[2] A private, nonprofit membership organization founded in 1830, the IHS maintains a research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest.

The IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups, publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; and provides youth, adult, and family programming, including Indiana's participation in the National History Day Competition series.

In the years following, two of the IHS's prevalent backers died, and between its founding in 1830 and 1886, only twelve annual meetings were held to promote the organization.

Dunn was able to enthuse Hoosiers of various occupations to gather resources for the society, focusing on editors, professional historians, lawyers, librarians, and writers.

However, Dunn's attempt to allow women to join the society failed in 1888; it would not be until 1906 that a woman, editor Eliza Browning, would be admitted.

This connection allowed the Indiana History Bulletin, controlled by the Historical Bureau, to be distributed to the members of the society.

The 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) building includes the 300-seat Frank and Katrina Basile Theater, the William Henry Smith Memorial Library, a vault to house the IHS's collections, the Stardust Terrace Cafe, conservation and preservation imaging facilities, classrooms, the Basile History Market, the Cole Porter Room, Eli Lilly Hall, and various exhibition spaces.

Past exhibits include the history of organizations such as the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company, L. S. Ayres department store, and the Ball jar company, as well as more personal glimpses into the lives of individuals in Indiana during the Civil War, World War II, and the civil rights movement.

There are a number of functional divisions within the IHS, including Administration, Collections, Conservation, Development, Publications, Marketing, and Education & Community Engagement.

The IHS's collections, accessible online through the society's website and at the William Henry Smith Memorial Library, is one of the largest archival repositories of material on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest.

[12] One of the most significant items in the IHS's collection is the original glass-plate negative of an Abraham Lincoln photograph taken by Alexander Gardner just weeks before the Gettysburg Address; this image was used as the model for the creation of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Subject strengths of the IHS's collection (especially as they relate to Indiana and the Old Northwest) include architecture, agriculture, American Civil War, business, communities, education, ethnically and racially identified groups, families, government, journalism and communications, medicine, military affairs, notable Hoosiers, Old Northwest Territory, organized labor, politics, the professions, religion, social services, transportation (including railroad and interurban history), and women.

Staff of the conservation lab also implement preventive measures to preserve collections; this includes ensuring the correct storage of items and proving customized housings for materials, monitoring the storage environment, implementing an integrated pest management plan, and maintaining a disaster recovery plan.