Whittier Place in the Early 20th Century

      After the city of Indianapolis extended Whittier Place from Lowell Avenue to the corporation line (later Pleasant Run Parkway) in 1902, many couples and families moved into brand new homes along the street. Early twentieth-century photos from the Hackleman family, who resided at 5438 Lowell Avenue documented some of the families and homes in the area. 

321 North Whittier Place

     In December of 1909, a local attorney named Samuel W. Huls purchased a lot on Whittier Place to build a house, most likely on speculation. In January of 1910, he took out a building permit and constructed a new home at 321 North Whittier Place for $2,500. Another local attorney named Louis A. Robertson purchased the new residence from Huls. Perhaps Mr. Robertson was preparing for his future as he married Mary Josephine Delker on October 11, 1911. Soon the couple welcomed several sons into the world and remained in the two-story home for many years. Shortly after the completion of the house the Hackleman girls, who lived at 5438 Lowell Avenue, posed for photographs in their backyard. Behind the girls, you can see the Robertson home and other dwellings in the 300 block of North Whittier Place. 

Grace Hackleman posed with her doll c1911 near her home at 5438 Lowell Avenue. Behind her you can see the Robertson house at 321 North Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Florence Hackleman (on left) and her sister Grace Hackleman (middle) posed with a neighbor girl c1911. Behind the kids you can see the carriage house that used to sit behind 5438 Lowell Avenue and the Robertson home at 321 North Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Little Gladys Hackleman posed with her doll c1910. Behind her you can see several houses on the east side of the 300 block of North Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Grace Hackleman posed with her doll c1910. Behind her you can see several houses on the east side of the 300 block of Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

321 North Whittier Place on January 26, 2022

325 North Whittier Place

     In the summer of 1908, Clyde E. Springer, a contractor, took out a building permit on behalf of Sarah I. Bonar, a widow, to build 325 North Whittier Place. The unusual residence, built at a cost of $2000 was a blend of the shingle and Arts and Crafts styles. Mrs. Bonar and her widowed sister, Luthera Parr, along with other family members moved into the place in late 1908. The sisters only stayed in the home for three years before selling it to the Lawson family in 1911. 

A young girl posed with a boy who is holding a tennis racket c1912. Behind the kids, you can see 325 North Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

325 North Whittier Place on January 26, 2022

333 North Whittier Place

    Edward and Madeline Hind moved into 333 N. Whittier Place in 1905. The couple had five children. Mr. Hind was involved in the fruit business. The house has one of the most unusual front porches in the city of Indianapolis. Photos from the descendants of the Hinds reveal that the field-stone porch was not original to the residence but was added by Mr. Hind in the autumn of 1914. Images from two separate collections reveal the changes to the residence. 

     

Edward O. Hind, Sr. posed with his two youngest children, Edward, Jr. and Theodore in front of their home at 333 North Whittier Place on February 21, 1909. Mr. Hind had not yet added his fanciful stone porch. (photo courtesy of Linda Goff via Ancestry.com) 

Edward O. Hind, Sr. posed with his children, Edward, Jr., Theodore, and Madeline on February 21, 1909 in front of their home at 333 North Whittier Place. (photo courtesy of Linda Goff via Ancestry.com) 

An unknown young woman, possibly Florence Hackleman, posed with her bike in front of the Hind family home at 333 North Whittier Place c1914. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

Florence Hackleman (middle) stands next to two friends at 333 North Whittier Place c1914. The other girls might be Edna and Madeline Hind who lived at the house. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

A young girl in a costume posed on the front porch at 333 North Whittier Place c1914. The Hind family lived at that address for many years. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon) 

A young girl posed in front of the Hind family home at 333 North Whittier Place c1914. (photo courtesy of Anne Gribble Spurgeon)

333 North Whittier Place on January 26, 2022

     I wish to thank Anne Gribble Spurgeon for the use of her incredible family photo collection. I also want to thank Lisa Abner for her research on 325 North Whittier Place. Paula Schmidt and Steve Barnett at the Irvington Historical Society helped me understand the early years of these three homes and Paul Diebold assisted me with understanding the architectural elements of 325 North Whittier Place. 

Irvington Historical Society

Sources: 321 North Whittier Place--Lou A. Robertson obituary--Indianapolis News, July 30, 1962; Mary Josephine Delker Robertson obituary, Indianapolis News, September 7, 1989; Lot sale--Indianapolis Star, December 25, 1909, 10; Building permit--Indianapolis Commercial, January 10, 1919, 3:5; 325 North Whittier Place--Building permit--Indianapolis Commercial, June 4, 1908, 4:6;   333 North Whittier Place--"For Rent," Indianapolis News. February 25, 1905, 22; Building permit to remodel--"Building Permits," Indianapolis Star, October 28, 1914, 12; I also used the 1910 Federal Census for all three homes along with Polk City Directories. 

Robertson Home Through the Years

The Reverend David A. and Orintha Robertson moved into their beautiful new American Four Square home at 65 North Ritter Avenue with two of their sons in 1905.  It is very possible that the elderly couple were actually moving in with their very successful sons, Dr. J. Frank Robertson, a local physician and Lou A Robertson, an attorney.  The Reverend Robertson and his wife hailed from southern Indiana.  In fact, his father, Acquilla Robertson was the first white child to ever be baptized in the state of Indiana.  The Robertsons moved from one Indiana town to another since the minister frequently pastored at Methodist churches.  For the last twenty-one years of their lives, the family dwelled in Indianapolis and in Irvington for part of those years.  Two other sons, Edward and Charles found success as a minister and as a businessman in other cities.

Reverend Robertson passed away in the lovely home in 1912.  Orintha Robertson died in 1919.  Dr. J. Frank Robertson continued to dwell in the home until the 1920s.  He does not appear to have ever married.  Dr. Robertson, a graduate of Moore's Hill College in southern Indiana, remained an active alumn and he helped to raise funds to keep the financially-strapped institution open. (It eventually closed.) During World War One, Dr. Robertson served at Camp Greenleaf in Georgia where he attended to the soldiers going or coming home from the war.  He was honorably discharged in 1919 and returned to Irvington to serve as a family doctor for hundreds of local residents.

Lou A.  Robertson married a local Irvington woman named Josephine Mary Doelker on October 11, 1911.  He was 36 and she was 21.  They moved into a charming home at 321 North Ritter Avenue before finally moving into 65 North Ritter Avenue in the 1920s.  Mr. Robertson's name frequented the local newspapers as he helped to settle divorces, draw up wills, and settle lawsuits.  In one headline-grabbing case, Mr. Robertson represented the family of David M. Lee, who was run over and killed by a taxi at Union and McCarty Streets in 1918.  The Lees received $5,300 as settlement thanks to Mr. Robertson's hard work.  Mrs. Robertson stayed at home and helped to raise their three sons, David, Philip, and Frank.  She also served as a volunteer for the Campfire Girls at the Irvington Methodist Church.

For the next several decades, the Robertsons dwelled in the stone Craftsman home.  The family literally witnessed the building of Irvington all around them.  They moved into the home while Ritter was a dirt street.  By the end of their tenure in the house, the avenue had been widened and lengthened and had become a busy thoroughfare. In 2013, the lovely home underwent an extensive renovation.

In the following historic images courtesy of both the Larry Muncie Collection of the Irvington Historical Society and Catherine Phillips Kippert, you can see the home shortly after its construction in 1906 and throughout the mid-twentieth century.  I have also included a photo of the dwelling taken in the summer of 2013.

The Robertson Home (65 North Ritter Avenue) can be seen on the right c1907

The Robertson Home (65 North Ritter Avenue) c 1945.  The leaning tree in the backyard still lives in 2013.

The Robertson Home (65 North Ritter Avenue) c1978

The Robertson Home (65 North Ritter Avenue) on September 14, 2013

Children Gather Along Ritter Avenue c1908

These beautiful shots of children dressed in their Sunday finest, shows many neighborhood children on the front lawns of 60, 66, 65, and 67 North Ritter Avenue c1908. The only houses visible in the photos are those of 65 and 67 North Ritter.  You will note that the city was beginning to brick the street.  Two of the girls in the photos are likely Helen and Margaret Hackleman who were born at 28 North Ritter, but grew up next door at 34 North Ritter.  Their Aunt Ida and Uncle George Russell dwelled just a few houses north at 60 North Ritter.

Neighborhood children gathered for a photo on the front yard of either 60 or 66 North Ritter Avenue c1908

Children playing (c1908) at 60 or 66 North Ritter Avenue

Children sit on bricks in front of 67 and 65 North Ritter Avenue

Thaddeus and Jennie Major dwelled at 67 North Ritter in 1908.  They had two children, Bonnie, who would later become a teacher, and Carl.  Mr. Major was both a contractor and accountant at different points in his life. Mrs. Major was an active club woman and frequently hosted the Daughters of the American Revolution in her home.  One of the highlights of their time at 67 North Ritter came on August 14, 1913, with the marriage of their daughter Bonnie to Irvington resident, Louis Richardson. The newlyweds moved into the house and would remain for the rest of their lives.

The Major Home in the winter of 2012.  Note that a brick porch has been added most likely in the 1920s.

Next door at 65 North Ritter, the elderly David Robertson, lived with several of his adult children. One of his sons, Dr. J. Frank Robertson practiced medicine at 2313 East Michigan Street.  Another son, Lou A Robertson, was a well-known attorney.  Lou also lived in the house with his wife Mary.  The Robertsons may have the record for the family who has dwelled in an Irvington house for the longest period of time.  They moved into the beautiful American Four Square in the early 1900s and the last Robertson did not leave until the 1980s.

The Robertson Home in the winter of 2012

The historic photos are courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society, Larry Muncie Collection.

IPS #85 Images--1948 and 1951

By the late 1920s, southern Irvington was largely developed.  With the construction of numerous homes, many younger families moved into the neighborhood necessitating the erection of School #85 in the 300 block of South Arlington.  Completed in 1928, the school was named for music teacher and author George B. Loomis.  Mr. Loomis had published music books for school students and his textbooks were widely used around the United States.  He eventually became Superintendent of Music for all of the Indianapolis Public Schools.

School #85 in the 300 block of South Arlington on April 14, 2013

Entrance to School #85 

In the third image, taken in 1948, several boys gathered at the front doors of School #85. Some of the boys have been identified as:  Duane Whipple, Bruce Stewart, Jim Kollicher, Jim Burk, Bob Reed, Jerry Semler, Wayman Acres, John Robertson, and Chuck Vogt.

Several boys from School #85 (South Arlington) gathered for a photo in 1948

The fourth image, taken in 1951, shows the eighth grade class of 1951. Pictured: Front Row--L to R-David Wright, Duane Whipple, Bill Ebert, Jim Koelliker, Jean Ann Edens, John Robertson, Bob Reed. Top Row:  Suzanne Hoffman, Chuck Vogt, Lee Koertge, ?, ?, Jim Burk, Charlene Settles.  If you recognize anyone else from this photo then drop me a note at williamfranklingulde@gmail.com.

Members of the eighth grade class of 1951 from School #85

The contemporary images show the school in 2013.  The building has been readapted for offices and is in remarkable shape.  The historic images are courtesy of Chuck and Joyce Vogt.

School #85 on April 14,  2013