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ENRICHING MADISON'S FUTURE BY VALUING ITS PAST SINCE 1960

Historic Madison, Inc. (HMI) is an award-winning non-profit historic preservation organization playing a key role in the preservation, restoration, education, and development of the Madison, Indiana National Historic Landmark District.

2026 HMI/Galvin Scholarship Application Available Now

The application for the Historic Madison, Inc./John & Maureen Galvin Scholarship is now available via the button below. The deadline to apply is February 27, 2026.

This scholarship will be awarded to a qualified high school senior from a high school in Jefferson County, IN, pursuing a degree in historic preservation, architecture, American History, or a related field. Selection will be based on application materials, academic performance, and a demonstrated interest in the related field, such as an internship, volunteer work, and community service.

Historic Madison, Inc., founded in 1960, is one of Indiana’s oldest and most prestigious historic preservation organizations. John Galvin served as president from 1981 to 2010. Under his leadership, Historic Madison, Inc., through its many programs and accomplishments, supported the preservation and improvement of Madison’s historic district so that it attained status as a National Historic Landmark District, the highest designation a historic district can receive.

The $1000 scholarship award honors Galvin’s community and preservation-related successes while recognizing Maureen Galvin’s support for and encouragement of these worthy accomplishments in the hopes of inspiring future generations of preservationists, architects, and historians.

For further information or questions, contact Historic Madison, Inc. at hmi@historicmadisoninc.com or call (812) 265-2967.

Complete Your Galvin Scholarship Application Today!

2025 Nights Before Christmas

Candlelight Tour of Homes

Tickets are on sale now for the annual Nights Before Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes! HMI's featured site will be Dr. Hutchings' Office & Annex.

Click the box below to buy tickets today! Prices go up on November 1st.

If you would like to volunteer to work for the Nights Before Christmas Tour, please contact the HMI Office.

Purchase Nights Before Christmas Tickets Here!

The Harp Twins are Coming to St. Michael the Archangel

December 19 - 7 PM

Join the world-renowned Harp Twins for this family-friendly concert full of magical winter music, Christmas classics, comedy, stories, and a sprinkling of classic rock favorites! Plus, you won’t want to miss the exciting show finale featuring the Volfgang Twins on double drums! Free meet & greet with the Harp Twins and Volfgang Twins immediately following the concert. Buy your tickets today via the link below!

Harp Twins Concert Tickets

Want to learn more about the Harp Twins before you buy?

Check out their website and YouTube channel!

@HarpTwins On YouTube

Harp Twins Website

Sullivan House Awarded $65,000

HMI was one of 20 organizations to receive funding from the Indiana Historical Society in its latest round of Heritage Support Grants. HMI received $50,000 to construct an accessibility ramp and exterior restroom enclosure as part of the restoration of the Sullivan House. The Heritage Support Grants program, provided by the Indiana Historical Society and made possible by the Lilly Endowment Inc., offers critical funding to local, county, and regional historical societies, museums, and sites. The grants support projects that address high-priority needs in collections stewardship, capacity building, sustainability, and planning.

HMI also received $15,000 from the Community Foundation of Jefferson County to aid with accessibility needs of the historic site. HMI's President and Executive Director, John Staicer, noted that the Indiana Code and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) require any major rehabilitation of a publicly accessible property to provide an accessible entrance and accessible restroom. The funds awarded will help HMI to achieve those goals with the restoration project.

Would you like to learn more about HMI?

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Merritt Alcorn Honored for Preservation Leadership

In recognition of his lifelong commitment to defending and raising awareness of Madison, Indiana’s historic architecture, local attorney and civic leader Merritt Alcorn has been selected to receive Indiana Landmarks’ 2025 Williamson Prize for outstanding leadership in historic preservation.

Today, downtown Madison qualifies as one of the largest contiguous National Historic Landmark districts in the country, known for its streets of nineteenth and twentieth-century buildings. But decades ago, the status the city now celebrates was not a foregone conclusion.

As a young attorney in the 1970s, Merritt Alcorn played a key role in early advocacy efforts, cultivating appreciation for the city’s heritage and making a case for protecting Madison’s character-defining landmarks.

Three years after Alcorn joined nonprofit Historic Madison’s board of directors, the National Trust for Historic Preservation selected the city in 1979 as one of three pilot communities for Main Street America, a new program intended to spur downtown revitalization. Alcorn supported the emerging organization’s work to foster preservation of commercial buildings and locally owned businesses.

Alcorn helped craft a local historic district ordinance to provide guidelines and protection for the downtown’s remaining buildings, a measure that passed in 1981 despite considerable political opposition. In the ensuing years, the ordinance did its work by attracting private investment and helping maintain Madison’s intact downtown, which planted seeds for the National Historic Landmark district designation in 2006.

In the 1990s, Alcorn’s law firm rehabilitated a dilapidated nineteenth-century factory complex on 6th Street for use as its offices. By revitalizing a key historic building on the road into downtown, the firm provided the first large-scale example of how a local industrial landmark could be repurposed for new use, setting the stage for future development of similar sites. The rehabilitation earned an adaptive reuse award from the American Bar Association.

“Most communities would have demolished the property and called it a day, but Merritt and his partners significantly invested in this place and made it available for community events,” notes John Staicer, Executive Director of Historic Madison. “That summarizes and symbolizes in brick and stone the commitment Merritt has had to historic preservation.”

Alcorn chaired Historic Madison’s board of directors for 20 years, helping the organization navigate the acquisition, restoration, and reuse of landmark properties, including the Shrewsbury-Windle House and St. Michael the Archangel Church. He’s also supplied pro bono legal aid to draft historic preservation covenants and easement documents to protect the character of properties the group sold.

“This was all a labor of love for me, and this award validates my family, Historic Madison, this community, and all those who have worked to bring about Madison’s transformation,” says Alcorn. “Madison is about place, and people are willing to put a value on that.”

Alcorn is an alum of DePauw University and the University of Louisville School of Law.

He was honored as part of Indiana Landmarks’ annual meeting and awards presentation in Indianapolis on September 6.