10/25/2025
Saving Historic Orange County (SHOC) has donated $1000 to kick-start this effort by the Historical Society to locate and place an historic barn at Lindley House, the historical society’s museum home. Lindley House was part of a working farm for the Thomas Elwood Lindley family, beginning in the Civil War era. Your contribution will allow the Historical Society to recreate the farm setting, move the Society”’s tool collection to the barn freeing up space in the downtown museum building and better provide an educational experience for visitors representative of Orange County early beginnings as an agriculture settlement.
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Orange County Historical Society Launches Barn Raising Campaign to Rebuild 1850s Farm Life at Lindley House
Paoli, IN — The Orange County Historical Society has recently launched a Barn Raising Campaign to reconstruct a one-story, 1850s-style historic barn at the historic Lindley House in Paoli. The project originally announced as part of the Society’s 50th Anniversary celebration of the creation of the Lindley Home Museum is designed to deepen the interpretation of the Lindley House as a working farm home from the mid-19th century.
The Society is currently searching for a suitable historic barn that can be dismantled and moved to the museum grounds or, alternatively, built to reflect the period using traditional methods and materials. The goal is to bring farm life from the 1850s and 1860s to life for visitors of all ages.
“We’re looking for a modest, authentic barn with character and history,” said Robert Henderson, President of the Historical Society. “This structure will help tell the story of early farm families in Orange County and give us a space for hands-on education.”
Once complete, the barn will feature museum exhibits, historic tools, and demonstrations of 19th-century farming techniques, as well as information on the crops and animals common to the time.
The space will be used for tours, school field trips, and seasonal programs.
To support the project, the Society has launched an Adopt-a-Beam Campaign. For $100, donors can symbolically adopt a beam and contribute directly to the reconstruction effort. All donors will receive a certificate and be recognized on-site. Local farms and agricultural businesses are also being invited to support the campaign through sponsorships.
The Society is spreading the word through local newspapers, radio ads, and social media, using the tagline: “Help Raise the Barn: One Beam at a Time.”
The Lindley House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985, is open for guided tours by appointment and reflects the life and times of the 1850s to 1860s. The barn project will add an exciting new chapter to its educational mission.
To report a possible barn, adopt a beam, or get involved, contact the Orange County Historical Society at (812) 653-1212 or visit
Preserving Historical Materials & Traditions from Orange County Indiana
