Culver Historical Society AKA
Antiquarian and Historical Society  

P.O. Box 125
Culver, Indiana 46511

Phone:
Website: Culver Historical Society
e-mail: Culver Historical Society
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The Antiquarian and Historical Society - was first proposed to form on 4 Mar. 1858 but what ever became of it is not known.

This was found about the early society:.

Antiquarian and Historical Society.

The following notice appeared in the Marshall County Republican of February 15, 1858, and indicates that the people of that part of the county, even at that early day, were alive to the importance of preserving for future generations the early history of the county:

"Notice 1st. That a meeting will be held at the schoolhouse in Union Town on the evening of March 4, 1858, to take into consideration the propriety of forming a society to be known as the ‘Antiquarian and Historical Society,' for the purpose of collecting as many of the circumstances and incidents relative to the settlement of this region of country from the first settlement to the present time, that it may be read by posterity, which we believe will be of great interest.

Union Town, February 15, 1858.

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Who the movers in the matter were, or whether the organization was effected, nothing can be ascertained. Bayless L. Dickson, who was the founder of Union Town, and one of the earliest settlers in that region, was probably the head of it. Isaac N. Morris, who was something of a historian and a great reader, and who lived near by, was undoubtedly one of those who were interested in preserving the history of that locality, but these early pioneers and many others who resided there then have passed away, leaving no record to perpetuate the history they helped to make. - History of Marshall County Indiana (1908) Daniel Mc Donald pg. 128

It was formed again in the late 1980's (amopther says 1990's)by several lake residents, John Cleveland being amongest one of the founders. and is still in existence today. A group of people began meeting informally, to exchange observations about local history and show artifacts they had saved. Thus was the current Antiquarian and Historical Society born, with Jim Peterson a its first president. Membership increased and activities included regular meetings in historic buildings, ice cream socials and a quarterly newsletter

Its purpose is preserving the traditions and history of Culver and the Lake Maxinkuckee community

They have an annual Ice Cream Social to raise project funds each year.

They have created the Heritage Park on the corner of Main & Jefferson that was in past years an empty lot and the Texaco Service Station.



The walks in the park are brick. The bricks are inscribed in batches of 12 contact the Antiquariand and Historical Society for an up-to-date quote of price on a brick - to honor your family, friend, or loved one. In the 18 Sep. 2008 Culver citizen it was stated:

4" X 8" with 1 or 2 lines was $50

8" X 8" with up to 4 lines was $100

They also were instrumental in getting the East Side Historic District and the Bungalow District (Forrest Place); and the Commercial District of downtown Culver on to the Historical lists.



Their latest project has been a re-production of the Lighthouse that stood in Vandalia Park now the Culver Town Park.

2007 Officers: James Peterson, President; Fred Karst, Vice President; Agnes Bramfeld, Treasurer.



2007 - They are in the process of creating the Historical and Genealogical Room and museum at the Culver-Union TownshipPublic Library.

2007 - 18 Oct - Anitquarian and Historical Society of Culver receives a $40,00 grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation

it is stated that the basement rooms of the Carnegie Library was renovated by the Anitquarian and Historical Society at a cost of well over $100,000; of which the above grant of $40,000 which was obtained through the efforts of the society - NO TAX dollars nor CUPL funds were used in the renovation.

It has been stressed that NO TAX DOLLARS has been used in the months since the renovation was completed; and that thousands more has been spent in upgrading the operations of the museum itself. its is manned by volunteers such as Marizetta Kenney and Sherrill (Edgington) Fujimurra and countless others who have not been noted and mentioned besides the blood, sweat and probably tears of the Anitquarian and Historical Society's members.

It is sad that their efforts has been put in jeporady and that their space they have so willingly and vastly improved over the old gurngey almost unusable portion of the Carnegie library has been usurped from them - the only thing it was being used for after the new additon - was a catch-all storage space. Also over the years when it was used for church services and later as an overflow - only minimal improvements if any was done to the basement area - it remained the same drab, conrete walls, with pipes and furnace ducting exposed; it was useable but very unattractive in appearance for so many years.

2010 - 7 Oct. - Jim Peterson placed a letter in the Culver Ciitzen a letter warning of library meeting of 28 October at 7 p.m. of terminating their agreement Anitquarian and Historical Society for the 'Culver Center of History' per recommendation of a Culver-Union Township Public Library sub-committee (sorry I did not save a copy of the letter)

2010 - 14 Oct - from the Marshall county Community Foundation - a grant of $6,000.00 for a handicapped ramp to be built within the confines of the center of culver history in the old Carnagie section of the Culver-Union Township Public Library it will have the appearance of a rustice pier or boat dock on Lake Maxinkuckee

2010 - Oct 15 - the wythougan Valley Preservation council presented the Society with its 'Daniel McDonald Heritage Award' for its efforts in the preservation of the historical aspects of Culver and lake Maxinkuckee. The establishment of the historical districts, the lighthouse, and the center for culver History.

2010 - 28 Oct - one letter appeared in the CulverCitizen in support of the culver History center:

2010 - 1 Nov -


The recording of the Library board meeting dealing with the possible termination of the "Culver History Center' I scanned it in and the cropped int down into sections: 1a - - 1b - - 1c - - 1d - - 1e - - 1f - - 1g and also a letter to the editor by James Sawhook; paraphasing this subject would just not do the seniments expressed justice.

2010 - 25 Nov. - Culver Citizen Library Board...previous meeting - - during which the board voted to give notice to the Antiquarian and Historical Society of Culver that in must vacate the space being used as the Center for Culver histoyr within three years --...

2010 - December - a series of workshops hosted by the AHS with Stacy Klinger, the Assitant director of local history Services of the Indiana Historical Society located in Indianapolis to aided and help in the faciliation and relocation of the museum. - it was noted during these workshops that the AHS and the Center for Culver History is the first and only entity that has in the 150 plus years of Culver history that has collected, preserved and shared the history of our area for the local residents as well and the many vistors who has passed through the doors since it has opened.

Besides this the museum was brought traffic to the local library that would of otherwise not come into the library; as well as to the downtown area of Culver; besides being a bonding unit between the various facets of the area: the town, the rural area, the academy and the lake. it has provided a means for all these peopel to work toogether for one common goal - to preserve and protect our rech local history; many a persons paths have crossed that otherwise might of never crossed.

I am certain that the AHS will overcome this set-back that the CUPL board has dealt them - they will prove stronger for it and in the end the CUPL will be the loosers in the long run - they may have their extra office space and mettings rooms - but they will loose the traffic flow that the museum brought in. also in the end they just may end up with bigger and better space tho financially they will never recover the money invested in improving the CUPL which is the saddest part - all the hours, blood sweat and tears proured into making that space a vaible, usable and workable area...

The winter issue of the AHS quarterly under the Presidents report - sums it up best and saddly...

Clearly we were disappointed by the actions of the current library board. We had entered into an agreement with the previous library board in good faith to build a center for education, local history, and research. The $40,000 grant from the Marshall County Community Foundation and the over $60,000 donated by the members of the Antiquarian Society to rehab the basement of the old Carnegie library building will now accrue to the Library Board for their unspecified use

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They are exploring new options for a new home for the AHS museum, they have no plans to let this deter them in their efforts to make available the wide array of materials collected.

AHS partnered with the Culver Citizen to have their newsletter printed in the Culver Citizen and bring the Culver Citizen as a subscription to its members

2012 - March 22 - Scheduled for Satruday May 12th at ? [more details will follow] - community-wide meeting on museum's future - the fate of the culver History Museum and its collected history, artifacts, materials, books wiil be the PRIMARY topic Jeff Harris director of the Local History services, of the Indiana Historical Society will be the moderator. The meeting is open to the public, and especially those who have a vested interest in prserving the history of culver, Union township and Lake Maxinkuckee. The Antiquarian Society officals are asking that local clubs and organization to LEASE send at least one person to the meeting to represent them.

2012 - May 1 - The MCCF awarded the Antiquarian and Historical Society of Culver with two grants: $2,000 to purchase digitization equipment and $6,500 to produce a documentary film about the history of Culver. The digitization grant money will come from the general endowment fund, while the video award is from the Walter Vonnegut Fund, which is specifically for projects that promote environmental and educational awareness of Lake Maxinkuckee.

"These awards are a big deal for us," said Center for Culver History Director Rachel Meade. "We have a small staff and every dollar counts. The grants will allow us to really use our limited resources in the most effective way possible."

The Center for Culver History will purchase new scanning equipment and software with the digitization award. With a new sheet-fed scanner, the museum hopes to solicit loans of family photo collections, which may be quickly scanned and returned to their owners, says Meade. Purchase of a large-bed scanner and photo editing software will allow for the museum to increase its capacity to scan yearbooks, maps, and other large-scale items, to be added to the museum's online digital collections (at culverahs .com).

The video award, Meade explains, will fund production of a comprehensive history of the Culver area, centering upon Lake Maxinkuckee. The film will begin with the glacial formation of the lake, then trace the histories of the various unique communities that have flourished on its shores. The film will incorporate historic photographs with footage of the lake and surroundings, as well as interviews with local historians and residents. Those with an interest in contributing photographs, memories, or volunteer efforts to the project may contact the Center for Culver History at historyofculver@ gmail. com.

2013 - Gregory Waksumulski - Museum Director.

2013 - Oct 11 - Culver History Museum - visitor’s center will open on ground floor of First Farmers Bank

Visitor Center and museum sign goes up The Museum of Culver and Lake Maxinkuckee History and The Culver and Lake Maxinkuckee Visitor Center have become much easier to spot thanks to installation last Friday [Sept. 12, 2104] of a new, metal sign affixed near their mutual entryway at 102 W. Jefferson St., (Suites A and B, respectively -- in the southwest corner of the First Farmers Bank on Main and Jefferson Streets. "The classic vintage street signs were the inspiration for the design," says museum director Anna Campbell, referring to the "vintage" motif of Culver's municipal street signs as upgraded in recent years via a Department of Transportation grant and Culver Redevelopment Commission funds. The new sign ties in the charm of the area while maintaining consistency." Pictured is a representative of In Stitch'z and Signz of Argos handling the install. "On behalf of First Farmers Bank & Trust, it was a great pleasure to see the official signage of the Culver and Lake Maxinkuckee Museum and Visitor Center hoisted and installed over the doors to our shared space here in Culver," said First Farmers branch manager Chad Van Herk, who also serves on the Visitor Center board. "I am personally thrilled to have been part of this community effort to establish the physical presence of both the Museum and Visitor Center in one convenient location." - Thursday, Sepember 18, 2014 Culver Citizen

2014 - Denise Burnham - new muesum director.

2014 - Dec 3 New officers elected earlier this year by the Antiquarian and Historical Society of Culver include John Nash, president; Bob Kreuzberger, vice president; Janet Kline, secretary, and Tom Story, treasurer. Members of the board of directors are Joe Baughn, Fred Karst, Alan Loehr, Jim Peterson, Agnes Bramfeld, Dusty Henricks, John Nash, Dianne Osborn, Ginny Gibson, Janet Kline, Bob Kreuzberger, Tom Story and Melva Githens.

Moved to the Culver Community High School.

2023 - Named Changed to the Culver Historical Society.