Fostering the Community, Education, Arts and Business

   Serving as Lawrence County's official area learning center, StoneGate Arts & Education Center provides a home to Ivy Tech Community College  and Vincennes University, allowing local residents the opportunity to attend classes in Lawrence County to obtain college degrees or certifications. Stonegate is now also home to Work One.

    The City of Bedford, the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council, and Indiana's 21st Century Learning Centers provide annual funding to StoneGate.StoneGate incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2014 and is governed by a board of directors. An executive director, assistant director and a custodian oversee and care for the building.

   In January 2019, StoneGate Arts & Education Center changed locations, moving from its former historic Indiana Limestone Co. headquarters location at 405 I St. to its newly constructed downtown site at 931 15th St. adjacent to the Lawrence County Courthouse square.

   As one of two winners of Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann’s Indiana’s 2013 Stellar
Communities Award, Bedford’s winning plan focused on downtown development,
education and workforce training. Constructing the StoneGate Arts & Education Center Downtown facility was a leading outcome of Bedford’s Stellar grant.

   The new state-of-the-art facility features nine classrooms, three computer labs, which double as classrooms, an instructors' workroom/student assessment  room, and Brinegar Hall, a spacious auditorium and black box theater, featuring audio-video equipment.

     StoneGate serves as a site for workforce development activities, meetings, professional training sessions and courses presented by a variety of educational,  non-profit, community and governmental organizations. StoneGate has formed partnerships with local schools and youth organizations for training and education,with performing arts groups, public libraries, Indiana University and a variety of other area entities to stage independent films, meetings, presentations, foreign language courses and cultural events.

   StoneGate Arts & Education Center’s educational, workforce development, governmental and non-profit partnerships will serve to guarantee local, regional, national and international impact on education, skilled trades,  advanced manufacturing and information technology needs now and into the future.