Saving Historic Orange County-SHOC

12/12/2024

Did you know the Indiana Barn Foundation has a grant to assist barn owners with barn repairs? The deadline to apply is January 31st. For details and the application, visit the IBF website at https://www.indianabarns.org/grants (Shown is a previous grant recipient barn where funds were used for foundation work.)

12/03/2024

10/16/2024

Saving Historic Orange County members are excited to nominate The Maples, an historic farmstead between Paoli and Prospect, to the National Register of Historic Places. Work began last week by Kurt W. Garner, a preservation consultant SHOC has contracted to write the nomination application.

10/08/2024

One of Orange County’s oldest and most historic structures, the 1841 stagecoach stop known as The Maples, has been designated by Saving Historic Orange County (SHOC) as the next candidate for protection offered by a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
SHOC’s proposal to finance cost of the National Register project received the blessing of The Maples owner, Kelly Cuff. Work begins this week to prepare an application, which will be reviewed first by Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA). If approved, the paperwork moves on to the National Park Service in Washington D.C., which administers National Register of Historic Places.
This week, Kurt West Garner, of Heritage Preservation, Plymouth, IN will visit the historic inn, which offered travelers lodging on the stagecoach route between New Albany and Vincennes. The property, located between Paoli and West Baden Springs, was built by James Campbell and served as an inn for many decades.
Mr. Garner is acquainted with Orange County and SHOC. He was contracted by the preservation group and successfully nominated the Shindler-Stetson House in Orleans to the National Register in 2021. He is a renowned historic preservation consultant, who has prepared more successful National Register nominations than any other consultant in the state of Indiana.
Mr. Garner told SHOC members he is excited to begin work on the nomination of The Maples. The original iron bar securing the door to the room where cash was stored, remains in place in the house and the summer kitchen, smoke house, barn, corn crib and carriage house, all remaining on the property. He is hopeful those surviving structures will allow the property a unique and uncommon listing on the Register as a farmstead.
Members of SHOC had noticed restoration occurring in a preservationist’s manner to the inn exterior and chose Mr. Cuff recipient of the organization’s annual Historic Preservation award.
During the award selection process, members expressed concern about protection of the historic property, especially considering its proximity to a SR 56 and US 150. National Register properties are offered a degree of protection should proposed state or federal projects diminish or threaten its historic value, so SHOC moved forward toward the National Register nomination by contracting Mr. Garner.
In addition to protection, a listing on the National Register of Historic Places allows the property owner the ability to qualify for either state or federal tax credits for approved restoration projects, an added benefit for Mr. Cuff.

Pictured below: Owner of The Maples, Kelly Cuff, center, is recipient of the 2024 Saving Historic Orange County (SHOC) preservation award. Jeff Lane, SHOC member and Orange County Historian, made the presentation with SHOC president, Terry Cornwell. Mr. Cuff is the twelfth owner of historic Orange County property to be recognized for preservation efforts by SHOC.

04/11/2024

Financial incentives to restore historic property.

Owners of historic buildings are invited to attend a free program April 25, 2024 in Paoli to learn about financial incentives available for rehabilitation of historic structures, especially those listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The program is sponsored by Saving Historic Orange County and the Design committee of Possibilities in Paoli.
Laura Renwick, community preservation specialist with the Southern Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks, will lead the program. Topics will include what a listing on the National Register does and does not do for a property and how to qualify for state and federal financial incentives available for rehabilitation of various types of historic buildings.
Large portions of downtown Paoli and Orleans are currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places and according to Renwick, many other historic structures in Orange County could qualify for the financial incentives when certified.
The program will begin at 6 p.m. in the lower level of the County Community Building on Hospital Road in Paoli.
Copies of the Orange County Historic Sites and Structures Survey book, which identifies historic districts, will be available.
Please share with family and friends who own historic homes.

04/02/2024

Don’t forget, if you would like to learn the proper techniques for cleaning cemetery stones, Karen Padgett will conduct a workshop at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6. Meet in the Old Town Cemetery between Fair Street and Third Street.

03/20/2024

02/02/2024

Saving Historic Orange County (SHOC) continues to support work to clean and restore monuments in local cemeteries and teach the proper methods to others interested. SHOC member Karen Padgett, who is leading the way in this project, has been at work in Newberry Cemetery, west of Paoli, for many months. She plans to move to the old town cemeteries on SR 150 in Paoli. Donations for the purchase of supplies to clean and restore monuments are accepted in a fund SHOC has created for that purpose. Contributions should take the form of a check with cemetery fund noted on the memo line. SHOC is a 501 (c) 3 charity, allowing contributions to be tax exempt. Donations may be mailed to:
Terry Cornwell
Att: SHOC
205 W Water Street
Paoli, IN 47454

01/11/2024

Sharing Orange County Clerk, Elizabeth Jones’ photo the the 170-year-old bell removed from the tower on Orange County Courthouse today. Removal of levels of the bell tower continues in the process to restore the cupola when an August tornado caused damage to the historic town square and the community.

12/23/2023

So proud of Orange County Commissioners for restoring our National Register listed Orange County Courthouse. She’s a grand lady and after serving us for 173 years old, she deserves the best.

12/05/2023

Only one National Register plaque remains. If you own a home listed on the National Register, and would like to purchase a plaque, message thru SHOC’s page. The cast bronze plaques are $150.

12/02/2023