Plainfield, Indiana's curb appeal grant program: a great start, but incomplete

I was excited to see the town of Plainfield in Hendricks County launch its Curb Appeal Grant Program. The program, which has been promoted by the town as a vehicle for historic preservation, offers owners of homes built in 1939 or earlier matching funds to improve the exterior of their properties. Reimbursement grants of up to $5,000 are being offered—a generous sum.

Out of all the towns in Hendricks County, Plainfield boasts one of the most intact and varied collections of historic homes, rivaled perhaps only by Danville, the county seat. The town was platted in 1839 on the east bank of White Lick Creek, positioned along the National Road, which had been completed just a decade earlier. As the commercial district took shape along this key east–west corridor, residential neighborhoods gradually expanded to the north and south.

Historic houses representing nearly every decade from the 1840s through the 1930s still stand throughout the town, with notable concentrations along Center and Vine Streets. Architectural styles include Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Craftsman, reflecting the evolution of Plainfield’s growth over time.

These homes carry lasting significance in Plainfield’s built environment. They reflect the town’s formative decades, embodying the architectural styles, materials, and craftsmanship of their time. They not only document how the community grew but also shape its visual identity today. With their architectural richness and inviting proportions, they stand apart from newer development and anchor the town’s sense of place and shared memory.

What's missing from the program

Right now, it seems there's no system in place within the town's new Curb Appeal Grant Program to ensure that renovations protect these homes rather than compromise them. This is a major oversight. Not all exterior improvements are equal when it comes to preserving historic integrity, a concept at the heart of historic preservation. Historic integrity refers to a house's ability to communicate its historical associations; it's a vital thread that connects the past to the present. All aspects of a house contribute to its historic integrity, from the color it's painted to the materials and layout of its windows.

The Oscar Hadley home, located at 234 North Center Street, is one of Plainfield's standout historic homes and a great example of a property that retains a high level of historic integrity. Built in 1891 in the Queen Anne style, the house retains almost all of its original materials and features, including wooden double-hung windows, wooden clapboard siding, brackets under the eaves, a second-story covered porch, and a massive wraparound porch with stunning fretwork.

Image from Google Street View, September 2024.

Now imagine if any one of these features were removed—say the fretwork was taken down or the house was painted in a modern, inaccurate color scheme. Would it still convey the same historic feeling? Certainly not. Among the many features that influence a home's ability to communicate its history, windows stand out as especially vulnerable. They're often the first things to be replaced, and when they are, they’re usually swapped for modern versions that lack the original design, profile, or arrangement. This robs the house of a deep level of character that’s hard to get back.

What can happen to history with bad renovations

For a more concrete example of what can happen, I'm including before-and-after photographs of a simple c. 1870 house in Hendricks County (not located in Plainfield) whose historic character was destroyed after heavy renovations.

This 2018 Redfin listing photo shows a c. 1870 home in Hendricks County that had simple but beautiful historic elements that clearly identified it as a relic from the past. 

A sketch of the house was even included in an 1878 atlas of Hendricks County!

Today, it has been renovated to the point that it's no longer recognizable as a historic home. Photograph by Belloni Research Consulting.

 The house could certainly be considered “improved,” but all of the features that once tied it to the past have been erased. The removal and alteration of original windows, inaccurate paint colors, and architectural elements that clash with the home’s original style erode its historical value—even though the changes were likely made with good intentions. Without standards or a review process, Plainfield’s Curb Appeal Grant Program could produce similar results. Instead of protecting the town’s historic homes, it could damage them through misguided renovations.

Preservation standards are needed

This is why it's crucial that Plainfield's new program include standards for the projects it funds. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties serve as the guiding principles for how preservation work is approached in the United States. These nationally recognized standards offer a framework for making decisions about maintenance, repairs, and alterations to historic buildings.

They’re divided into four categories—Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction—each one tied to a different goal. Preservation focuses on keeping everything as intact as possible, while Rehabilitation (the most commonly used) allows for changes that accommodate modern use as long as the building’s historic character is retained. Restoration zeroes in on a specific period of significance, and Reconstruction is used only when a structure no longer exists but needs to be rebuilt for interpretive purposes.

Most homeowners and communities working with historic buildings operate under the Rehabilitation standards, and these are what Plainfield's Curb Appeal Grant Program should use to review projects before grants are awarded.

These guidelines emphasize retaining original materials and features, avoiding guesswork or false historic appearances, and making any new additions or changes compatible—but still distinguishable—from the original structure. The overall goal is to protect what makes a place historic while allowing it to serve present-day needs. The standards aren’t a rigid rulebook but a set of best practices meant to strike a balance between preservation and practicality.

Plainfield's opportunity to be a leader in historic preservation

I've recently been writing about the need for a town in Hendricks County to adopt a local historic preservation ordinance and establish a preservation commission. Plainfield has now been presented with the perfect opportunity to do so. The town should be applauded for the steps it has taken so far; offering financial support to homeowners is no small thing. But if the goal is to preserve what makes its historic homes truly special, funding alone isn’t enough. The foundation is in place. Now it’s time to add guidance.

By adopting a local preservation ordinance, Plainfield can establish a commission that offers practical, case-by-case guidance to property owners. This sort of local oversight shouldn't be seen as red tape, but instead as clarity. Homeowners often want to do the right thing but don’t know what that looks like. A commission can offer help, not hurdles, while also making Plainfield the poster child for preservation in Hendricks County.