From the days of the frontier, the covered wagon, and the Indian Wars came the vision, courage, and sacrifice of pioneer forebears that made possible the community of Bartholomew County, and the memory of pioneer fathers and young men of the county who gave their lives in the service of their country is honored. The Bartholomew County Historical Society was organized in Columbus on April 3, 1921, by George Pence, Vida Newsome, Hugh Th. Miller, J.R. Dunlap, William G. Irwin, W.H. Newsome, Daniel J. Richards, and Yandell C. Cline. The acquisition of the McEwen-Samuels-Marr House culminated the dedicated service of many members under past presidents George Pence, Annie McEwen Newsom, May Arbuckle, and Roseada Pence Pruitt, and in 1968–69 the society's officers and directors included Ross G. Crump, Maurice Randall, Mary Frances Urbahns, Elsie I. Sweeney, Griffith Marr, Paul B. Reeves, Ray Henderson, Dorothy Poulton, and Owen Hungerford. The original section of the house was built about 1865 by William McEwen on the site of the Columbus Liberty Meeting and School House, which had been erected in 1829 as Columbus's first community project; Samuel Samuels later enlarged the house to its present size, and James Marr later occupied it. Purchase of the house was made possible on April 19, 1968, through an appropriation of the Bartholomew County Council and Commissioners, and restoration was accomplished through generous gifts of the community.