WELCOME TO THE
BOONE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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It's been a long road of repairs for the Cragun House since May 2024
but we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
Rentals of the Cragun House for your events is once again available.
Simply complete a Rental Agreement to start the process.
2024 Lincoln's Lebanon Civil War Re-enactment
and Military Encampment
was a huge success!
Thank you for a great event!

Save the date for September 27th & 28th, 2025!

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT:​

​The historic Cragun House is the site of BCHS meetings which are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm.
Meetings are open to general membership or prospective members.
The Cragun House is located at: 404 West Main Street, Lebanon, IN 46052 

The Boone County Historical Society mailing address is: P. O. Box 141, Lebanon, IN 46052
Message Line: 765-483-9414             E-mail:  [email protected]

Please consider donating or becoming a member today!

BOONE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORY
​
The Society was formed in October 1922 with John Herr, a Perry Township Historian, elected as the first president to oversee the new organization. In 1923 the membership consisted of 50 members. The society was reactivated in March of 1977 after dormancy, continuing as a non-profit and consisting of 40 members.
The board consisted of nine members including a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The objective of the newly reorganized society
was to preserve the county’s rapidly deteriorating cemeteries, promote upkeep of old burial grounds and recording data from the tombstones
so they could be filed with the Genealogy Division of the Indiana State Libraries and local resources. The society was incorporated November 2, 1979. 
​
On November 16, 1988, a Victorian house and all remaining contents was gifted to the society by the Cragun family children – Col. Ben M. Cragun,
Lt. Col. Dwight L. Cragun, Mrs. Larry (Colleen A Cragun) Kennedy and Mrs. Carl (Claudette E Cragun) Wagoner, in memory of their parents,
Dwight Booher Cragun and Mabel Lucille (Martin) Cragun, and grand parents,
Strange Nathaniel Cragun and Adalaide M. (Booher) Cragun, who built the home in 1893.
The home was occupied by these families until the death of Mabel in 1987.
​
The Cragun House became a natural home to the society and a place to store its records, journals, clothing and quilts. The preservation of the house
and its contents dovetailed into the society’s mission statement of preserving and making accessible the history of Boone County.
The society now consists of an 11 member board with a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
It is a 501(c)3, not for profit organization and relies entirely on the tireless efforts of its volunteers, including board members.
It's supported through membership dues, donations, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and fundraising events.
Have you been to our new Facebook page?

As Facebook algorithms changed, our page did not upgrade correctly so we could no longer post and update, or maintain the page.
We were also unable to then migrate our content to the newer version.
The good news? The old page is still viewable.
​
Our new page is called "Boone County Indiana Historical Society"
please continue to follow us.
​www.facebook.com/BCHSindiana 

​Visited the Bookstore lately?
We have Boone County History Indiana
(Published 1984)

Thank you for visiting our site. We look forward to hearing from you!