VEEDERSBURG — An historic train depot and a small country church were among the at-risk places given a lifeline by a statewide preservation group.
Indiana Landmarks awarded more than $176,000 to nonprofits, towns and churches last year to help save historic buildings.
The Veedersburg Revitalization Association received funds to develop a plan for rehabbing the town’s Nickel Plate Depot, while Osborn Prairie Christian Church got money for a structural assessment of the worship house.
“Not only do these grants help with material grants associated with saving places important to communities, but they also often spark community action and inspire other giving,” Indiana Landmarks president Marsh Davis said in a prepared statement.
The revitalization association has been raising money to restore the 117-year-old train station into a small event venue. The $2,500 grant paid for a feasibility study, but the project cannot move forward until work is done on the foundation and basement walls.
“It’s kind of unfortunately at a halt so far as seeing a lot of progress,” treasurer Sherry Bailey said.
The town brought in a Lafayette engineering firm to assess the building. It will be late winter or early spring to hire a company for the work.
Osborn Prairie Christian Church was first organized in 1838 after funeral guests began meeting for worship nearby. During the Civil War, the church hosted rallies and enrollment calls.
The current building opened in 1892 and more recently housed the congregation of the Church of God’s Love.
The church received $2,400 for the structural assessment.
Money for both grants came from the Efroymson Family Endangered Places fund, which are used for architectural and structural assessments, rehab cost analyses and reuse studies. The fund also paid for an assessment of DePauw University’s O’Hair House and the library and administration buildings at the Indiana Veterans’ Home in West Lafayette.
For more information on Indiana Landmarks, visit indianalandmarks.org or call 800-450-4534.
