Projects
Since 2007, HPS has conducted nearly $250,000 in preservation projects—including restoring the Putnam County Courthouse, saving the historic Civil War Monument, and more.
It has also led the rigorous nomination process for several communities that have received recognition on the National Register of Historic Places,
Restoration of the Putnam County Civil War Memorial
In a campaign that took longer to complete than winning the Civil War itself, the once-crumbling Soldier’s Monument erected in 1870 in Greencastle’s Forest Hill Cemetery was assessed, stabilized and finally restored in the fall of 2017. The effort was made possible by extensive grant-writing and oversight by HPS member Phil Gick. Income from the Zaring House tour (courtesy of Tim and Kim Shinn), the Efroymson Family Fund, the Servaas Award, the John Ireland House tour (thanks to DePauw University), the City of Greencastle, Putnam County, the Putnam County Community Foundation, and a federally-funded state-distributed Historic Preservation Fund Grant, covered the roughly $125,000 expense. The refurbished memorial was re-dedicated on July 1, 2018, with great fanfare, including a unit of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
Installation of Two Clocks in the Putnam County Courthouse Facade
The fundraising drive for clocks in the north and south gables of the county Courthouse began in 2015 with a tour of the Valentine House. The goal was to finally complete the façade as the celebrated architect JD Gaddis had intended when the edifice was constructed in 1905. One dial had eventually been put on the south side in the 1980’s, but required manual intervention to keep running in a timely fashion. After additional donations from many private individuals and local businesses, a contribution from Putnam County, and a grant from the Putnam County Community Foundation, the two timepieces built by Smith’s Bell & Clock Service were installed on the pediments of the courthouse on April 14, 2017. A dedication followed on May 5, 2017. A commemorative plaque in the lobby has a list of donors.