Historic Horner House Visible in Shimer Family Photos

      The Horner House located at 410 South Emerson Avenue has intrigued residents for years primarily because of its condition. No one has lived in the Second Empire residence for many decades and it has deteriorated rapidly over time. Built in 1875 as part of the Downey and Brouse Addition to Irvington, Abraham and Emma Horner were the first people to live in the home although they did not stay for long. The land upon which the house was built used to belong to the Shimer family. One Shimer descendant, Nelson and his wife Mila Murphy Shimer, also lived in the Downey and Brouse Addition at 422 South Emerson Avenue. Shimer children and grandchildren grew up next door to the grand old house and it appeared in many of their family photos in the early twentieth century. 

     Steve Barnett, the Director of the Irvington Historical Society, discovered that numerous people owned or leased the house after the Horners including the Shoemakers, Turrills, Thompsons, Risleys, Sloughs, Fleeces, Terrills, McMillans, and Minors. In the mid-twentieth century the residence served as a VFW post and was carved into several apartments. Agnes M'Culloch Hanna wrote about the elegance of the home in a 1932 Indianapolis Star article. She noted the tower and the narrow spiral walnut staircase. 

     While families moved in and out of the beautiful brick home, the Shimers who lived next door, however, remained. In the photos below, various members of their family can be seen with the Horner House in the distance. Most likely, either the Fleece or Terrill family would have lived in the grand old brick house at that time in history.  At some point in the early twentieth century, someone painted over the brick and added a more modern front porch. 

An older woman who might be Mila Murphy Shimer (left) chatted with either Francis Fleece or Mary Terrill. The young girl might be Lula Mae Shimer. The photo was likely taken c1915. Behind the women you can see the Horner House at 410 South Emerson Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Elizabeth Shimer c1910; Behind her you can see the Horner House at 410 South Emerson Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Thomas Shimer, Sr. of 422 South Emerson Avenue, posed in the family yard c1918. Behind him you can see the Horner House at 410 South Emerson Avenue. An abstract for the Horner property reveals that it was built by New Albany contractors, John F. and Henry M. Cooper. Steve Barnett believes that there is a strong possibility that George Cooper might have been the architect. If you look closely, you can see some ornamental ironwork atop the tower. The Irvington Historical Society located at 5350 University Avenue has some of the iron work on display in a case. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Elizabeth Shimer of 422 South Emerson Avenue with her bobbed hair posed near the Horner House at 410 South Emerson Avenue c1922 (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

Alfred H. Johnson, the husband of Clara Belle Shimer Johnson, parked his vehicle along the Shimer driveway at 422 South Emerson Avenue c1925. Behind him you can see the Horner House at 410 South Emerson Avenue. (photo courtesy of Chris Shimer)

     From 2011 to 2016, Amanda Browning, who owned the Horner House at the time, wrote an amazing blog on the story of the residence. You can see incredible interior and exterior photos along with historic images on her site. Her mother, Mary Williams, also contributed to the blog. 

Horner House Project

Special thanks to Steve Barnett, Amanda Browning, Anne Hardwick, Ron Huggler, and Chris Shimer

Sources:  Steve Barnett, "410 South Emerson--Horner House," Unpublished history of the home, Irvington Historical Society; Agnes M'Culloch Hanna, "Old Houses With Towers Examples of Dignified Style of Architecture," Indianapolis Star, February 14, 1932; Amanda Browning, "Horner House Project," Blog, 2011-2016; Indianapolis City Directories; Federal Census Records. 

Living in a Dream Home--1913

George and Mary Terrill along with their three daughters, Mabel, Faye, and Norma moved into 5631 University Avenue in 1912.  The Terrills likely heard that Henry Earl, the owner of the home, was ill and on the way to Michigan to spend the last years of his life with his family.  As the Earl family began to get the house and property ready for auction they rented it to the Terrills for one year.  George Terrill, who ran his own securities and insurance company was just starting to see his business thrive.  Since the Terrills dwelled at 302 South Audubon Road in 1911, they would have noticed all of the activity going on at the Earl property located across the street from the Irving Circle Park.  For one year, the Terrills dwelled in the now iconic Irvington home and took these photos in winter of 1913. The Polk's Indianapolis City Directory reveals that one daughter, Faye, a talented musician, taught piano in the house.

In the summer of 1913, the beautiful home went on the auction block.  Lew Shank, a local resident and auctioneer, described the property in the Indianapolis Star as:

     The opportunity of a lifetime to buy one of the best located and most beautiful homes in Irvington on June 19, 1913 at 3 PM...No. 5631 University Avenue, the residence of Dr. Earl, who is going to move to Michigan. This is a ten room brick house, cut stone foundation, attic, basement, city water, gas electric lights, slate roof, with bath and furnace in first class condition.  This lot faces on three streets, Audubon Road, University Avenue, and Burgess Avenue--about two thirds of an acre, large trees, also cherry, apple, and peach trees.  

It is unknown if the Terrills attempted to buy the house, but if they did then they lost out to Wallace and Ellie Payne, who moved into 5631 University Avenue in 1913.  The Payne family added a covered porch, something that had not existed on the house until then. The Terrills moved out and purchased 315 South Audubon Road and remained there until finally buying their dream home in 1920 at 410 South Emerson Avenue, a large brick Second Empire style house.

Provenance of the photos:  Amanda Browning, the author of the Horner House blog, traveled to North Carolina to meet Gail Anderson, a descendant of the Terrills.  Amanda's mission was to find photos of her own house at 410 South Emerson Avenue (Horner House).  In the process of discovering incredible photos of her property, Amanda noticed images of 5631 University Avenue in the scrapbooks.  More from this collection will appear on the Horner House blog in the coming months so stay tuned as Amanda reveals more incredible images.  (hornerhouseindy.blogspot.com)  

5631 University after freezing rain and snow storm on January 4, 1913; Note that the Craftsman-era front porch had not yet been placed on the house!

Winter Beauty:  5631 University Avenue in January of 1913.  Photo taken by a member of the Terrill family who dwelled in the "Castle House" for just one year.  Note that 262 South Audubon Road has not been yet been constructed.  

Close up of 5631 University Avenue in the winter of 1913

Michigan Streetcar Line--c1915

Three separate streetcar lines came into Irvington.  The oldest line, a former mule-powered transport, followed the Brookville Road. The most widely-used line traversed East Washington Street from downtown to Sheridan Avenue.  It also followed down part of South Audubon Road to a small commercial section of the neighborhood.  The last streetcar line to be built in the neighborhood was the East Michigan Street line which terminated at Emerson Avenue.  This line connected downtown and several other east side neighborhoods including Tuxedo Park and Emerson Heights and was completed in 1911.  In this photo, Indianapolis Traction Company employees--one of whom was a man named Zero Horner--stood at the intersection of North Emerson Avenue and East Michigan Street c1915.  The commercial structure behind the car used to stand on the northeast corner of that intersection.

 Streetcar at North Emerson and East Michigan Street c1915

This image is courtesy of the Horner family via Ancestry.com.  

Film Clip of Charles Dorn's Standard Grocery and the Nearby Horner House c.1933

Charles Dorn operated a small Standard Grocery store on the northwest corner of Brookville Road and Grand Avenue. (just east of South Emerson Avenue) Sometime in the early 1930s, a family member or friend filmed Mr. Dorn and some of his workers as they exited the store.  Mr. Dorn can be seen wearing a hat and smoking a cigar.  Larry Muncie, a local historian, remembers going to the store during World War II with his mother Margaret Muncie and his Aunt Gladys Shimer.  During the war years, Mr. Dorn could only carry canned goods because of the rations on meat and other items. Eventually, a Standard Grocery Store would be built on East Washington Street. Mr. Dorn's store still stands today although it has been drastically altered and is now a church.

So you know what you are seeing, I have included a sequential history by clip:

0-5 seconds--The exterior of the store

6-20 seconds--You can see the employees exiting the store and playfully posing for the camera. Behind them, you can see a bungalow on the southside of Brookville Road near Emerson and a brief shot of the Horner House on South Emerson.  Towards the end of this segment, you can see Mr. Dorn standing along the Grand Avenue side.  A small bungalow on Grand is behind him.

22--27 seconds--You can see a young man come from around a bus parked on Brookville Road.  Behind him, you have a clear shot of the Horner House on South Emerson Avenue.

This amazing film clip is courtesy of Larry Muncie. I am working to get rid of the labeling on the film. Contemporary images show the same views in 2012.

Charles Dorn's Standard Grocery in 2012

The Horner House has recently been purchased. You may follow their blog by clicking on my favorite links.