INDIANAPOLIS (WTWO/WAWV) — The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced to the Friends of Ernie Pyle recently that the birthplace of the World War II correspondent has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The federal Department of the Interior added the Elder-Pyle House on the National Register on Aug. 25. DNR told The Friends of Ernie Pyle that the official State and National Register certificates will be presented during a special ceremony at the Indiana State Fair in August of 2022 in Indianapolis, according to a news release.
“We are ecstatic over this level of recognition for the historical and cultural significance bestowed on Ernie Pyle’s birthplace,” Steve Key, president of the Friends of Ernie Pyle, said. “We hope this national designation will allow us to tap into resources that will help us preserve the legacy of our nation’s best-known war correspondent.”
“It’s important that Hoosiers and Americans understand the hardships and accomplishments of the generation that survived the Great Depression and then were asked to fight a war to preserve our democratic freedoms.”
Being listed on the National Register is official recognition of the significance of the farmhouse and provides a measure of protection for the property. In addition to a degree of environmental protection, owners of listed properties may be eligible to apply for matching federal grants for restoration or preservation work if funds are available.
The Friends of Ernie Pyle said they hope the new recognition will bring extra points to its current effort to receive funding from the state’s Historic Renovation Grant Program to restore the clapboard siding of the farmhouse built in 1851 by the Elder family.
Pyle was born in the white, two-story farmhouse with Greek Revival features on Aug. 3, 1900.
