Indiana history projects receive $1.2 million grant

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced the award of 12 grants to projects aimed at preserving local history. The Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology revealed the funding plan last week. The state will contribute $656,000 to these initiatives. Federal matching funds will bring the total investment to more than $1.2 million.

One recipient of the funding is a project focused on the wreck of the Union naval vessel Alice Dean. The ship sank in the Ohio River in July 1863. Confederate soldiers under Gen. John Hunt Morgan had captured a nearby postal boat. They used the vessel to ferry troops from Kentucky into Indiana before burning the Alice Dean. The site remains on the border between Indiana and Kentucky.

Charles Beeker, director of Indiana University's Center of Underwater Science, will lead the study of the shipwreck. He described the site as underwater cultural resources. Beeker aims to gather more information to create a living museum. He noted that historic shipwrecks are rare resources for maritime history.

Other grant recipients will work on masonry repairs for historic buildings. These projects are located in South Bend, Cannelton, Terre Haute, and Plymouth. A separate grant will support a study in New Harmony. Another project will seek federal recognition for a site in Fort Wayne.

The Department of Natural Resources is accepting public comments on all 12 projects. The comment period ends at the close of the calendar year. Residents can review the specific details of each funded project in the department's documentation.

The Alice Dean was newly completed when it responded to a distress call three days after the Battle of Gettysburg. Morgan's Raid continued through Corydon, Salem, and Vienna before ending in Ohio. The Union naval vessel responded to the signal from the postal boat. The Confederate forces subdued the Union soldiers on board the Alice Dean. The ship has remained at the bottom of the river for over 150 years.