FTHS News

Old Settlers' Day - June 29
The annual Old Settlers' Day street fair in Wanamaker will be held Sunday, June 29. The FTHS will again have a booth offering memberships, our publications, postcards, "Instant Ancestors," and Franklin Township woven coverlets, as well as our popular used book sale. Stop by and enter our raffle!

Antiques Seminar - Sunday, July 27
Curious about that old dish in the cupboard? Wondering what that antique tool in the barn was used for? Bring your antique or vintage item and have our guest antiques experts tell you what it is and where it might have come from! Joining us for this seminar will be Connie Swaim, editor of Antique Week, who will also provide tips to help you identify authentic antiques and not be fooled by reproductions. (Please note that written appraisals will not be provided at this event; this is an educational seminar only.)

Join us at the Franklin Township Civic League building, 8822 Southeastern Avenue, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. for this informative seminar. This event is free and open to the public. Tell your friends!

Meeting House Open Hours
The FTHS Meeting House, 6510 S. Franklin Road, is open to all visitors on the first Saturday and third Sunday of each month from March through October. Open hours are 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

News Archives

Big Run Cemetery Dedication

On June 10, 2007, the Franklin Township Historical Society celebrated the dedication of a sign identifying the historical significance of the Big Run Cemetery, as well as the completion of the new landscaping and fence at the cemetery. The historical marker informs visitors that the cemetery, established in 1854, is "listed in Indiana's Cemetery and Burial Grounds Registry of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources."

Big Run Cemetery was gifted to the FTHS in 1977 along with the former Big Run Baptist Church (located at 6510 S. Franklin Rd.), which became the Society's Meeting House. Both the church and the cemetery were admitted to the U.S. Department of Interior's National Register of Historic Places, as well as the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures, in December 2005.

The enamel sign at the cemetery, denoting the site's inclusion in the historic register, was the gift of FTHS members Larry and Diana Stevenson. A plaque displayed at the door of the Meeting House was donated by FTHS members Larry and Nancy VanArendonk . The cemetery fencing project was engineered by Eagle Scout Steven Crawley, of Boy Scout Troop 104, and made possible by donations from community members and local businesses, including Quality Fence Co. Cemetery landscaping was designed by Dale Walton of Walton & Vector Landscaping.

A special thanks to everyone who helped make this possible! Your contributions help the Historical Society protect and preserve these pieces of history for future generations.

Big Run Cemetery Project
For his Eagle Scout project, Steven Crawley and fellow members of Troop 104 have trimmed around headstones and cleaned along the fence line of the Big Run Baptist Church cemetery. With the generous donation of discounted materials and labor from Dave Munn, Sr., owner of a local fence company, Steven was able to facilitate the replacement of the deteriorated cemetery fence. He is still hoping for donations to help cover the $1200 cost of the fence materials. Anyone who wishes to donate may call Steven at 862-5919.

Original Church Pump Organ Donated
Ruth Handy, whose late mother Margaret Handy was one of the last members of the Big Run Baptist Church, has donated the pump organ which was used in the church in its later years. We are delighted and honored to have the opportunity to display the organ in the building in which it was played.

Big Run Baptist Church Cemetery Gets Landscaping and Marker
On October 2, 2006, new landscaping by Walton & Vector Landscaping was completed at the Big Run Baptist Church cemetery. This was done in preparation for the installation of a new marker denoting the cemetery's listing on an Indiana register of historic cemetery properties. The sign, donated by Larry and Diana Stevenson, will be mounted at a later date.

The cemetery, located across Franklin Road from the Meeting House (the former Big Run Baptist Church), dates from the mid-1850s and was associated with the church. A number of families currently living in Franklin Township have ancestors buried in this small pioneer cemetery.

Meeting House Added to the Register of Historic Sites & Structures
At a meeting of the Indiana Historic Preservation Review Board on Oct. 19, the FTHS Meeting house was named as a property worthy of preservation. As a result of this designation from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology officials, the former Big Run Baptist Church and cemetery will now be listed in the Indiana Register of Historic Sites and Structures, as well as in the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places. FTHS has received certificates for State and National recognition.

The nomination, written by Diana Stevenson, documented the architectural significance of the building as well as the history of the congregation that built the church in 1871. Members of the Big Run Baptist Church deeded the building to the Franklin Township Historical Society in 1977, when their congregation was dissolved.