Indiana Historical Bureau

Reminder! IHB is currently accepting applications for new state historical markers for the 2026-2027 marker program. The deadline to submit an application is July 8, 2026.

State historical markers commemorate significant people, businesses, organizations, and institutions, as well as notable events in Indiana history. Topics must demonstrate statewide significance and be supported with primary source documentation.

Learn more about the application process and topic eligibility through our Marker Guidelines at: http://bit.ly/3L8HfZo

Learn more and download copies of the application at: https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/apply-for-a-marker/

The new Lt. Col. William Swaim marker that was dedicated over the weekend is now the third state marker to be installed in Wells County. Other markers there include one installed in 2001 commemorating botanist and Indiana's first state forester Charles Deam and a marker installed in 2019 commemorating the Kingsland Interurban Wreck of 1910.

IHB is currently working with volunteers to survey all of our state markers across Indiana. If you come across a marker in your travels, please send us photos or a note on its condition at [email protected].

Read more about the Kingsland Urban Wreck at: https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/find-historical-markers-by-county/indiana-historical-markers-by-county/kingsland-interurban-wreck/

Photo of Charles Deam courtesy of Indiana Memory and the Frank M. Hohenberger Photograph Collection via Indiana University's Digital Collections.

Wells County has a new state historical marker! This weekend we dedicated the new Lt. Col. William Swaim marker at the Old Ossian Cemetery near 305 W. Young St. in Ossian. We were honored to be joined by several of Swaim’s descendants who traveled from Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Kentucky to be present at the program. Other attendees included Richard Blanton, who drove up from Alabama to portray Lt. Col. Swaim, and many members of the Heckber family, who have been instrumental in cleaning and restoring the Old Ossian Cemetery and preserving Lt. Col. Swaim’s history. Special thanks to Larry Heckber for applying for the marker and planning the ceremony!

Learn more about Swaim via IHB's Untold Indiana blog at: https://blog.history.in.gov/the-most-righteous-war-the-leadership-and-sacrifice-of-lt-col-william-swaim/

Join us this Saturday, May 16 for the dedication of a new state historical marker in Wells County commemorating farmer and Civil War soldier Lt. Col. William Swaim. The program will take place near 305 W. Young St., Ossian, Indiana 46777, at 1 p.m.

The new historical marker was sponsored by the Heckber family and commemorates Lt. Col. William Swaim’s contributions to the Union cause during the Civil War.

Learn more about Lt. Col. Swaim via our Talking Hoosier History episode: https://podcast.history.in.gov/the-most-righteous-war-the-leadership-and-sacrifice-of-lt-col-william-swaim/

This past Saturday, DeKalb County dedicated its tenth state historical marker with the unveiling of a new marker commemorating award-winning chemist Dr. Harold C. Urey. It's the eighth marker in the county in just the last nine years. The marker is located near the entrance to Fairfield Cemetery, at the intersection of CR 12 and CR 13, in Corunna, IN 46730. Dr. Urey's son, Dr. John Urey, and his grandchildren traveled to Corunna for the event.

“My father, Harold Clayton Urey, was very proud that he was a Hoosier. He spent his early years from age 6 to 18 in DeKalb County. He earned his B.A. in biology and after WWI, earned his PhD in chemistry at Cal Berkeley. He was a marvelous father and a brilliant scientist and humanist who never forgot Indiana and always knew that he put his pants on one leg at a time." - Dr. John Urey

Thanks to former DeKalb County History John Bry for applying for this marker, current County Historian Mary Diehl for serving as Master of Ceremonies and sharing some of Dr. Urey's history, the DeKalb County Community Foundation for sponsoring the marker, and all those in attendance at the program.

Additional photos from yesterday's dedication of the new Eli Lilly and Company state historical marker! The marker was unveiled as part of Eli Lilly and Company's 150th anniversary programming this week. Special guests included Peyton Manning, who served as master of ceremonies for the event, Governor Mike Braun, former Governor Mitch Daniels, Mayor Joe Hogsett, Lilly chair and CEO Dave Ricks, Eli (Ted) Lilly II, and several other members of the Lilly family.

The marker will be installed soon at 28 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, near the site of Lilly’s original laboratory in 1876.

View more photos from the program at: https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/money/business/development/2026/05/12/eli-lilly-and-company-celebrates-its-150th-anniversary/90048331007

We're excited to share that a new Indiana state historical marker was unveiled today at the new Lilly Event Center commemorating Eli Lilly and Company’s far-reaching contributions to medical science and healthcare. Over the past 150 years, the company has evolved from a small pharmaceutical business to a global industry leader in pharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation. The marker will be installed soon at 28 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, near the site of Lilly’s original laboratory.

"When Colonel Eli Lilly founded this company, reliable medicine was a rare thing — and suffering that didn't have to exist often did. He believed science could change that. One hundred and fifty years later, it still can," said Dave Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO. "We're proud to have that story etched in stone, and even prouder to still be writing it."

Last Friday, we dedicated our first new state marker of the year! The marker commemorates longtime civic leader, teacher, and principal Ada B. Harris. An influential reformer in the Norwood neighborhood on the southeast side of Indianapolis, Harris organized numerous health, education, and civic programs. She established a boys’ club to mentor youth in 1904 and an open-air camp in 1905 for Black tuberculosis patients. Harris also spearheaded the opening of a gymnasium and the Norwood Library to serve Black patrons after the Norwood school library burned down in 1909. She helped fundraise for the building, personally started the book collection, and solicited book donations for the library. Harris encouraged Black political participation through civic engagement and organized a citizenship school for newly-enfranchised women in 1920.

Learn more about Harris through our Untold Indiana blog: https://blog.history.in.gov/an-equal-chance-ada-b-harris-norwood-and-the-black-progressive-movement/

The new marker is located on the Victory College Prep Bethel Avenue Campus at 2710 Bethel Avenue in Indianapolis, formerly the site of Harriet Beecher Stowe School.

Thank you to the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the Indiana Women's History Association, and the Southside Descendant Community for sponsoring the marker and Victory College Prep for the wonderful program on Friday! We also want to extend a big thank you to Kisha Tandy for spearheading this project, Kelsey Green for leading the research on the marker, and Kaila Austin for her support and help with the text.

Reminder! Join the dedication ceremony for our new Indiana state historical marker commemorating scientist Dr. Harold C. Urey this Saturday, May 9! The new historical marker commemorates Dr. Urey’s contributions to chemistry, nuclear physics, and space exploration. Raised in DeKalb County, Urey won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for his discovery of the isotope deuterium. He was involved in the Manhattan Project during World War II, overseeing atomic research at Columbia University for the production of nuclear weapons. Postwar, he joined leading scientists, including Albert Einstein, to advocate for the responsible use of nuclear energy. He later studied cosmochemistry and advised NASA on the Apollo Program.

Saturday's marker dedication will take place near the entrance to Fairfield Cemetery, at the intersection of CR 12 and CR 13, in Corunna, IN 46730 (DeKalb County), at 11 a.m. Parking is available along side streets in the area.

We want to extend a big thank you to the advanced art students at Paoli High School and their teacher Chris Jones for repainting the Pivot Point historical marker this spring! We'd also like to recognize the Orange County America 250 Committee and committee chairman Robert Henderson for spearheading the effort to refurbish all three state historical markers in the county, and committee member Alan Fidler who helped replace the post for the Pivot Point marker. The marker was originally installed in 1961 and is located at SR 37 & Pivot Point Road. Thanks to everyone who was involved in restoring it!