FTHS News

Events Calendar
Our schedule of special events is now online in calendar format for your convenience! Check out the FTHS Events Calendar page to learn about community events, FTHS seminars, and more!

Harvest Dinner and Annual Meeting - Saturday, November 8
Join us Saturday, November 8 at 1:00 p.m. for our Harvest Dinner and Annual Meeting at Sutherland's restaurant in nearby Fairland, Indiana. You and your fellow Historical Society members will enjoy the scenic autumn drive to Fairland, have a delicious dinner, and hear a brief informative program.

The evening's menu includes an entree of pork loin, served with tossed salad, potatoes, green beans, and a dessert of cherry cobbler, along with your choice of beverage: coffee, tea, soft drink or water. Gratuity is included in the price of $15 per person.

Reservations and payment should be sent to the Franklin Township Historical Society, P.O. Box 39015, Indianapolis, IN 46239. Reservations must be received no later than October 31, 2008.

If you wish to carpool to the restaurant, meet at the Meeting House (6510 S. Franklin Rd.) at 12:00 p.m.

If you have questions about this event, contact Diana at 862-8822.

Driving Directions:
Take I-74 south to the Fairland exit (race track exit). Turn right on Fairland Rd. As you enter the town of Fairland, turn right on the first street, just before the railroad tracks. The restaurant is on the right side of the road in about 1/4 mile, the former Fairland National Bank building.

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.