News Developments |
Boxley Cabin Restoration In Sheridan To Begin April 18 
The Town of Sheridan anticipates physical restoration work on Boxley Cabin will begin in Spring 2007 and the project would be completed in late fall. Contractor bids were opened on Jan. 9, 2007, and Schwartz Construction, Geneva, Indiana, was accepted with the low bid of $92,900. In coordination with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, the Town of Sheridan will seek required approvals and finalize the contract while fundraising to increase the current cabin fund of $84,500. According to Edgar Spear, president, Sheridan Historical Society, who serves as project manager on the collaborative with the Town of Sheridan, the timing is perfect for this amenity in Sheridan Veteran's Park. "After three years of moving this project forward, we will start the clock to accomplish our cabin goal in 240 days," viewed Spear. "The physical work on Pioneer Hill in Veteran's Park will illustrate all the planning and intense preparation that is in the back-story of our preservation initiative-site visits to assess the structure for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, feasibility study by Steven Lailioff, and the campaign to raise awareness and funds through grants and gifts. We are most fortunate to have in-kind services by Parvin Gillim, Main Architects, who will serve as principal investigator on the grant and provide guidance." Spear added, "We still have funds that need to be raised and welcome the interest. We have escrowed $86,000 and continue to work with contributors. We will all enjoy seeing the formal work underway. A lot of credit for getting to this point goes to the volunteers who helped clean the property and build the cabin's protective shelter to shield the structure from the elements while we were waiting and working with the endless paperwork that always accompanies such a commitment. And we were most fortunate to have Parvin Gillim, principal investigator for the grant project, provide an in-kind role in working through details. It literally has taken the entire Sheridan Historical Society coming together to achieve the feat. The Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology has been most helpful in the grant process." The project has been funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund administered by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. The HPF grant provided $34,500 for Boxley cabin rehabilitation and was matched by $30,000 in gifts and grants assembled by the Sheridan Historical Society from the Stephenson Family Foundation; Efroymson Fund, A CICF Fund; and the Hamilton County Convention & Visitors Bureau (HCCVB). The HCCVB recently committed another $20,000 from the Hamilton County Destination Fund 2007 to the Boxley cabin restoration as part of the Town of Sheridan collaborative that will perform feasibility study of three future adjacent structures in Sheridan Veteran's Park as well as Main Street revitalization. Such plans funded by the Hamilton County Destination Fund 2007 will be vital to transform Sheridan into a heritage tourism destination. According to Spear, project manager for the HFP grant, "We are told that the restoration of Boxley's cabin has had a cascading impact to stir the imagination about what can be done in smaller communities in terms of renewal spirit and improvements-real measures to quality of life. In 2003, the Sheridan Historical Society primarily focused on genealogy and a storefront of artifacts in its museum collections. The Society's genealogy manages more than 500 family histories. But we have revitalized our organization with programs and events. 
"Our membership has almost tripled and four newsletters, many in full color, carry news of progress about the Sheridan all across the country. Some of our oral history productions on DVD attracted WWII and Korean War veterans as well as community seniors who agree to share memories of Sheridan's earlier days. We even began an outreach initiative with cultural roots, Sheridan Fireside Tales, a storytelling festival which takes place this year on June 2. We credit George Boxley for the transformation." George Boxley, a native of Virginia, was alleged to have fomented a sabotaged slave rebellion in Spotsylvania in 1816. He was jailed while others were hung or "sent South" to greater cruelties. Boxley escaped jail, thanks to wife Hannah's clever smuggling of a spring saw that enabled him to carve a hole in the jail wall and make his way to safer places. Those places were hard to find as Boxley attempted to settle in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri before carving out his pioneer farm in the wilderness of Adams Township, Hamilton County, Indiana. Born in Virginia in 1780, Boxley was both farmer and schoolteacher in Indiana, a comfort to his neighbors, and a man of strong libertarian opinions. Much before his time, he was among the first of abolitionists who were outspoken to plantation owners. He beat the drum early on behalf of anti-slavery as an inherent ethical right provided in the United States Constitution. The Spotsylvania rebellion occurred 43 years before John Brown's famous raid at Harper's Ferry. Never to return to Virginia after the incident, Boxley often lamented his losses of the land he loved, a great sacrifice for this former miller and retailer. "The Society was given an old manuscript that was not credited with authorship, and it was so empathetic to Boxley's experience that we copyrighted the document for Sheridan. It captures the essence of what Boxley endured. We do not know whether or not George Boxley was part of any continuing Underground Railroad enterprises, but from the tone of his writings and his character, we could only surmise his interest continued until his death in 1865. He is buried in Boxley Cemetery, along with some of his 11 children," added Spear. "The book, "A Man With A Price On His Head," is available at the Sheridan Historical Society for $25 plus shipping and can be obtained by calling (317) 758-5054 or emailing: sheridanhistorical@sbcglobal.net. |
 |
Site best viewed in Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 1.5