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Indiana Historical Society Appoints New Porter County Historian
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 5, 2026) — The Indiana Historical Society is excited to announce the appointment of a new Indiana county historian in Porter County.
New Porter County Historian Serena Ard was born and raised in Northwest Indiana and developed her love of history through family stories and the influence of her high school history teacher, Tom Clark. She attended college in Austin, Texas, and taught grades 5–8 history and English in Plano, Texas, before moving to North Carolina, where she taught high school U.S. History and English.
Ard later left classroom teaching to pursue graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a Master of Arts in U.S. History with a concentration in Museum Studies. In 2011, she became curator of the Westchester Township History Museum in Chesterton. In this role, she has conducted extensive research on local and regional topics, including the Indiana dunes, state and national park history, local towns, family and property histories, and business and industrial history.
She has curated and written dozens of exhibits and created a popular social media series highlighting local women, which ran from 2019 through 2025 during Women’s History Month. Ard frequently collaborates on exhibits and research with organizations such as the Porter County Museum, the Field Museum, Indiana Dunes National Park, the Chesterton Art Center, and others. She also serves on the boards of the Duneland Historical Society and the Northwest Indiana Steel Heritage Project. Although a museum professional, Ard especially enjoys the research and presentation aspects of her work and is known for eagerly diving into new and fascinating historical “rabbit holes.”
In 1981, through an effort to improve the historical communication network in the state, the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana Historical Bureau established the Indiana County Historian Program. County historians serve as volunteers appointed by the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Historical Bureau to promote local history in their counties, connect individuals and groups with history resources, promote collaboration between local history organizations and maintain connections with the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana Historical Bureau.
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About the Indiana Historical Society (IHS)
The Indiana Historical Society collects and preserves Indiana’s unique stories; brings Hoosiers together in remembering and sharing the past; and inspires a future grounded in our state’s uniting values and principles. IHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
