Indiana DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology

2026 marks the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate this anniversary, we are featuring the many resources of all types in Indiana that are designated National Historic Landmarks. To learn more about these resources, visit the State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD): on.IN.gov/SHAARD. To learn more about the National Historic Landmark program, visit: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1582/index.htm

The Madison NHL Historic District is significant for the more than 1,800 resources that embody many popular architectural styles from 1817 to 1939. The district possesses a high degree of integrity and features many buildings that were constructed by notable architects and builders. The district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 (NR-2038) but was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006 (NR-2163).

Indianapolis’ Monument Circle is one of the capital city’s famous landmarks. The Circle Theater on the southeast side of the circle was a popular destination as one of the first “deluxe movie palaces” in the Midwest. Adjacent to the theater entrance was the Bamboo Inn. Read more about the history and influence of this trendy Chinese restaurant in our latest issue of the Preservation at the Crossroads newsletter: https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/about-us/publications/newsletter.

RECENT LISTING TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER: The Maple Place Historic District (NR-2879) in Fort Wayne is a small residential area approximately two miles southwest of downtown. It was platted and developed by the City & Suburban Building Company of Fort Wayne, representing an early and intact example of the company's work and is the only true bungalow court in Fort Wayne.
Read more about the district in our latest issue of Preservation at the Crossroads: https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/about-us/publications/newsletter

May's Historic Preservation Month focus on the National Road inspired one of our followers to provide additional content about the National Road in his community of Plainfield!

When Hendricks County held a contest for its bicentennial seal in 2023, I argued that it should include a traffic cone. Anyone who has spent enough time driving U.S. 40 through Plainfield probably understands why. For nearly two centuries, people have been rebuilding, widening, paving, rerouting, and modernizing the National Road through Indiana, including through Plainfield. The history of the town is closely tied to that road, and these photographs (digitally curated by Friends of the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library) show just how much the roadway changed over time.

The early version of the National Road in Plainfield (c. 1860s) was unpaved, lined with wagons and horse-drawn traffic, and crossed White Lick Creek via a c. 1853 covered bridge that was later replaced with a c. 1888 iron bridge. Later, plank road sections were an early attempt to make travel more reliable in wet conditions, but were expensive to maintain and often deteriorated quickly.

The National Road was important enough politically, producing one of Plainfield’s better-known local stories. According to local tradition, former President Martin Van Buren visited Plainfield after vetoing federal funding intended for improvements to the National Road. Local residents supposedly paid his carriage driver to overturn the carriage in the mud near what became known as the Van Buren Elm, embarrassing the former president and making a point about the condition of the road. Whether every detail of the story is true or not, muddy and nearly impassable conditions along the National Road were a very real problem for travelers.

By around 1917, portions of Main Street were surfaced with brick. Paving bricks lined the roadway while workers improved U.S. 40 through town. By the mid-20th century, the road had fully entered it’s automobile era, and freshly poured concrete became the preferred treatment.

For archaeologists, roads like U.S. 40 are more than transportation corridors. Sites such as the Starbuck family farmstead in Plainfield, archaeological site 12HE192, show how important the National Road was to early communities in central Indiana. While not located directly along U.S. 40 itself, the Starbuck farmstead existed within the economic orbit created by the National Road. Excavations at the site recovered evidence of homemade pottery production alongside goods imported from Europe and other distant markets. Even on a random Indiana farmstead, the National Road connected local households to a much larger world.

Thank you for your insight, John!

To learn more about Historic Preservation Month: https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/public-outreach/historic-preservation-month/

Dr. Henry, Professional Archaeologist (DHPA’s archaeology “mascot”) was invited to come to the Odon Winkelpleck Public Library in Odon, IN. He enjoyed visiting this Daviess County location recently and checking out the building itself as well as historic books in the collections.

According to SHAARD (on.IN.gov/shaard), the Odon Library Association was established on January 14, 1906, with about 100 donated books housed in the front room of Sharpless Bakery. Over the years, the collection moved several times before the Wood-Seneff Millinery Building was purchased in 1923 as its first permanent home. After Jonas M. Winklepleck’s death in 1933, funds from his will and community donations helped build a new library in memory of his first wife, Florence Winklepleck, the library association’s first president. Construction of the new building began in 1934 and was completed in 1937 at a cost of about $10,000, designed in the Colonial Revival style. At the time of survey, the library remains a notable example of Colonial Revival architecture in Daviess County, with later renovations preserving its historic character.

If you are going through Odon, consider making a stop at this library (https://odon.evergreenindiana.org/)!



📸 Odon Winkelpleck Public Library

Last week, as part of Historic Preservation month, DHPA staff and interns visited the new Indiana Archives and Records Administration (https://www.in.gov/iara/) building in downtown Indianapolis and offered their assistance by labeling shelves ahead of their big move. Thank you to IARA staff for providing us a sneak-peek hard hat tour, we can't wait to visit when it's officially open!

Have you updated your bookmarks for SHAARD? Earlier this year, DHPA has released a new version of SHAARD and the IHBBC Map! Be sure to use: https://shaard.dnr.IN.gov/ to view the database and https://gisdata.in.gov/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=93749795652e4fa197fae122d2ba0a9c to view the GIS Map that pairs with SHAARD. Both links can also be found at on.in.gov/shaard.

If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected].

As we wrap up Historic Preservation Month, we want to feature this year's photo contest winners.

📸Photo One: Color Category Winner Carla Hall of Roann notes that the Hileman Round Barn in Silver Lake is so pretty to photograph in all four seasons.

📸Photo Two: The Black & White Category winner Kyle Ho**er of Sullivan has been intrigued by this coal tower ever since he moved there. He enjoyed learning about its history and capturing it at different times of the year.

📸Photo Three: The winner of the Altered Category was Cindi Myers of Millersburg. She photographed the 1911 Round Barn in Nappanee that now holds a theater. She was able to capture the Northern Lights one evening!

📸Photo Four: George Overpeck of Rockville likes to take walks with his family and play with friends at Billie Creek Village where he photographed the St. Joseph Catholic Church there. When visiting he likes to pretend that he lives back in time.

📸Photo Five: For the second year in a row, Jennifer Minnis of Paris, Illinois has won the HP Month Theme – this time photographing a former Texaco Station along the National Road. She travels this route often and believes that it represents the spirit of Route 40.

If you are interested in participating in 2027, visit our website for contest information: https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/public-outreach/photo-contest

2026 marks the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate this anniversary, we are featuring the many resources of all types in Indiana that are designated National Historic Landmarks. To learn more about these resources, visit the State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD): on.IN.gov/SHAARD. To learn more about the National Historic Landmark program, visit: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1582/index.htm

Grouseland was the 1804-1812 home of William Henry Harrison, Territorial Governor of Indiana and later ninth President of the United States. Here, Harrison held conferences with Indiana nations surrounding westward expansion. The two-story house featured limestone foundation blocks from quarries near Fort Knox and the bricks were made from clay on a nearby farm. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 (NR-2004).

This year’s Historic Preservation Month focuses on resources found along our nation’s first federally funded highway, US 40, the National Road! We hope you enjoyed traveling along with us this month as we highlight a handful of historic resources found in the communities along this important thoroughfare between Richmond and Terre Haute!

The United States Trust Company and First National Bank are located on Wabash Avenue in downtown Terre Haute. The United States Trust Company is a Neo-Classical style building constructed in 1904 by S.S. Beman of Chicago and built by Fred J. Maurer with a remodeled façade in 1927 by Johnson, Miller, Miller, and Yeager. Inside there were murals to decorate the building’s barrel-vaulted ceiling. The two-story Neo-Classical First National Bank building was constructed in 1892 and was designed by architect H. Jenny of Chicago with T.S. Snapp as the general contractor. It includes a prominent two-story Greek temple portico on the main façade. Both are historic resources within the Downtown Terre Haute Multiple Resource Area (NR-0577.18 & NR-0577.19) that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. To learn more, visit SHAARD at on.IN.gov/SHAARD.