By Claire Matney

Preserving Indiana’s historic sites takes a team of dedicated professionals working behind the scenes. I sat down with Ashley Thomas, Ball State alum and Certified Local Government (CLG) program manager at the DHPA, to learn more about her work and how communities across the state benefit from preservation initiatives.

For a municipality to be able to qualify as a CLG, it must do the following: have a local preservation ordinance for the designation and protection of local properties and have at least one locally designated landmark under that ordinance, an active and qualified historic preservation commission, access to a qualified professional staff person to support the commission and an up-to-date inventory of historic properties within its jurisdiction. To learn more about CLGs, you can visit the DHPA’s website here.

For those who don’t know, what is the DHPA (Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology)? And what is its purpose?

The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 established the requirement for each state to have a State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) to administer the programs outlined in the act.  In Indiana, the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA) serves as the staff of the State Historic Preservation Officer (Director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources). The DHPA promotes the conservation of Indiana’s cultural resources through public education efforts, financial incentives, including several grants and tax credit programs, and the administration of state and federally mandated legislation.

 What is the Certified Local Government (CLG) program?

The Certified Local Government (CLG) Program is a partnership between local governments, the Indiana State Historic Preservation Office/Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology (DHPA), and the National Park Service (NPS) to promote nationwide preservation initiatives at the local level. CLGs can range from small towns to large urban cities.

How does it even work? Who can it help?

Through the certification process, local communities make a commitment to national historic preservation standards, which is key to America’s ability to preserve, protect, and increase awareness of the unique cultural heritage found across the country. CLG communities qualify for technical assistance and training opportunities from the DHPA, gain a significant competitive advantage in applying for federal Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) grants, and receive a more advantageous grant-to-match ratio under this program. Federal guidelines require that at least 10% of each state’s annual HPF allocation be disbursed to CLG communities. More than $100,000 in grant funding is set aside specifically for Indiana’s CLGs each year.

There are currently 24 communities in Indiana that are Certified Local Governments and two others that are in the review process to become certified.

The Oppenheimer Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Historic Downtown District in Lafayette, Indiana (NR-0423). It was built by the architect Charles Wheeler Nicol. 1
The Mishawaka Historic Preservation Commission is an example of a smaller city with a CLG community and it has 19 single sites, 12 National Register sites and 3 multi-site districts.

What is your background in? How did it lead you to the decision to take on your current position?

My undergraduate degree is in Architecture with a minor in Interior Design from Ball State University.  By the time I was reaching the end of my undergraduate program, I had decided that I wasn’t really interested in designing new buildings for a living, and I started to look at options for graduate programs that would allow me to still use my undergraduate degrees.  The whole reason I wanted to go into architecture was because I grew up watching shows like This Old House with my dad, and I have always loved historic buildings.

During my research for graduate schools, I discovered the field of Historic Preservation and realized that Ball State has a master’s program in preservation, so I applied and went straight into graduate school after finishing my undergraduate degree. I graduated from Ball State University with an M.S. in Historic Preservation in 2009 and started work at DHPA a week later as a Structures Reviewer, working on federal and state Section 106 compliance reviews. I worked in that section of the office until 2017, when I moved into my current position as the reviewer for federal and state historic tax credit programs, which I love because it allows me to use my background in design on a regular basis.

My position is in our Financial Incentives section of the office, which includes both the tax credits and helping the grants staff with the technical review of applications under our Historic Preservation Fund grant program.  In 2023, I volunteered to take over the management of the Certified Local Government program as well, so that aspect of my job is still relatively new to me.

And finally, since historic preservation is about saving meaningful structures, what is your favorite historic building in the state?

That’s a tough question… if I had to pick only one, it would probably be the Indiana War Memorial in Indianapolis! It is a beautiful building, with some amazing architectural details that incorporate the military theme, and the upper-level Shrine Room is breathtaking.

Ashley’s favorite historical structure. The Indiana War Memorial in Indianapolis is a historical memorial honoring Hoosiers who have died in battle. It was constructed by the firm Walker and Weeks from Cincinnati. It was built in 1927 in the Neoclassical style using Indiana limestone.

This post is part of our Curation Chronicles series. Find out more about the History department.