Burck Family Moves Near Golf Course

George and Clara Burck along with their two sons, Richard and James, moved into their beautiful Tudor-Revival home at 6120 East Ninth Street in 1937. Previous owners had struggled to sell the residence as it was at the height of the Great Depression. Perhaps the Burcks had attended one of the many realtor open houses held in the home throughout 1935. The entire family had a wonderful view of the Pleasant Run Golf Course from their front porch once they settled into their new life in the house.

The 1940 Federal Census reveals that the Burck family home was worth $9000 in that year. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burck were 39 years old while Richard was five and James was three. The couple had previously lived in a cottage on Villa Avenue near Mrs. Burck's family, the Bades.

Mr. Burck had become quite successful after going into business with his brothers. They first opened the Grand Central Garage, an auto repair shop on Central Avenue. By the 1920s, the Burck brothers formed the Tempest Manufacturing Company, a small factory that offered die-making, metal stamping along with screw machine parts and pumps. He was still involved in the business until May 18, 1962, when at age 62 he fell down the stairs in his home. His untimely death was followed shortly thereafter by Mrs. Burck's death at age 65 in 1965.

To see images of the Bade family home on Villa Avenue or images of the garage or the factory, click on the Indiana Album links below.

6120 East 9th Street in 2020

Arthur Lockwood, a golf enthusiast who managed many of the city courses, was perhaps the first to live at 6120 East 9th Street. The house sat on the open market for at least two years during the Great Depression. (ad courtesy of the Indianapolis Star, August 25, 1935)

Jim Burck shoveled his driveway at 6120 East 9th Street in the winter of 1943. Behind him, you can see the Oliver Perry and Elnora Ghere residence at 6126 East 9th Street. Mr. Ghere collected antique music boxes from all over the world, so the Ghere home was constantly filled with unusual sounds! (photo courtesy of Christina Burck) 

To see an image of Mrs. Burck's childhood home on Villa Avenue, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/4513E432-97F4-4AF2-9D2D-742324439035

To see an image of the Grand Central Garage on Central Avenue, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/3F1ABCF2-E6E5-4AFD-A380-164921214573

To see an image of the Tempest Manufacturing Company, click on the Indiana Album link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/98BA68CE-60D6-452B-B5CF-642877634941

I wish to thank Christina L. Burck for stories and photos about her family. 

Sources:  Obituary of George Burck, Indianapolis Star, May 27, 1962, 53; Information on the Ghere family:  "Oliver Ghere Made Hobby of Music Boxes," Indianapolis News, March 191, 1954, 13.

Early Photos of an Irvington Avenue Home

Florence and Marcia Doan, who grew up at 47 North Irvington Avenue, frequently played in the lot north of their home. Their father, Wilson Doan, was a prominent attorney who later sold one of his lots to his law partner, Charles Orbison around 1906. Before the sale of the lot, the Doans enjoyed the use of the wide open space. Photographs from 1903-05 show the girls playing in the lot with other neighborhood children and even enjoying a horse-driven wagon ride. Behind the kids in most of the photos, you can see the home of Jesse and Sarah Josephine Stuart Lowes at 59 North Irvington Avenue.

Jesse Lowes and Sarah Stuart married on November 23, 1892. Shortly after their marriage, the couple moved into their Irvington home around 1895. It is not known at this time if they built the house or if they are the second owners. The Indianapolis Journal noted in a "Society" snip in 1896 that the couple hosted some of Sarah's family from Acton, Indiana on Elm Avenue, the former name of Irvington Avenue. The couple had one daughter, Eunice Isabella, who likely played with Florence and Marcia next door.

Mr. Lowes first tried his luck as a grocer at 203 South Audubon Road along with Arthur L. Porter, but that partnership dissolved in 1900. He also became active in Republican Party politics and was one of the founders of the Irvington Republican Party Club. He worked for various Senators and even sold his Irvington Avenue home and moved to Washington DC with his family around 1905 to work in the US Senate. Upon his return to Indianapolis, the voters of Warren Township elected him as their Assessor in the 1920s.

Mrs. Lowes made headlines years later in 1925 when she testified at the murder trial of D.C. Stephenson, who was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana. At the time, the Lowes lived on Hibben Avenue just behind the Stephenson home. Mrs. Lowes testified that she heard the screams of Madge Oberholtzer in the middle of night on March 17, 1925, along with the sounds of barking dogs, which belonged to Stephenson. Her testimony along with many others helped to convict the Klansman of murder.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Lowes passed away in 1945 while their daughter, Eunice, who married Kenneth Johnson, died in 1990 at the age of 97. Their former home at 59 North Irvington Avenue was later enlarged and cut into apartments. To learn about another family, who lived in the house from the 1920s to the 1940s, click on "Adams Family" link below.

Marcia and Florence Doan gathered on the front porch at 59 North Irvington Avenue c1904. The older lady is possibly Sarah Lowes and the young girl next to her is possibly Eunice Isabella Lowes.
(Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan, who is standing barefooted in the tall grass next to her home at 47 North Irvington Avenue pulls her sister Marcia and an unidentified boy in a wagon. Behind the kids, you can see an empty lot and the Lowes family home at 59 North Irvington Avenue in June of 1903. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Marcia and Florence Doan, who lived at 47 North Irvington Avenue, posed in their side yard c1904. Behind the girls, you can see the Lowes home at 59 North Irvington Avenue complete with a windmill under construction in the backyard. In the far distance you can see the Ingersoll residence that used to stand at 5408 Lowell Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Florence Doan pushes her sister Marcia in a wheelbarrow next to their family's home at 47 North Irvington Avenue (then called 27 North Elm Avenue) c1903. Behind the girls, you can 59 North Irvington Avenue (then called 37 North Elm Avenue). Jessse and Sarah Lowes lived in that house along with their daughter Eunice. Across the street, you can see the cottage located at 72 North Irvington Avenue. That house has been greatly modified over the years. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Tall grass and weeds stands on an empty lot behind the Doan sisters on a summer's day most likely in 1903. The house most visible in the photo is that of 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

On a wintry day, the Doan sisters posed for a photograph near their front porch at 47 North Irvington Avenue c1903. Behind the sisters, you can see the house at 59 North Irvington Avenue. (Photo courtesy of Jim and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

59 North Irvington has been enlarged over the years and converted into apartments. (photo taken in the winter of 2020)

    To see more images from the Indiana Album, click on the link below:
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages

I wish to thank Jim and Ann Brown for their wonderful hospitality and assistance with these posts and the Indiana Album, a digital museum dedicated to capturing images from throughout the state including Irvington.

Sources:  1900 Federal Census; Obituary for Jesse Lowes, Indianapolis News, March 3, 1945, 14; Early house--Indianapolis Journal, July 19, 1896, 13; Mr. Lowes jobs--Indianapolis News, February 3, 1900, 13; Indianapolis News, December 15, 1903, 3; Mrs. Lowes and DC Stephenson Trial--Noblesville Ledger, November 3, 1925, 2.

Hill Family Residence in the Early 20th Century

The Reverend Harry G. Hill and his wife Katherine Ralston Hill likely moved into 52 North Irvington Avenue around 1904. Affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, Dr. Hill worked in the administration of that organization and later served as a minister of the Third Christian Church. The 1910 Federal Census reveals that the Hills, who were both 35 at the time, had three children, Herbert R. who was nine years old, Paul G., who was seven years old, and Dorothy, who was four years old. A thirty-five-year-old servant named Ella White lived in the house as did another minister named Granville Powers, who was 31 years old.

Living across the street from the Hill family was the Doan family at 47 North Irvington Avenue. Sometime around 1905, a Doan family member snapped photos of children in front of their home. Behind the kids, you can see the double at 38-40 North Irvington Avenue as well as the Hill home at 52 North Irvington Avenue.

The Hills lived in the house until 1927. Reverend Hill seems to have gotten into a spat with the leadership and perhaps the congregation at Third Christian Church. He left there in 1912 and became active in other churches as well as the Chautauqua movement. Mrs. Hill was an active club woman. The Doans and Hills were close as neighbors. Reverend Hill officiated the wedding of Florence Doan when she married Richard Power of Milroy, Indiana  in her childhood home at  47 North Irvington Avenue on August 25, 1925.

At some point during their tenure of the home, the Hills added the large stone porch across the front of the house, but that was clearly after these photos were snapped.

Unidentified children posed along Irvington Avenue. Behind the kids, you can see the double at 38-40 North Irvington Avenue on the left and the Hill home at 52 North Irvington Avenue on the right c1905.
 (photo courtesy of Jim and and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Unidentified children walk up the Doan family sidewalk c1906. Behind the two small kids, you can see both the double at 38-40 North Irvington Avenue and the Hill home at 52 North Irvington Avenue. You can also see that the Hill children have set up camp in the side yard of their home. (photo courtesy of Jim and and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

Harry Granison Hill, who resided at 52 North Irvington Avenue, was still the minister of the Third Christian Church in 1912 when the photo appeared in the Indianapolis News on January 29, 1912. 

A small child stood on the Doan family sidewalk at 47 North Irvington Avenue c1905. Behind the toddler, you can see the Harry and Katherine Hill residence at 52 North Irvington Avenue. (photo courtesy of Jim and and Ann Brown; Indiana Album)

52 North Irvington Avenue in the winter of 2020. 

To see more historic images of the state of Indiana, click on the Indiana Album link below

https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/randomimages

I wish to thank Jim and Ann Brown for their hospitality and information regarding the homes along Irvington Avenue.

Sources:  Obituary for Harry G. Hill, Indianapolis Star, February 16, 1951, 16; Obituary for Katherine Ralston Hill, Indianapolis News, November 26, 1958, 14; 1910 Federal Census.