The tall Italianate house located at 5850 University Avenue was one of the oldest houses in Irvington. Built for Lycurgus Rawles in 1873, the home sat on a small rise complete with a barn on the large lot. A front porch was added later. Mr. Rawles did not have the chance to enjoy his new home as he died of typhoid fever shortly after moving in. The only other known family to live in the imposing residence were the Tompkins. In fact, they would also be the last family to call the place "home."
James Henderson Fitzgerald Tompkins and his wife Anna R. Tompkins hailed from Virginia and moved to Indianapolis in 1868. What his northern neighbors thought of him is unknown but he had served as an officer in the Confederate military. He operated a few drugstores on both Indiana Avenue and South Illinois Street before moving to Irvington, where he ran a drugstore in Moore's Hall at 132 South Audubon Road for 23 years from at least 1891 to 1914. In 1886, his southern past reemerged when a woman named Harriet Brown from Virginia sued him for back wages as she had been enslaved by his family. She noted in her lawsuit that Tompkins had failed to tell her that she had been emancipated. And although she lost her case, the lawsuit captured headlines in the Indianapolis newspapers of the time.
The Tompkins had five children who survived into adulthood. Their son, John R. Tompkins, worked for the Post Office and was very involved with the Democratic Party. He never married and died at the age of 30. The family held his funeral at their Irvington home in 1898. Two daughters, Elizabeth (Bessie) and Roberta Temple also never married and spent the rest of their lives in the house. Caroline Tompkins married Charles D. Hall, but after her husband's death in 1916, she returned home with her two daughters as well.
Even while Mr. and Mrs. Tompkins were alive, the family began to sell off parcels of the large lot and built some rental properties. After the deaths of the elder Tompkins in the early 1920s, Elizabeth and Roberta Tompkins continued to redevelop the property and construct more homes. At some point they made the decision to tear down the old house to erect a more contemporary house. In 1925, Elizabeth Tompkins took out a building permit for $9500 to build a two-story Colonial Revival residence on the same location where she had spent so many years. Someone saved the corbels from the ruins of the property and when the Tompkins' sisters saw to the construction of a bungalow at 5924 Oak Avenue, they had the contractor add the corbels to the roofline. Nothing else remains of the old house today.
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| 5850 University Avenue c1905. It was torn down in 1925. (Bruce Gable Collection, Irvington Historical Society) |
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| By 1908 James Henderson Fitzgerald Tompkins had begun to subdivide Lot 23 on University Avenue. You can see the outline of the former home just above the number 23. (Baist Maps, IU Digital Collections) |
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| In 1873 the Real Estate Gazette published several sketches of new Irvington homes including the Lycurgus Rawles home at what would later be known as 5850 University Avenue. Rawles actually placed the front door to the right of the two lower windows. A street was named for him in southern Irvington. (Irvington Historical Society) |
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| An unidentified granddaughter of James H.F. and Anna Tompkins posed in front of 5850 University Avenue, c1910. The sidewalk across the street led to the Children's Guardian Home. In an oral history conducted in 1981, granddaughter Jane Hall, recalled the terrible fire in that building in 1898. (Bruce Gable Collection, Irvington Historical Society) |
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| Anna and James H.F. Tompkins (center) posed with their three surviving daughters, Elizabeth Tompkins, Roberta Tompkins, and Caroline Hall. Their two granddaughters, Anna Louise Hall and Nancy Jane Hall, can also be seen in the photo taken c1912. (Bruce Gable Collection, Irvington Historical Society) |
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| After 1925, the Tompkins' daughters subdivided their large lot into a plan called "Tompkins Place." They had already started building properties in the 1910s nearby. |
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| The Tompkins' sisters tore down their Italianate childhood home in favor of a newer home in the Colonial Revival style in 1925. (Google Streetview) |
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| Elizabeth and Robert Tompkins saw to the construction of 5924 Oak Avenue in 1926. They had their contractor add the corbels from their former home to the exterior of the bungalow. (Google Streetview) |
I wish to thank local historian Don Flick for his assistance on this post. Mr. Flick is an expert on the early houses of Irvington.
Sources: Harriet Brown Case--"Superior Court," Indianapolis Journal, May 13, 1886, page 7; "City News," Indianapolis News, May 15, 1886, p. 4; "Superior Court," Indianapolis Journal, June 10, 1886, Page 7; Charges against John R. Tompkins--"A Serious Charge," Indianapolis News, October 7, 1887, Page 1; Obituary--"James H.T. Tompkins Pioneer Druggist, Dies," Indianapolis News, , November 1, 1924, p. 11; "James H.F. Tompkins," Indianapolis Star, November 1, 1924, p. 9; Caroline Tompkins Hall--"Pioneer Resident of Irvington Dies," Indianapolis News, June 8, 1950, p. 7; John R. Tompkins--"John R. Tompkins Dead," Indianapolis Journal, February 26, 1898, p. 8; Building permit for new house--Indianapolis News, August 18, 1925, p. 7.
