Tipton County Heritage Center
The Tipton County Heritage Center is located at 323 West South Street, Tipton, Indiana. It is sponsored by the Tipton County Historical Society.
It is on the route of the old Muncietown to Lafayette State Road that was established before Tipton County. It is phase one of a construction project that eventually will have over twelve thousand square feet of floor space for museum displays and storage.
It has been named the Tipton County Heritage Center because it will be a historical center for the citizens of Tipton County. It will offer services that are not available from other public facilities. It will serve as a Tipton County museum of history by displaying local artifacts that portray the history and the development of the county. It will have a history library that will give the public access to very important information about the founding and the history of Tipton County.
The Heritage Center will be a final resting-place for valuable old books, county histories, old records and documents. It will eventually be a storage area for out-dated public records from the courthouse, from the city of Tipton and the small towns. It will store many of the original copies of Tipton County newspapers, and a very large number of school records from all of the townships.
The history library will also function as a center for the family records of the local citizens. It will serve as a genealogical resource center for family biographies, and books and materials for researching family histories.
The Tipton County Heritage Center will be a facility where very important old artifacts, documents and historic papers can be safely stored for long periods of time under archival conditions. The heat, humidity and light will be carefully controlled for optimum conditions for long-time storage. It will not duplicate the services of the schools, the public libraries or other organizations of Tipton County.
The Center will house valuable collections of the people of Tipton County. They will include old artifacts for public displays such as room furnishings, clothes, household equipment, and many other items that have been important for raising families. It will display many antiques that were used on farms, in businesses and in early industries that portray the history of the county. It will be a storage place for old books, pictures, letters, video and magnetic tapes, microfilms, oral histories and other records of the people of Tipton County.
When it is completed, a primary function for the Tipton County Heritage Center will be to serve as an educational center for school children, adults and for other service organizations. Hands-on demonstrations will be available to portray the history and the place of the county communities in the past and present.
The facility will be a resource center to research the history and the importance of Tipton County agriculture, businesses and industries. It will portray the significance of the excellent Tipton County soils that are the county's only natural resource.
The Phase I portion of the of the Tipton County Heritage Center was completed in 2000. The Phase II addition on the south end of the building was completed in 2008 and is used for the consolidation of the artifact collections from around the County. Phase II was financed by grants and donations from all the people who value their heritage and the history and welfare of Tipton County.
A Phase III addition is currently in the planning stages. When completed it will become the new library. At that time, all of the Heritage Center's services to the citizens of Tipton County will be in place. Eventually it will also be a very valuable asset to Tipton County as a tourist attraction.
Individuals, organizations, businesses, or corporations may contribute. The Tipton County Historical Society, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation that has been established to perform charitable and educational services that are tax-free within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Tax exempt contributions may be given as personal gifts, memorial gifts or through wills. Donations may be given in the form of money, securities, life insurance, real estate, charitable trusts or deferred gifts.
A building fund has been established within the Tipton County Foundation. The Tipton County Foundation will serve as a depository for the donated funds to build Phase III of the Tipton County Heritage Center. Donors may contact the Tipton County Foundation or the Tipton County Historical Society.