Projects

Projects. There are always projects in progress or in the works, as any homeowner can attest. The most current project was the renovation of the garage into a much needed conservation room.
We recently received a Heritage Support Grant for $50,000 from the Indiana Historical Society, made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc. We also were awarded an additional $7,500 from the Community Foundation of Switzerland County for the project.
Our project summary and solution outlined here is a brief part of the entire application, but serves to explain the “need” and the “solution”.
Managing space for proper storage of artifacts and documents is a major challenge for our historical society. The situation was compounded by not having a designated area in which to process accessions and also to work on conservation of the collection. Access to documents for those doing genealogy research and creating an appropriate storage environment is also a factor.
These three considerations were problematic because of the limited space in the two adjacent buildings that are our museums ~ the Switzerland County Historical Museum and the “Life on the Ohio” River History Museum.
Utilizing the space in the 15’ x 25’ attached garage was both a convenient and affordable solution. The garage structure is Bedford stone. We created a vault-type fireproof environment, with special attention to temperature and humidity control. Family files and original documents will be stored here. There is also space and equipment for working on conservation of artifacts and documents.
A 12’ x 16’ addition to increase storage and provide a place to receive and quarantine items with facilities to do basic cleaning was built onto the garage.
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garage grant
garage exterior
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garage ceiling
A Tale of Two Barns
The Switzerland County Historical Society operates the Thiebaud Farmstead, located three miles west of Vevay on St. Rt. 56. It focuses on the second generation of a Swiss immigrant family and the economic impact of the haypress barn on the agriculture of the region. Musee de Venoge, located one mile north of Vevay on St. Rt. 129, captures life of early French Swiss emigrants before Indiana statehood. 
The reconstruction of a hay press barn at the Thiebaud farmstead was completed in the fall of 2016, realizing a fourteen year old dream. The Switzerland County Historical Society had been awarded a Destination Development grant from the Indiana Office of Tourism Development (IOTD) in the amount of $75,000.

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A Patchwork of History

A project of a different kind that took place during our Bicentennial was a Patchwork of History.  Many quilts and quilters from the county were highlighted in this project.  The quilts and quilters attributed to the quilts can be found here:

Patchwork of History

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