The Powers Church and Cemetery Association in Angola will be presented with the Indiana Historic Preservation Award in a public event at the church at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18.
The historic building, located at 650 S. Old Indiana 1, is not heated, so attendees should dress appropriately.
Indiana Historic Preservation Awards, which recognize outstanding efforts in the field of historic preservation, are determined and presented by the DNR Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology (DHPA).
The award is being presented to the association for its rehabilitation of the bell tower and steeple of the church, which is named after four Powers brothers who settled in Steuben County in the late 1830s. The area became a thriving community centered around a sawmill, a general store, a grist mill, and the church, which was built in 1876.
By the 1920s, the village was dwindling, and the church was closed and abandoned. The association acquired the building in 1976. In 2019, the association applied for and received a Historic Preservation Fund grant to assist with the rehabilitation, which it completed. The church displays an intact interior and is popular for weddings, family reunions, and other gatherings. The association also hosts several non-denominational services throughout the year.
As the State Historic Preservation Office, the DHPA oversees the federally funded Historic Preservation Fund grant program, the federal Reinvestment Historic Tax Credit program, and the state's Historic Homeowner Tax Credit program. The agency also functions as Indiana's central repository for historic structures and archaeological site records.
Categories: Indiana, General