Residents gathered at the Roann Community Building to celebrate the completed first phase of a downtown revitalization project. The first phase of the project consisted of new sidewalks and streetlights on the east and west sides of North Chippewa Street.

News Release

ROANN — On Saturday, Oct. 7, members of the Roann Historical Group, residents and town officials gathered at the Roann Community Building to celebrate the completed first phase of a downtown revitalization project.

The first phase of the project, consisting of new sidewalks and streetlights on the east and west sides of North Chippewa Street, is now complete.

The next planned phase is new sidewalks and streetlights on the east side of South Chippewa Street from Addams Street to Walnut Street. There are also plans for new sidewalks and streetlights on the west side of South Chippewa, from south of the Roann Paw Township Library to the caboose on display north of the library.

Plans call for 10 streetlights to be installed in the second phase. Six have already been purchased with donated funds and will be installed. Four more donors are needed to purchase the remaining streetlights.

The RHG, who is leading the project, began in 2006 and applied for official non-profit status in 2007, raising funds through a large sale.

Through a partnership with Indiana Landmarks, the RHG connected with a group of Ball State University students who did a technical survey of all the town’s structures. Historical architect Kurt Garner built on their work and created a detailed application for the downtown area to be recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. The recognition was granted in 2013.