The Greensburg Courthouse Square has been the heart of our community since Greensburg was settled by Thomas Hendricks in 1821. The Downtown Greensburg Development Corporation (DGDC) was incorporated on September 18, 1985, by thirteen local business leaders to encourage the revitalization of our historic square. After conducting an extensive fundraising campaign, the total streetscape revitalization project was completed by the DGDC in the 1990’s. The DGDC also sponsored Santa Claus and the Christmas program for many years as well as several other events.
The DGDC was notified in 2001 that Alma Leo Taylor, a former resident of Greensburg, had passed away in Alabama. Her will disclosed monetary gifts to several Greensburg not-for-profits including the DGDC.
in 2009, the DGDC Board decided to use the investment to create the Alma Taylor Foundation and offer grants to downtown building owners to enhance their structures, preserving the Historic Downtown Square for years to come. Since that first grant in 2009, the Alma Taylor Foundation has awarded more than $380,000 in grant monies with this goal in mind. We are committed to continuing to provide these grants for many years by being good stewards of the Foundation’s assets.
We are also proud to have worked with the City of Greensburg to provide financial assistance for these downtown projects:
ABOUT ALMA TAYLOR
Alma Leo Taylor was born on March 23, 1902, in Portland, IN, to William J. and Johanna Adelman Leo. She had one older sister, Hattie, along with younger siblings Clyde, Edna, Elsie, and Lillian. By 1904, the family had moved to Greensburg, IN.
Alma graduated from Greensburg High School in 1920. She spent several years working in a variety of secretarial positions in Indianapolis. On May 22, 1946, she married Earl J. Taylor and together moved to his farm just north of Greensburg, outside of Sandusky. The Taylor’s were very involved in the community, participating in local political events and were members of the local Elks Club.
In the mid-1960’s, Earl and Alma visited her brother, Clyde, in Alabama and decided they liked the weather there. They retired and moved from Greensburg to Theodore, AL. Alma kept up with Greensburg’s news via a subscription to the Greensburg Daily News. After the deaths of her husband and brother in the 1990’s, Alma would have her attorney drove her to a neighboring town weekly to do her shopping because “it looked like Greensburg.” Alma Leo Taylor passed away on January 25, 2001 and is buried in Alabama. Her husband, mother, and three sisters are buried in South Park Cemetery in Greensburg.