HPS annual meeting set for Thursday

The Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County will hold its annual meeting on Thursday, March 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Putnam County Museum.

The event is free and open to the public.

The featured speaker will be Professor Harry Brown, DePauw University English Department chairman. His presentation will focus on "Indiana Territory and Indian Nations."

Professor Brown will explore how Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, known as the "Shawnee Prophet," led a group from their tribal homeland in Ohio into western Indiana. In 1808, they established the settlement of Prophetstown at the confluence of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers. Together, the brothers created a new model of Indian resistance, signaling the dawn of another phase in frontier history.

In 2003, Brown joined DePauw where he teaches early American literature, Native American literature and literature of the environment. He is one of a dozen orators comprising the roster of the Putnam County Bicentennial Speakers Bureau.

In addition to his talk, the HPS Board of Directors will summarize the organization's achievements of the past year and future goals.

Those will include the successful effort to raise money to restore the Civil War Monument in Forest Hill Cemetery and the current campaign to install two clocks on the north and south faces of the Putnam County courthouse. Both have been denoted as official Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Projects by the state.

Also in the works are nominations to the National Register of Historic Places for districts in Cloverdale, Bainbridge, Roachdale and Russellville. If approved, these areas become eligible for certain funding and protection. An example of how this designation can benefit a community is the current façade restoration ongoing in downtown Greencastle as a result of the Stellar Community grant.

In celebration of May as National Historic Preservation Month, HPS will announce plans to mount the plaque commemorating the Extension Homemakers to the Heritage Wall located on South Vine Street by Wilson's Photography Studio. The event will be part of the Greencastle downtown First Friday activities on May 6.

Those interested in helping to preserve the historic character of Putnam County can support the work of this all-volunteer group by becoming members.

Tax-deductible memberships begin at $25 for an individual and $35 for a family; other available levels are $50 for an "advocate," $100 for a "guardian" and $200 for "preservationist" status.

For more information and updates, check the Heritage Preservation Society of Putnam County's Facebook page.