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Photograph of Lilly Biological Laboratories
Photograph by Nyttend, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Lilly Biological Laboratories

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

From the record

“Lilly Biological Laboratories, also known as Eli Lilly and Company and Greenfield Laboratories, is a historic laboratory complex located in Greenfield, Indiana. The laboratory was designed by Robert Frost Daggett and built in 1913-1914 for Eli Lilly and Company.”

Wikipedia article Lilly Biological Laboratories, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 13 National Register listings published here for Hancock County · listed in 1977 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. W of Greenfield off U.S. 40, Greenfield, 46140
  • When was it listed? November 1977
  • Category. building
  • Township. Center township
  • Architectural style. Spanish Colonial Revival architecture
  • National Register reference number. 77000016 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

28,936 words

The chapter on Center Township in History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882 names Greenfield. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Greenfield Lodge, No. 135, I. O. O. F. was instituted July 26, 1853. The lodge was organized in the old courthouse ; afterwards removed to the third story of the Walker block ; from there to the county seminary, where, for several years, the lodge prospered ; but preferring a more central location, the trustees sold the seminary and took a lease on a new hall in Howard's block. In the course of time the increase of membership, added to the desire on the part of many to have a hall of their own, caused the lodge to instruct their trustees to contract with William C. Burdett for a third story on his new brick in which to hold its meetings. Since 1876 the lodge has occupied its own spacious hall, which is conveniently arranged, neatly furnished, and affords a pleasant retreat for its large membership.

Passage source: History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882.

Mr. D. engaged in the stock trade at the age of eighteen with George Roberts. Their first speculation was in sheep, purchased north of Greenfield, of Harlan Reeves and others in that neighborhood, at lifty cents per head for the choice of the flock. His next trade was with Hugh Wooster, of Greenfield, of whom he purchased fifteen large, choice steers, at $15 each. When they were turned out of the large woods pasture, on the farm now owned by John T. Lineback, to drive to town, thev bounded ofl' through the woods and brush and over the logs at such a rate that Mr. D. got completelv lost, and came on to Greenfield to await results. In the course of an hour Mr. Wooster put in an appearance with the cattle, telling Dickerson that he was not worth a "continental copper" to drive stock, or he could get through the brusli fast enough to keep up with an old man like him. Mr. D. has been in the stock trade in Hancock county for thirtv-three 3'ears, and has probably bought and sold more stock than an}' other man in the county ; and we mav add, has always enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his customers and the public generally. He also filled the office of trustee of Center township for two consecutive terms, during which he took great interest in the schools, and encouraged both pupil and teacher bv frequent \isits.

Passage source: History of Hancock County, Indiana, from Its Earliest Settlement by the "pale Face," in 1818, Down to 1882, published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Center Township - 28,936 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Lilly Biological Laboratories: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Leary's Gravel Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Leary's Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Strubbe Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Hancock County

Storms near this property

60 of 67 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Greenfield, the town this property stands in, in 67 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 35 thunderstorm wind, 22 hail, 4 lightning, 4 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1998Tornado (F4)Greenfield1 hurt, $1,100,000no account filed
September 2000LightningGreenfield$300,000no account filed
July 2002Flash FloodGreenfield$150,0004.23 inches of rain fell across Greenfield. Many streets were closed and traffic rerouted by Greenfield Police. A roof also collapsed on a building due to the heavy rainfall.
December 2013Flash FloodGreenfield$50,000There were an unknown number of home evacuations around State Route 9 and 4th Street due to high water.
March 1997Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$50,000no account filed
July 2009Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$35,000Trees were blown down onto roofs due to thunderstorm wind gusts. No other information describing the extent of the damage was given.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$20,000no account filed
May 2008Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$15,000A small barn, trees, and powerlines were knocked down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
June 2007LightningGreenfield$15,000Lightning struck the Greenfield Police Department and damaged computers, a recorder, and the 911 system.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$10,000A 70 mph thunderstorm wind gust was estimated at this location with a tree downed nearby.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$10,000An estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 80 mph was observed in Greenfield. Multiple transformers were reported to have blown up and street signs were reported down.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$10,000Significant roof damage to homes and a few garages blown down.
April 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$10,000no account filed
June 2008Flash FloodGreenfield$5,000High water crossed numerous roads across the county due to heavy rain that caused flash flooding.
June 2007LightningGreenfield$5,000Lightning struck the Greater Greenfield Chamber of Commerce building during a brief thunderstorm on the evening of June 27th. They experienced phone line problems along with other malfunctioning equipment.
April 2006HailGreenfield$5,000A semi's windshield was broken by baseball hail near Greenfield.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$4,000Tree limbs were downed due to thunderstorm wind gusts near Greenfield Community High School.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$2,500Multiple road signs were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts at McKenzie Road and Franklin Street.
April 1996Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$2,000no account filed
February 2024Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$1,000Several medium to large tree limbs downed by thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$1,000A six inch diameter tree branch was snapped by thunderstorm wind gusts near the intersection of State Road 9 and County Road 200S.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$1,000A tree was blown down in this location due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2012FloodGreenfield$1,000Heavy flooding was reported along Highway 9 in Greenfield due to thunderstorm heavy rainfall.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$1,000A trained spotter reported that thunderstorm winds split several trees and knocked down utility lines. Damage cost is estimated.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindGreenfield$1,000Trees and power lines were down near 200 W and Furry Rd due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-A 65 mph thunderstorm wind gust was estimated at this location.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-Eight to ten inch diameter trees or tree limbs were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
October 2020HailGreenfield-Several reports of hailstones up to an inch in and around the town of Greenfield with a concentration across the east side of town.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-A thunderstorm wind gust was measured on North Broadway at 60 mph.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-A thunderstorm wind gust, measured at 65 mph, was observed in this location.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-A 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was estimated in Greenfield.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-A 77 mph thunderstorm wind gust was reported on the west side of Greenfield.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-Trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-Two trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-Trees and limbs were downed.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-2 Foot diameter tree down on power lines.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-2 1/2 Foot diameter tree down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-Numerous trees and power lines down
March 2026HailGreenfield-no account filed
February 2026HailGreenfield-no account filed
June 2021HailGreenfield-no account filed
April 2015HailGreenfield-no account filed
September 2012HailGreenfield-no account filed
April 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
April 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
April 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
April 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
June 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
July 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
July 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
May 2006HailGreenfield-no account filed
May 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-no account filed
May 2003HailGreenfield-no account filed
May 2003HailGreenfield-no account filed
May 2003Flash FloodGreenfield-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-no account filed
July 2003HailGreenfield-no account filed
July 2003Thunderstorm WindGreenfield-no account filed
July 2003HailGreenfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hancock County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Lincoln Park School1.2 miles2009
James Whitcomb Riley House1.3 miles1977
Greenfield Residential Historic District1.5 miles2011
Greenfield Courthouse Square Historic District1.5 miles1985
Charles Barr House1.5 miles2008
Rufus and Amanda Black House2.3 miles2014

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 77000016 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Hancock CountyAll 13 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.