost of restoration landed the landmark on our 10 Most Endangered list in 1999 — where it stayed for five years, until a campaign secured funds to rehab the building’s exterior and first floor.

Drexel Hall is now home St. Joseph’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Our grant will help develop a rehabilitation plan for the building’s remaining three floors – information that will be used for an alumni-led capital campaign.

Independence Methodist Church

In 2009, a group of Jasper County residents formed Independence Property Management to preserve and rehabilitate the 1873 Independence Methodist Church, a long-vacant church in rural Jasper County. Our small grant will help the ad hoc group apply for 501(c)3 nonprofit designation, a move that will allow the organization to expand fundraising and ensure the historic property’s future.

First Unitarian Church, Hobart

Hobart’s First Unitarian Church, built in 1874, requires ongoing maintenance. Our $2,500 grant will help the congregation develop an assessment to guide future improvement projects and make recommendations for preservation-appropriate repairs. We applaud the congregation’s proactive approach to caring for its historic landmark!

For more information on these projects or Indiana Landmarks’ grants programs, contact our Northwest Field Office, 219-947-2657, ttolbert@indianalandmarks.org.