How do you move museum treasures that contain valuable history lessons and priceless memories of a bygone day in Lake County?
One piece at a time and very carefully but always keeping in mind a deadline of Dec. 31 when everything will have to be removed, Diane Gora said.
Signs and a chair await boxing up as volunteers pack up the Lake County Historical Society in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
Gora serves as executive director at the Lake County Historical Society Museum. Earlier this week, Gora, board secretary Sharon Nault and volunteer Pat Putigna were busy putting items into large crates and moving boxes that will be moved to a storage facility located in Crown Point.
Gora remains hopeful that a new home will be found for all the items that were being moved temporarily to the storage facility.
“New things are good. I’m optimistic that we’ll find a new home. It’s exciting,” Gora said.
She added: “I’d definitely be more excited if we definitely had a place.”
John Dillinger memorabilia awaits securing as volunteers pack up the Lake County Historical Society in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
All three women said that they are sad to be leaving, but a new location might be a good thing since the numerous steps leading to the museum in the Old Lake County Courthouse are difficult for the elderly and those with disabilities.
Plus, the two-hour parking restrictions, put back in place by the city earlier this year, make it difficult for those wanting to come to visit the museum for extended periods of time.
All agreed that moving out of the courthouse is certainly bittersweet.
“It won’t be the same,” Putinga said.
Diane Gora, Executive Director of the Lake County Historical Society, goes through some old record books as volunteers pack up the museum’s contents in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
The museum, housed in 4,000 square feet on the second floor of the Old Lake County Courthouse in downtown Crown Point, was jammed with items that go back to the 1800s when both Crown Point and Lake County were in their infancy.
Those museum treasures include a circa mid-to-late-19th century painting by artist Charles Grey, who was famous for painting portraits of Edgar Allen Poe and former President Abraham Lincoln; a buggy, complete with foot warmer, donated by the Wheeler family; and an 1821 Gutenberg printing press.
Notice was given on July 31 from The Lake Court House Foundation, owners of the courthouse, that the museum had until Dec. 31 to vacate the space, Gora said.
No one from the foundation could be reached for comment.
A large painting done by artist Charles Grey of his wife around 1890 awaits to be moved as volunteers pack up the Lake County Historical Society in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
The Lake County Historical Society, which had operated the museum, is one of the oldest continuously operating historical societies in Indiana.
The museum on Sept. 27 celebrated its 150th anniversary inside the “Grand Old Lady,” its longtime home.
The celebration included historical actors, live music, art displays and food courtesy of local businesses.
Gora said that the museum did not previously pay rent due to an Indiana state bill that was passed in 1975 that protected buildings that contained museums and cultural centers.
Diane Gora, Executive Director of the Lake County Historical Society, points to heavy items that need to be moved as volunteers pack up the Lake County Historical Society’s Museum in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
Last year, the historical society applied for a grant, but it was denied because the grant application required that they have a lease for the space they’re operating in. The organization’s lawyer looked into acquiring a lease to qualify for grants, which led to the current situation, Gora explained.
“Our lawyer found out the state bill had been repealed, and we had no legal right to be here,” Gora said. “Then we tried to negotiate and went back and forth. We were ready to sign a lease. Then, on July 31, we found a formal notice to leave the building.”
Gora said shortly after, the society was presented with two options: Vacate the building as of January 1 or transfer ownership of the museum’s collection and operation to The Lake Court House Foundation.
“It is their building, and we recognize they have every right to do this,” Gora said. “But our collection — these things have been with society for decades. We feel we would be the better caretakers. We have a deep, vested interest in them.”
Sharon Nault checks out a National File Safe from the old Horst Hardware Store as volunteers pack up the Lake County Historical Society Museum in downtown Crown Point on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025. (John Smierciak/for the Post-Tribune)
Prior to the boxes and crates that now fill the museum’s space, there was plenty to see, including the astronaut spacesuit Crown Point native Jerry Ross wore on one of his many trips into space; “technology” from the early 1900s, such as typewriters and adding machines; and a German-made silent movie camera patented in the early 1900s.
Gora and her group earlier this year also reached out to a number of businesses, cities and historical societies to see if they wanted to be gifted or loaned items pertinent to them.
The Lake County Parks Department, including Deep River Mill and Buckley Homestead, has taken some of the museum’s items, as has the city of Gary and the Old Sheriff’s House Foundation in Crown Point.
“It (a new location) will never be as right as this is,” she said of the museum’s present location.
Those with questions about the museum or the society can call (219) 662-3975 or (219) 308-4407.
Freelance reporter Anna Ortiz contributed to this story.
