One of the oldest weigh stations in Indiana is now on its way to a complete restoration, thanks in part to a donation from HELP Inc.
The tiny clapboard building, dating back to the 1950s, is located on the Indiana State Police Museum’s property on the east side of Indianapolis. It served as a weigh station until the 1990s, when the state built updated buildings to handle newer weigh station technology.
Although the last remaining original weigh station is still standing, it desperately needed work on its walls, doors, window and roof to keep it intact for years to come.
In February, the Indiana State Police Alliance put out a call to the public to help raise funds for the restoration project. While the Indiana State Police Museum was awarded a grant through the Indiana Historical Society to make repairs to this historic building, the grant required the museum to raise $2,500 in order to complete the proposed project.
Thanks to a GoFundMe page, the $2,500 goal was raised within a month’s time. HELP Inc. was pleased to donate $685 to this project, and at the close of the fundraising period the project had collected a total of $2,525.
“Helping to preserve the history of the Indiana State Police is an endeavor we are proud to support,” says Karen Rasmussen, HELP Inc. CEO. “Commercial vehicle operations and safety compliance have come so far from the days when weigh stations were small and not as sophisticated, but the purpose and function has remained fundamentally the same. We all benefit by having safe commercial vehicles out on our nation’s roads.”
Once the proposed restoration is complete, the Indiana State Police Museum will work with an exhibit design company to create a state-of-the-art exhibit about Indiana’s roadways and the Weighmasters – the officers who originally enforced state and local laws pertaining to trucks and buses. The building itself will house items and displays that showcase the history of Indiana’s state law enforcement for future generations to enjoy.