Lost Irvington: The Downey Home

      Several wealthy families resided in the grand home that used to sit at 5433 University Avenue from 1874 until 1929 including the Downeys, Goes, Thompsons, and Hibbens. The imposing two-story home complete with a tower sat on four acres of ground on the southeast corner of University and Downey Avenues. It has been gone for almost 100 years and nine smaller houses now occupy the site. A speculator, a banker, a grocer, an artist, a prominent teacher, and others all left their mark upon the residence. The deliberate demolition of a house like this seems impossible today, but the last owner, Mrs. Jessie Landon, likely saw dollar signs in the summer of 1929 since the place sat on such a large lot. Her timing, however, could not have been worse. Just as contractors reduced the home to rubble the country fell into the Great Depression. It would take twelve years before the area was redeveloped.  

The Downey Years (1874-1884) 

     James E. and Mary Julian Downey arrived in Irvington in 1871. In fact, they built the very first home in the new town in 1871 on the northwest corner of East Washington Street and Audubon Road. Three years later, they built an even bigger home on what would become 5433 University Avenue in the Woodland Park Addition in 1874. Their timing, however, could not have been worse as an economic panic swept the United States and ruined the lives of many investors including the Downeys. The couple formally declared bankruptcy in 1878, but managed to keep their home and four acres of land for several more years before moving out of state. 

     Red-headed James E. Downey married Mary Julian in Centerville, Indiana. When Mary's father, Jacob Julian founded Irvington along with another investor named Sylvester Johnson, the Downeys followed the Julians to the new town of Irvington. Mary Julian Downey might be the only person in Indianapolis to have had two streets named after her family. She lived next to Downey Avenue and could walk two blocks to the north to walk down Julian Avenue. She loved her Julian name so much that she gave three of her sons that middle name and one of her sons received it as a first name. In total the couple would have eight children live into adulthood. She is also credited, along with her father, of naming the new community after her favorite author, Washington Irving. Joseph Robert Downey, the only son not to receive the Julian name, wrote about his life in 1950 and his memories of that house were published by the East Side Herald. 

      Joseph Downey described their wooded lot as full of beech, oak, maple, dogwood, and paw paw trees. He noted that his father, ever an entrepreneur, was both a "promoter and plunger" who was always trying to find ways to make money. Five-year-old Joseph nearly died in the house after he and his brothers slid down the steep staircase railing. He hit his head on the lowest newel post. One local doctor thought that he might not live, but he did. The Irvington years were some of the happiest in his life and their sudden departure from the town upset him greatly. 

     While Irvington was largely a peaceful place and far away from the problems of the city, it was not immune from crime. At 3:00AM on May 20, 1878, the Downeys were awakened by a noise inside the house. Mr. Downey rushed downstairs and saw two men in the darkness. One was crawling on his knees. Upon confronting the intruders, one of the men shot at Mr. Downey, but the bullet sailed over his head and into a wall. The thieves ran out of the house with some of the family silver. They were never caught. 

     With bills mounting, the Downeys welcomed boarders into their home. They were fortunate in that Butler University officials moved the campus from north of downtown Indianapolis and into Irvington. Some of those first tenants included students, but their most prominent renters were the Merrill sisters. Much has been been written about Catharine Merrill over the years. A beloved teacher, she made history, as one of the earliest female university professors in the United States. A brilliant woman, she lived in Europe from 1859 until 1861 where she studied German. In Ireland she witnessed beggars from the potato famine. In England, she visited a great exhibition featuring artwork by Joseph Turner. In Italy, she wrote about the efforts of people to unite that country just as her own country fell apart and into the Civil War. While living in the Downey home, Miss Merrill had access to the "western parlor" where she held salons every Thursday evening. Students, professors, and neighbors attended these events where there might be poetry readings, book discussions, or even games. Young Joseph Downey recalled sitting on the lap of Butler professor, David Starr Jordan, who drew various kinds of fish on a piece of paper for him. Miss Merrill's kindness towards the Downey children was never forgotten. After Miss Merrill retired from Butler University, she moved out of the Downey home. One year later, the Downeys also moved away. 

The 1889 map of Irvington shows the Downey Home on Lot 21 and facing Spratt Avenue (University Avenue)

Rocky Mountain News, September 1, 1914

Mina Merrill and Catharine Merrill (courtesy of the Indiana State Library Digital Collection)

The Rental Years (1884-1890)

     Columnist, Grace Julian Clarke, noted in one of her essays on Irvington that after the Downeys moved out of Irvington that a rental company took over the ownership of the home. As of this writing, we only know of one family who leased that house during these years, and we only learned about that fact very recently. 

     Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe leased 5433 University Avenue in 1888. Why do we know this fact? In the possession of the descendants of the Goes is another photograph of the Downey home. On the back of that photo, someone has written "birthplace of Percy Goe," one of the five children of Hezekiah and Cornelia. Mr. Goe earned a comfortable living as a grocer and opened up a business at 130 South Audubon Road. The couple soon built a beautiful residence of their own at 128 South Ritter Avenue. More will soon be written about that lovely home.  

  

Faded photograph of the Downey-Thompson-Goe-Hibben home c1915; The image was snapped during the Hibben-era by a member of the Goe family. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

Percy Goe (1888-1921) was the fourth child of Hezekiah and Cornelia Goe. He was born at 5433 University Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Kingsbury family)

The Thompson Years (1890-1902)

     Edward and Mary Thompson along with their daughter, Bona, arrived in Irvington full of hope. All hailed from Edinburg, Indiana where Mr. Thompson became wealthy as a banker and from farming. They purchased the Downey home so that their only surviving child could attend nearby Butler University. By all accounts, she was a gifted student who won prizes for her speeches. While living in the house, the Thompsons added a new dining room, a kitchen with built-in cabinets, and a fruit-storage closet for canned foods. They enlarged the house by a story and a half complete with dormers in the roofline. The servants likely slept up there. They also lengthened the front tower. They added gas, electricity, and a shower. Their daughter would have a pleasant place in which to study and live.

      In 1897, Bona graduated from Butler University and then matriculated to Wellesley College. Mrs. Thompson had not been feeling well for some time. She thought a trip to Europe might lift her spirits and perhaps her health so she and Bona sailed across the ocean in 1899; however, the trip did not go as planned. While in Paris, it was Bona who started to feel unwell and not Mrs. Thompson. She seemed to rally and then they traveled to England, but once again Bona seemed to be suffering from something. The pair arrived back to the US to discover that Bona had contracted typhoid fever on their journey. She was not able to go back to Wellesley and could scarcely make it out of her bedroom in the large house on University Avenue. 

     Bona Thompson lingered for weeks before dying on October 12, 1899, at the age of 21. Their neighbor and friend, Dr. Allen R. Benton at 312 South Downey conducted the funeral service. Devastated by the loss of their only child, Edward and Mary donated land and thousands of dollars to Butler University for a new library. Mrs. Thompson grew sicker and watched from across the street as workers began building the new Bona Thompson Memorial Library, but she never lived to see it completed. Some folks in the neighborhood noted that she had died from heartbreak, but many others said that she wanted to live to see the completion of the library. She and her husband had even gone to Hot Springs, Arkansas in hopes of a respite in her health, but nothing worked and she died in the spring of 1902.  Dr. Allen R. Benton conducted the funeral service on April 16.  Six months later, Edward Thompson had a series of strokes and died on December 18, 1902. Dr. Benton once again led his third funeral at 5433 University Avenue. 

T.C. Steele painted a portrait of Bona Thompson from a photograph after her death. The original painting hangs at Butler University while a copy hangs at the Bona Thompson Memorial Library, currently the home of the Irvington Historical Society. 

Neither Edward nor Mary Thompson lived long enough to see the completion of the library named in their daughter's honor, but both knew that construction had started. The library is located at 5350 University Avenue and served Butler University students from 1903 until 1928. 

The Hibben Years (1903-1929)

     Thomas and Jane Hibben moved into the Downey home and immediately made significant changes to the residence. They not only enlarged the place,  but they also re-landscaped the property with stunning flower gardens. Mr. Hibben, whose family came from Rushville, Indiana, had made a fortune in the dry goods wholesale business. His father was a founder of the firm Hibben and Hollweg. Thomas joined the firm in 1900. It appears that one of his passions was art and he was considered one of the best etchers in the Midwest. With their comfortable income, the Hibbens purchased numerous paintings and etchings and filled their home with art. 

     Mrs. Hibben might have already known about the grand house as her Aunt Catharine Merrill had leased rooms from the Downeys in the late nineteenth century. Perhaps she visited the residence as a girl and might have witnessed a few of those Thursday-evening salons. The Hibbens were likely very proud of their children who all went on to achieve some impressive feats. By age 28, Paxton Hibben, served as a legate for the American delegation in the Netherlands. Their daughter, Helene, a future teacher, received commissions as a young woman as sculptress. Some of her bas reliefs of prominent Hoosiers are still around today.  Their son Thomas, Jr. became an architect and James became a chemist. Hazen served as teacher with her sister, Helene. 

     Thomas Hibben's sudden death in 1915 at the age of 54 shocked his family. His obituary ran on the front pages of the local newspapers. Mrs. Hibben died in 1920. Their daughters Helene and Hazen continued to live on in the house until 1929. The sisters operated an early pre-school for wealthier Irvington families where kids learned to speak some rudimentary French. In 1929, the women sold their home to Jessie Landon, one of the wealthiest women in Indianapolis. She and her husband Hugh lived at the former Eli Lilly mansion called Oldfields at the time. 

       Then, Mrs. Landon did something unthinkable for many Irvington residents. She bulldozed the Downey home in the summer of 1929. Why did she do it? Was she plotting a new development? Neighbors must have been very concerned since Butler University had just pulled out leaving many of the nearby buildings vacant. In the end, she did nothing with the property. She fell ill and died the following year. 

     A little over a decade later, contractors erected smaller homes on the once grand acreage. With World War II coming to a close, dozens of new families flocked to the site. 

(Indianapolis News, July 6, 1915, p. 1)

Thomas E. Hibben, Sr. was also a talented etcher. His work, Spanish Doorway, may be seen at the Irvington Historical Society. 

Helene sculpted a bas relief of James Whitcomb Riley. She also sculpted numerous other prominent Hoosiers of the early twentieth century. (Irvington Historical Society)

Indianapolis Star, August 18, 1928, p. 18

     I wish to thank Kathy and Dick Meyer for the photograph and new information about the Goes in the Downey Home. I also wish to thank Steve Barnett for his expertise and knowledge about the Downey Home. 

Sources;

Downey Era--Joseph R. Downey, Boyhood Days in Irvington, Irvington Historical Society, 1991 (first published by the East Side Herald in 1950); Bankruptcy--"In Bankruptcy," Indianapolis News, November 27, 1878, p. 4; Burglary--"Burglary," Indianapolis News, May 20, 1878, p. 1; Mr. Downey Obituary--Rocky Mountain News, September 1, 1914.

Catharine Merrill--Katharine Merrill Graydon, Catharine Merrill, Life and Letters, (Mitchell Publishing, 1934). 

Rental Years--Information on the back of a photograph provided by the Kingsbury family 

Thompson Era--US Census Records, 1900; "Miss Bona Thompson," Indianapolis News, October 13, 1899; Obituary for Mary Thompson--Franklin Democrat, April 18, 1902, p. 1; "Funeral of Edward C. Thompson," Indianapolis Journal, December 23, 1902, p. 3; 

Hibben Era--US Census Records, 1910 and 1920; History of Hibben School--"Hibben School Founded to Care for Children During Days of War," Indianapolis Star, August 23, 1931, p. 8; "Thomas E. Hibbens Dies at N.Y. Athletic Club," Indianapolis News, September 6, 1915, p. 1; "Mrs. Janie K. Hibben Dies," Indianapolis Star, October 17, 1920, p. 1.

General Overview--Grace Julian Clarke, "Some of 'Original' Irvington's History Recalled by House Razing," Indianapolis Star, May 26, 1929, p. 72; "Another Landmark Gone," Butler Alumni Quarterly, July 1929, pp. 79-80; Edward J. Hecker, Sr., "Old Irvington Residence Recalled," Irvington Review, December 12, 1940; Sheri Patterson, "Memories of Irvington Downey Home Recalled," Indy East, July 31, 1985, p. 1

Beautiful Renditions of Butler's Irvington Campus in 1923 by Thomas Hibben

Thomas E. Hibben, Jr. (1893-1950) grew up in a beautiful Italianate villa on Downey Avenue across from the Bona Thompson Library.  (The Thompsons had also lived in the very same house before the Hibbens.)  The Hibben family had many talented artists, architects, and teachers living under the same roof.  Young Tom, who grew up near the Butler University campus, likely spent many childhood hours in the lovely setting with his Irvington friends.  His father was an artist and likely encouraged his love of art and architecture.  He later studied engineering and architecture at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, and in Europe.

He returned to Indianapolis and served as architect and draftsman.  In the 1920s, he was awarded the contract to design several of the buildings on the new Butler campus at the Fairview site.  Before embarking on that journey, he spent time in 1923 rendering these lovely images of the small college just off Emerson Avenue.  The artwork would be published in the Drift, the Butler yearbook.  In the 1930s, he left Indiana for Washington DC where he worked for the Roosevelt administration designing affordable homes.  He also served the country as an advisor on engineering subjects in the Philippines and the Caribbean.  In his final post, Mr. Hibben traveled to Pakistan (Western Pakistan in 1950) as an ambassador to that region.  He was a long way from the tree-lined meandering streets of his boyhood home.  Tragically, he died suddenly of a heart attack in 1950 at the age of 58 in the city of Karachi.  More posts will be forthcoming on this talented Irvington architect, artist, engineer, and ambassador.  He designed several homes in the Irvington area, including a beautiful Tudor Revival for his sister Helene along Pleasant Run Parkway.

The Talented Wheeler Women of Lowell Avenue

I ask you to remember the ladies...
               Abigail Adams to her husband, John Adams

Two very talented ladies dwelled at 5317 Lowell Avenue along with their very accomplished husband and father.

Hilah Drake (1878-1970) met her future husband, Clifton Wheeler, while studying art in Europe.  The daughter of Alexander Drake, an art critic for The Century magazine, the young woman was a talented watercolorist.  In 1910, the couple married and briefly lived in his hometown of Mooresville, Indiana.  She gave birth to Hilah Mary Wheeler in 1911.

Hilah Drake Wheeler and daughter, Hilah Mary--1912

By 1912, they were building their dream home at 5317 Lowell Avenue in Irvington.  The Wheelers had their architect, George Hoagland, design a beautiful studio with a tall ceiling and a fireplace as part of the home.  Both of the Wheelers tended to paint landscapes and portraits although Mrs. Wheeler also specialized in still lifes and silhouettes.

Clifton and Hilah Drake Wheeler Home--1913

Flower Stall, Indianapolis City Market by Hilah Drake Wheeler 1925, Courtesy of Indianapolis Museum of Art

Hibben Home, Pleasant Run Parkway by Hilah Drake Wheeler

Still Life by Hilah Drake Wheeler

Their daughter, Hilah Mary Wheeler (1911-2002) was also a talented artist in her own right.  She married George Remaily (1912-2004) and moved to Hammondsport, New York.  Mr. Remaily became renown as a viticulturist.  His grapes were used in wines throughout the US.

Hilah Mary Wheeler Remaily with her daughter, Hilah Katrina Remaily--1939 at 5317 Lowell Ave

Portrait by Hilah Mary Remaily

The elder Mrs. Wheeler remained at Lowell Avenue for much of her life.  Upon Clifton Wheeler's passing in 1953, she painted this scene in 1954 to capture what the room looked like upon his sad death at the age 69.  She later moved from the home to be near her daughter.  The historic images are courtesy of Bruce and Michele Oertel.  The scene below is only a partial view of the painting. You may learn more about the Wheelers by clicking on the link below.

Wheeler Studio by Hilah Drake Wheeler, 1954, courtesy of Bruce and Michele Oertel

An Orion Avenue Cottage

Orion Avenue is a quiet street located south of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, west of Emerson Avenue, and north of Brookville Road. It is a short street that most Irvingtonians have not likely driven down. While most of the housing stock along the avenue dates from the 1920s and later, there is at least one very old cottage located at 5014.

The 1889 map of Irvington shows a structure on the site. Orion used to be called Nora and South Bancroft was formerly known as Parker. Irvington founder, Levi Ritter owned the acreage around the home, but he lived in a grand place at the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Ritter Avenue.

The earliest known family to call 5014 home were the Coffins. George W. and Louisa Fulwider Coffin planned to spend their retirement years in the home and they moved into the house in 1908. The large lot was perfect for Mr. Coffin because he loved to garden and he sold his vegetables and flowers at the Indianapolis City Market. The house used to have the address of 4876 Orion, but it was changed in 1917 to 5014. The Coffins, both in their sixties, usually kept boarders. In 1910, two ministers named Summer Robinson, 21, and Frederick Jacobs, 27, lived in the home. By 1915, Mrs. Coffin's health appeared to be failing and the couple left to stay with children. Eventually, she passed away in Oak Park, Illinois on October 17, 1915. Mr. Coffin would live until 1926. Both were buried in their native Montgomery County, Indiana.

The Rubush family moved into house in 1915 and remained until the 1930s. William Rubush was a brick mason and contractor and worked on many landmarks and memorials around the city of Indianapolis. His wife, Clara Jenne Rubush, ran the household. Both of the Rubush's were members of the Universalist Church in Oaklandon in northeastern Marion County. They raised five children in the house. Their daughters Zerelda and Ada attended the Hibben Dance School in Irvington in 1921 and Zerelda later sang in the opera The Pirates of Penzance at Butler University on January 11, 1923. Both daughters would become teachers with Zerelda moving to Paris, France. One son, Jack Rubush, became a sheriff in Hancock County, Indiana, while another son, Richard Rubush, worked in a variety of jobs.

Tragedy awashed the Rubush family on May 28, 1923, when their twenty-two-year-old son, Theodore was struck by a train and killed. Theodore had just married Dorothy King and was living at 4001 East Washington Street. He was on his first day of a job delivering the Indianapolis Sunday Star near Julietta, Indiana in eastern Marion County. He had recruited his fifteen-year-old brother-in-law, David King, to drive his auto while he passed out newspapers. As young David was driving the car, it stalled on the Baltimore and Ohio tracks. A new driver, he threw the car into reverse and the auto stalled once again. Theodore was killed instantly while David survived with some terrible injuries. The Rubush's held the funeral in their home at 5014 Orion Avenue. Sadly for the Rubush family, the property abuts the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad so they likely thought of their son daily as the train conductors blew their whistles to announce the train's arrival to Irvington at Emerson Avenue.

The Swain family lived in the home in the early 1940s and then the Thompsons moved into 5014 in 1944. They would remain for several decades. Rodney Thompson worked for Irvington Ice and Coal on South Ritter and eventually worked his way up to managing the facility. The Thompsons raised their children in the cottage on the large lot. More information will be forthcoming on this interesting family.

Each house has its own story to tell. What other tales remain from this one small home on this quiet street? More research is needed not only on this house, but on many others along Orion Avenue.

In the top photo, courtesy of Kathleen Lynch, you can see Louisa Fulwider Coffin, as a passenger in her brother's car. The three women in the backseat of the car, are Louisa's sisters. She was visiting the family in Montgomery County, Indiana near New Richmond when this photo was taken around 1910.

In the second photo, you can see two views of 5014 Orion Avenue. The bottom part of the photo shows the home in 1944 just after the Thompsons planted some evergreen trees. In the top part of the photo, you can see the house in 1950. The trees had started to grow. These photos are courtesy of Sue Thompson.

It is nearly impossible to get a contemporary view of the house in 2012 because the Thompson trees now tower over the home nearly seventy years after these photos were taken, however, you will note that the dwelling has been enlarged.

Hibben Avenue in Irvington

Hibben Avenue, named for a prominent Irvington family, is one of the "newer" streets in the neighborhood. The avenue is filled with modest homes built after 1917. The first resident of the block was Jesse Lowes and his family. They dwelled at 5442 Hibben. By 1922 contractors had built seven more homes. In 1923 George Bell lived at 5423 Hibben. Throughout the mid-1920s that home served as the headquarters for the Butler fraternity Tau Kappa Tau. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a manufacturing agent, Paul G. Craver and his family lived in the small bungalow.

The images reveal Hibben Avenue today and in 1924. The picture of the oldest house on the block was taken in the summer of 2011. (5442 Hibben Avenue) It is the first image of a home in the series. Another contemporary shot shows the south side of the street. The historic image, taken in 1924, shows the Tau Kappa Tau house, and the contemporary photo reveals the structure today. More research is needed on this interesting street.