What do basketball arena Hinkle Fieldhouse, fast-food entrepreneur Colonel Sanders and suffragette Mary F. Thomas have in common? 

Each was honored with a historical marker in Indiana in 2023 – a process that starts with an idea from a citizen who wants to recognize a worthy person, event or place in their city, town or neighborhood. The Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB) opens the application period to the public from April through mid-July. 

IHB is prioritizing topics that relate to historically underrepresented racial, ethnic or immigrant groups and to women’s history, and grants are available to help cover all or part of the $3,300 cost for the marker. (Many citizens also do crowdfunding or look for business sponsors.) 

About half of the 30 to 34 applications received statewide each year are approved. Casey Pfieffer, the marker program’s manager, said the process can be competitive, but she and her team help along the way. She broke down the six steps for creating a marker to tell an important story in your community, from application to dedication. More detailed information can be found here. 

1. Decide who, where or what you want to recognize.

• Historical markers can be for any significant person, event or place, but there are some rules. People are eligible for markers 20 years after their death, and events become eligible 50 years after they happened. Priority is given to counties in Indiana that have fewer historical markers. Marion County has the most, with 109 so far. 

2. Do some initial research on your subject and review the guidelines for the application.

• You’ll have to include six to 12 “points of significance” for the topic. Each of those points, or facts, has to have at least one primary-source document proving it. For example, one point of significance for a new marker about jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery used newspaper clippings to prove the date he started rehearsing in his home with his band. 
• The eight-page application also requires that you submit a draft of the text for the marker, letters of support from the community and any plans for public programming. 

3. Send in your application before mid-July. 

• IHB and the Indiana Library and Historical Board vote to approve topics at their mid-September meeting, and applicants are notified immediately.

[Listen: Jazz legend Wes Montgomery celebrated with a historical marker dedication]

4. Revise and edit the text that will be engraved on the marker.

• Each side of the marker fits 372 characters and spaces. 
• The IHB team does more research at this stage to “make sure all the documentation is there, to add context, sharpen points of significance and then revise the text and send that to the applicant,” Pfieffer said. 
• The applicant will receive a form with the proposed marker text, which includes the IHB’s reasoning for making changes. 

5. Choose where to put the marker, and get permission from the property owners.

• There’s a lot of thought that goes into choosing a site, and getting permission to place a marker there is the part of the process that often takes the longest. 

6. Pay for the marker, order it and install it. 

• Each marker costs $3,300, and the cost of the installation is extra. For the past two years, financial assistance through grants has been available. If you get a business to sponsor the marker, its name will go on the back of the marker under the credit line.
• All the markers are produced at Sewah Studios in Ohio. 

7. Plan a special event

• Host a public ceremony to unveil the marker, followed by a reception for family and friends. Pfieffer or another IHB representative will come to the event and speak about the program.