Indiana Historical Society Announces Annual Award Honorees from Across the State

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is proud to announce its Annual Award Winners for 2025. Each year, IHS recognizes outstanding individuals whose efforts have enriched the lives of others by conveying awareness and appreciation of Indiana’s history on local, regional and statewide levels.

Below are the IHS 2025 Award Winners:

Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award

The Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award is named for Dorothy Riker, who was a 50-year employee and editor for IHS and the Indiana Historical Bureau from 1929 to 1979. This award is made annually to a historian who has made distinguished contributions to the field of historical scholarship, including presentation, use of materials and preservation, or the affairs and activities of the IHS.

Pamela Rose Peters — New Albany, Indiana

Peters’ scholarship on the Underground Railroad has broadened public understanding and access to primary research. Her book, “The Underground Railroad in Floyd County, Indiana,” was among the first publications accepted into the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom. Her research informed the Carnegie Center’s permanent exhibition “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage” and its exhibition on Lucy Higgs Nichols, which is also included in the Network to Freedom. She additionally helped found the Vintage Fire Museum, preserving rare Southern Indiana firefighting artifacts and developing an engaging museum experience that now welcomes thousands of visitors annually.

Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award

The Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions over an extended period of time to a) the field of history and/or b) the affairs of IHS. This award is named after philanthropist Eli Lilly, a lifelong leader of the Indiana Historical Society.

Marsh Davis — New Harmony and Indianapolis, Indiana

Davis retired in 2025 after 37 years with Indiana Landmarks, including 19 as president, guiding its growth into the nation’s largest statewide historic preservation organization. Signature achievements include the adaptive reuse of Bush Stadium, restoring Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church as the Indiana Landmarks Center, and stewardship of Samara in West Lafayette. He launched major initiatives such as the Black Heritage Preservation Program and Sacred Places Indiana, broadening preservation’s reach and resources statewide. He has been named President Emeritus in recognition of a legacy that strengthened preservation culture across Indiana.

Hubert Hawkins Local History Award

The Hubert Hawkins Local History Award is given annually to a local historian for his or her distinguished service and career in local history. Hubert Howard Hawkins was executive secretary of IHS and director of the Indiana Historical Bureau. He was instrumental in increasing membership through visits around the state and with the Indiana Junior Historical Society.

Carolyn Lafever — Cambridge City, Indiana
Wayne County Historian Emeritus, Lafever is the author of six books and a contributor to two more. An accomplished musician and former choir director, she is a frequent speaker and advocate whose work has documented, shared and celebrated Wayne County history for decades.

Karen Schwartz — Corydon, Indiana
Schwartz has led the Historical Society of Harrison County for more than two decades, coordinating 15+ local history books and pamphlets, acquiring and interpreting two historic properties (the William Henry Harrison Log Cabin and the Posey House), and organizing hundreds of public programs, tours, videos and creative history experiences. Her weekly “Looking Back” column further expands community engagement, and her children’s book This Is Our Hometown: Corydon, Indiana fosters early appreciation for local heritage.

Indiana History Outstanding Organization Event or Project Award

The Indiana History Outstanding Organization Event or Project Award recognizes an organization for an exceptional educational event or history project implemented during the past year, either one-time or ongoing, which relates to that organization’s mission.

Indiana State Library — Indianapolis
Launched in January 2025, the Library’s Escape Experience history kits have reached 60+ public libraries and 600+ participants. With six narratives and 24 kits (four copies each), topics include President Benjamin Harrison, Indiana women, Indiana Quakers, Crispus Attucks High School & Indiana basketball, genealogy and aviation history. Libraries value the low-cost, high-quality programming; schools praise minimal setup, reusability and artifact-rich, collaborative learning.

Kosciusko County Historical Society — Warsaw, Indiana
The Society honored the county’s top female athletes, reuniting girls’ high-school state basketball championship teams from the past 50 years and hosting hands-on sports demos (hockey, pickleball, rugby, Jiu-Jitsu). The celebration continues through the 2025 featured exhibit with artifacts from girls’ teams dating back 100 years.

Riley Children’s Health — Indianapolis, Indiana
For its 2024 centennial, Riley advanced three major history initiatives:
• “Cherishing Each Child, Riley Hospital for Children, 1924–2024” — the hospital’s first comprehensive history book chronicling ten decades of growth, expansion, and leadership in pediatric care and research. The book highlights the roles of the Riley Children’s Foundation and nationally and internationally recognized physician leaders in shaping Riley’s reputation as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals.
• A centennial video series shared across digital platforms and broadcast locally, documenting breakthroughs in children’s healthcare, including family-centered care, pediatric heart surgery, infectious disease, neonatal care, the Berlin Heart, cochlear implants, and innovative cancer and diabetes research.
• Two digital platforms, created by the Indiana University School of Medicine Library, that provide ongoing public access to Riley historical resources and archival films. These digital collections, designed for perpetual updates, ensure Riley’s century-long story continues to grow for future generations.

Outstanding Collaborative Project Award

The Outstanding Collaborative Project Award recognizes an exceptional project by a historical or heritage organization with one or more partners implemented during the past year, particularly for projects that share county or regional history.

Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter, NSDAR — Colonial Fair — Indianapolis
A free, family-friendly living-history event that drew 1,100+ attendees, including a dedicated student and homeschool day. Volunteer reenactors created a hands-on 1775 village with crafts and interactive displays, emphasizing education and immersive learning for all ages.

Discover Downtown Washington — Washington, Indiana
Through broad collaboration, the organization helped establish a DORA district, launched Christmas on Main (now annual), started a Farmers Market (2025), produced a large-scale IDDC postcard mural with artist Barb Stahl, and initiated a Façade Grant Program that leveraged $40,000 in public investment into $280,000+ in private improvements—strengthening civic pride through place-based history and revitalization.

Outstanding Historical Organization Award

The Outstanding Historical Organization Award is presented to a local or county historical society, organization or site in Indiana which has demonstrated remarkable service to and programs for its community and has demonstrated excellent application of professional standards and best practices. 

SullivanMunce Cultural Center, Inc. — Zionsville, Indiana

SullivanMunce expanded its Century Structures program; added segmented walking tours (Short & Sweet, Poetry House, Queen Anne’s Stroll) in the BooneINCulture app and integrated Brick Street Poetry (with a companion book in development); continued leadership of Zionsville’s Historic Marker Program with town partners; and advanced digitization in the Genealogy Library—extending access through app-based tours and deepening public engagement with local history.

For more information about the Indiana Historical Society, call (317) 232-1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org.

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