INDIANAPOLIS — Nineteen organizations are receiving funds to preserve African American landmarks across Indiana thanks to two funds honoring a former Eli Lilly chemist.
Standiford "Stan" Cox became Eli Lilly's first Black chemist when he joined the company in 1957. Cox was an advocate for the preservation of African American heritage sites. He died in February 2019, but during his lifetime, he established two funds with the Central Indiana Community Foundation — one in his name and one to honor his parents.
The Standiford H. Cox Fund supports the preservation of African American historic sites throughout Indiana, while the Dovie Stewart Cox & Chester A. Cox Sr. Memorial Fund supports the Lost Creek Community Grove at the Lost Creek Settlement near Terre Haute. The site was one of Indiana's earliest settlement for free Black people.
Indiana Landmarks' African American Landmarks Committee recommends projects for both funds. In 2020, 15 organizations received grants to put toward various projects:
- Embracing Hope of Howard County, Inc., Kokomo: $10,000 for rehabilitation of the 1919 Douglass School
- Evansville African American Museum, Inc.: $5,000 to help repair the c. 1930 Alfred and Phoebe Porter House in Evansville’s Baptisttown neighborhood
- Friends of the Town Clock Church, Inc., New Albany: $10,000 to help insulate the attic of the 1852 church
- Historic Eleutherian College, Inc., Lancaster: $3,000 to help develop visitor displays, publications, and a video showcasing the history and upper stories of the 1855 building
- Historic Madison Foundation, Inc.: $15,000 for repairs to the 1850 former African Methodist Episcopal Church in Madison’s Georgetown neighborhood
- Lyles Station Historic Preservation Corporation, Inc.: $10,000 for structural repairs, painting and gutter replacement on the 1919 Lyles Consolidated School near Princeton
- Lynn Street Colored School Center of Goodwill, Inc., Seymour: $10,000 for masonry repair and structural stabilization of the 1870 school
- Olivet African Methodist Episcopal Church, South Bend: $10,000 to help replace the roof of the 1923 church
- Prince Hall Masonic Association, Inc., Indianapolis: $10,000 for roof repairs to the 1916 Oriental Lodge No. 500
- UNWA-ANU, Inc., Indianapolis: $9,000 to install a new furnace and air conditioning system and repair doors and historic windows at the 1906 Indianapolis Public Library Branch #1
- Wabash Valley Community Foundation, Terre Haute: $10,000 to replace a wheelchair lift system to the sanctuary of the historic Allen Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Four other grants went to projects Indiana Landmarks is supporting:
- $8,000 to help install steel door systems in the 1941 North Gleason Park Community Building in Gary
- $5,000 to create signage raising awareness of the National Register-listed Flanner House Homes Historic District in Indianapolis, in partnership with neighborhood organization M.E.D.I.C.
- $10,000 for roof and rafter repairs on the 1858 Roberts Chapel in Atlanta, in partnership with Roberts Chapel and Homecoming Burial, Inc.
- $10,000 to repair the roof and chimneys of the National Register-listed 1959 St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Gary
"Stan Cox has left an incredible legacy to the people of Indiana," said Mark Dollase, vice president of preservation services at Indiana Landmarks. "We are honored to work with the Central Indiana Community Foundation in a partnership that will aid in the restoration of important African American landmarks for years to come."
Cox was born in Brazil, Indiana and earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a master's degree from Butler University. He held a variety of titles during his 32-year career at Eli Lilly.
