Electric Streetcar Serviced Irvington Until 1953

      As workers for the new Blue Line (a bus route) work on infrastructure along Washington Street in 2026, they are likely finding remnants of prior transportation systems including the rail lines for electric streetcars. Their tenure in the city lasted for sixty-two years and ended in 1953 in favor of city buses. For decades east side residents could catch a streetcar as far east as Sheridan Avenue and head downtown. Many people who worked in downtown offices rode cars in the morning and in the evening. Trains were also available on the weekends. As more people purchased automobiles after World War II, fewer people rode the streetcars. 

     In the photo below, an electric streetcar passed in front of the beautiful home located at 6202 East Washington Street in the Irvington Terrace neighborhood. You can also see some of the businesses in the 6100 block. The car went as far as Sheridan Avenue before it turned around and went back to downtown Indianapolis. Several cars came to Irvington throughout the day. 

The Washington Street-Sheridan Avenue Streetcar passed by 6202 East Washington Street in the Irvington Terrace neighborhood most likely in the 1940s when this photo was snapped by the Indianapolis Railways Co. If you look closely on the front of the streetcar you will see an ad for CV (Champaign Velvet) Beer brewed in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Irvington Historical Society)

Sources: Last electric streetcar: "A Streetcar named Expire," Indianapolis News, January 10, 1953, page 11; Charles Johnson Taggart, "Streetcars," Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, Revised March 2021 (online) I wish to thank Don Flick for his research on CV Beer. 

Irvington at 150: Street Names S-Z

In part five of five in our series on Irvington streets, three military generals hang out with at least one poet and one lexicographer along with several local families on various street signs throughout the neighborhood. A few street names still elude us. If you happen to have an original abstract of your home and you live along one of these streets, check it out and let us know if more is revealed about your street in that document. We will update and amend information for all of the posts as we get more information. I am especially indebted to Steve Barnett and Larry Muncie for their assistance on this project. I did not anticipate how difficult it would be to find information for some of the streets. 

Sheridan Avenue: Irvington residents of the early twentieth century knew Sheridan Avenue as the last stop on the street car line. In 1903, the Indianapolis City Council officially changed the name from East Street to Sheridan Avenue. Likely named for General Philip Sheridan (1831-1888), a popular Civil War leader. Sheridan helped Grant bring the war to a conclusion with his pursuit of Lee in Virginia. After the war, he participated in various brutal campaigns against the Sioux and other Native American groups. 

General Philip Sheridan (public domain)

Shimer Avenue: Nearly two hundred years ago, Elias and Mahala Dunn Shimer purchased 240 acres of land along the Brookville Road in 1829. The Shimers had four sons and all of them went into farming with two remaining nearby. The couple built a beautiful brick Italianate home that was later bulldozed for the International Harvester plant. Two sons, Corydon and William, continued to farm into the twentieth century and Shimer descendants eventually platted the area that now bears the street named for them. 

Elias Shimer purchased 240 acres along the Brookville Road in 1829 (photo courtesy of the Geiser family via Ancestry.com) 

Mahala Shimer lived long enough to see the brand new community called Irvington rise to the north of her home on Brookville Road. (photo courtesy of the Geiser family via Ancestry.com) 

Corydon, Isaac, William, and Caleb Shimer gathered for a reunion (c1914) at William Shimer's home at 4905 Brookville Road. The brothers grew up along the highway and Corydon still lived in the family home just east of William. (photo courtesy of David Bailey) 

Spencer Avenue: Sarah J. Pattison, a widow, platted a small section of Irvington south of Washington Street, east of Emerson Avenue, west of Butler Avenue, and north of the Pennsylvania Rail Line. Newspaper accounts indicate that she started to sell lots for future homes as early as 1892. She and her deceased husband, Coleman Pattison, hailed from Rushville, Indiana and had gone into the wholesale business with some of their relatives--the Hibben family. It unclear as to where either Mrs. Pattison or the Irvington Town Board came up with the name of Spencer for her new avenue. Steve Barnett, the director of the Irvington Historical Society, believes that the strongest candidate is Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher popular in the late nineteenth-century for his unfortunate and now-debunked theory on social Darwinism. More research on the origin of this street name is needed. 

St. Clair Street: General Arthur St. Clair, a former Revolutionary War commander, was the first governor of the Northwest Territory of what would become the states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. It is interesting that the city of Indianapolis would choose to name a street after him due to the fact that his punitive raid against Native Americans ended in utter failure for the Americans at the Battle of the Wabash in 1791. 

General Arthur St. Clair (public domain) 

St. Joseph Street: When Ethel Shearer filed a plat for her new neighborhood north of the Pleasant Run Golf Course in 1924, she originally called what is today St. Joseph Street as Pratt Street. At some point, a city official must have intervened as Pratt Street is the former name of Ninth Street and this street more closely matched in longitude with St. Joseph Street. Historic nineteenth-century maps of Indianapolis reveal that north of St. Joseph Street was St. Mary's Street (now Tenth St.) so there was likely a theme when early developers named those two streets. 

An 1855 map of the city of Indianapolis reveals that St. Joseph Street was just a block south of St. Mary's Street. (courtesy of Indiana State Library online)

Hoyt Fulk designed and built this Tudor-Revival home in Shearer's Pleasant Run Plaza subdivision in 1931. (Indianapolis Star, November 1, 1931)

Wilbur Washburn erected this Tudor cottage in Shearer's Pleasant Run Plaza subdivision in 1932. (Indianapolis Star, June 12, 1932)

Stratford Avenue: In 1934, Arthur and Kathleen McKay moved into the first residence constructed along a new street called Stratford Avenue. Mr. McKay was a carpenter so it is possible that he built the home or at least worked on the finishing touches. On the evening of March 21, fire trucks raced to the home at 4645 Stratford Avenue just as Mr. McKay managed to rescue his wife and children. Thankfully, the McKays were able to make it out of the house and rebuild. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, dozens of young families moved into brand new homes along the street likely named for William Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon. 

William Shakespeare was possibly born in this house in the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon (public domain) 

Tenth Street: On September 23, 1895, the Indianapolis City Council passed an ordinance whereby east-west streets in the city north of Washington Street would now be numbered. However, those streets in the original Mile Square, like Market Street, would retain the original name. Beginning with Pratt Street (Ninth) and north, all streets would receive a number. An editorial in the Indianapolis News on April 11, 1896 (4) blasted city leaders for this decision: "To our way of thinking, numbered streets are briefly--detestable. We have not very many of them in Indianapolis, and we should abolish them before they increase." Tenth Street had a variety of names prior to 1895, but in the Irvington area it had been called Clifford Avenue. 

University Avenue: This long and winding street has had multiple names in several sections. In 1898, the Irvington Town Board decided to clear up the confusing avenue by renaming it University Avenue for the nearby Butler University campus. The stretch between Audubon Road and Butler Avenue used to be called Spratt Avenue. Thomas B. Spratt was the brother to Susanna Spratt Ohmer. Mr. Spratt and Nicholas Ohmer were both early investors in the new town. Ohmer Avenue remains. Spratt does not. The stretch between Audubon Road and Arlington Avenue used to be called  Grand Avenue prior to 1898. The small stretch west of Emerson Avenue used to be called Lena Street. Who was Lena?! More work is needed. 

Walnut Street: Charming bungalows and early twentieth-century cottages now line Walnut Street in Irvington. The 1910 city directory indicates that the Chasteen, White, Stevenson, Stone, Wilson, Dorsey, and Taylor families were the first to call the street "home." The origin of the name does not originate in Irvington as the historic stretch actually started north of downtown Indianapolis. Many streets in America are named for the majestic walnut trees that grow in abundance in places like Indiana. 

An ad in the Indianapolis Star, June 13, 1909

Washington Street:When Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson founded Irvington in 1870, they deliberately located their new town near two rail lines and along the National Road, the first federally-funded highway in the United States. At that time, the great road stretched from Cumberland, Maryland (thus, the name for Cumberland, Indiana) to the former Illinois capital at Vandalia. Both Julian and Johnson lived near the road when they resided in Centerville, Indiana. In Marion County, the stretch is named for George Washington. Later, it also became known as Route 40 and it eventually stretched to California. 

Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington (public domain)

Wallace Avenue/Lane: Although often associated with the Emerson Heights neighborhood, Wallace Avenue has its origins in Irvington. The politically prominent Wallace family, who owned many acres along Washington Street, built the beautiful home at 4704 East Washington Street in the early 1860s. By the 1880s, the family had lost almost everything. They sold the house and the land to the Bosart family in 1882. An 1886 map shown below reveals that Rachel Wallace, the sister-in-law to William John Wallace, still possessed 18 acres although news accounts in the Indianapolis newspapers reported that creditors eventually sought this land as well. Wallace Street, as it was called in those days, can be seen on the map. What can not be seen was the troubled financial story of a nineteenth-century family. 

This 1886 map shows "Wallace Street" in pink and next to the Bosart land. Rachel Wallace, the sister-in-law to William John Wallace, still possessed some of the Wallace land although creditors were already knocking on the door. 

William John Wallace placed his beautiful country home at 4704 East Washington Street on the market in 1881. (Indianapolis News. March 31, 1881)

Financial problems plagued the Wallace family and played out in local newspapers. (Indianapolis News, July 31, 1886)

Webster Avenue: Irvington has had several women who have developed sections of the neighborhood including Sarah J. Pattison and Ethel Shearer. One of the earliest female entrepreneurs was Mrs. Elizabeth A. Cain who platted Cain's addition south of Washington Street and east of Arlington Avenue in 1872. Mrs. Cain was very traditional with her street names. One of her streets was called "Orchard Street." In 1903, the city of Indianapolis changed it to Webster Avenue. To complicate matters, the street kept changing names as it stretched south. Below the Pennsylvania Railroad and north of Oak Avenue, it used to be called Prescott Street. South of Ivanhoe and north of the Brookville Road it was called Jones Street. All of that was consolidated into one name--Webster Avenue. In 1908, the Creighton Realty Company announced that over thirty new lots along North Webster Avenue would be for sale as soon as the city could place a sewer line north of Washington Street. The avenue is presumably named after Noah Webster, who compiled an early dictionary and was responsible for authoring the Copyright Act of 1831. 

An ad for Elizabeth Cain's new addition to Irvington (Indianapolis News, October 22, 1872)

James Herring painted this portrait of Noah Webster in 1833 (public domain)

Wentworth Boulevard: Although it appears that the city of Indianapolis paved the street in 1928, it took another ten years before contractors erected the first homes along Wentworth Boulevard. Arthur and Hilda Eubank were the first residents to be listed in the 1939 Indianapolis city directory. Dozens of homes were added in the 1940s. Ads from the time period touted that the new homes were near Christian Park, Thomas Carr Howe High School, and IPS #82. The origin of the name is unclear. Were the developers keeping an English theme with Stratford Avenue nearby? Wentworth is a small medieval village in England. There was already an apartment building along Meridian Street named Wentworth so clearly it was a popular name. There appear to be no Wentworth families living in the area so more research will be needed. 

Indianapolis News, January 31, 1941

Indianapolis News, February 7, 1941

Whittier Place: In 1898 the Irvington Town Board renamed Hunter Street as Whittier Place. John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) was an admired American poet who lived in New England. He submitted some of his work to James Russell Lowell, (also a nearby street) who edited the Atlantic Monthly, so when you walk or ride by the intersection of Whittier and Lowell in Irvington, you can tell your friends about the connection. 

John Greenleaf Whittier, an American poet (public domain)

Worcester Avenue: When James Downey and Charles Brouse platted their new addition in the southwestern Irvington in the mid-1870s, they named one of their streets "Worcester" presumably after the city in England. They also named a nearby street "Auvergne" after a region in France. Thousands of Irvington school children became familiar with Worcester Avenue after the Indianapolis Public School Commissioners approved the construction of IPS #82 near the street in 1930. 

Worcester, England Cathedral (public domain)

Young Avenue: In the 1870s, John and Clarrissa Young platted at least two subdivisions in southwestern Irvington. The Youngs hailed from Belfast Ireland and Mr. Young had a storied career as a Butler University professor and acting president, real estate developer, and as an attorney. During the Civil War, he served as a consul to Ireland for the Lincoln administration. In Mr. Young's Second Addition to Irvington, you can drive down the street named for him. In some early newspapers articles, the addition is also referred to as University Place. 

Sources: Larry Muncie, Three Windows on Irvington's History, 1989; Spencer Avenue--"Petition for New Loop," Indianapolis News, January 29, 1904, 2; St. Clair Street--"Stamp Would Honor Revolutionary Patriot," Indianapolis Star, September 24, 1933, 49; St. Joseph Street--Abstract from Shearer's Pleasant Run Plaza courtesy of Anne Hardwick; Stratford Avenue--"Wife and Babies Rescued," Indianapolis News, March 21, 1934, 2; Tenth Street--"The Numbered Streets," Indianapolis News, September 25, 1895, 8; Webster Avenue--"New Addition to Irvington," Indianapolis News, May 23, 1908, 23; Wentworth Blvd--"Awards Contracts for Street Work," Indianapolis Star, September 23, 1928, 27; Young Avenue--Indiana Sentinel, February 20, 1878 and George Waller, Butler University: A Sesquicentennial History, 2006; 

At the Edge of the City--1950

Residents in southeastern Irvington lived near farms and meadows in the 1940s. The Schweiters family, who dwelled at 6076 Dewey Avenue, could walk to the edge of their street and find themselves in the country. South Sheridan Avenue was merely a dirt path and was likely a farm lane. Sometime in the winter of 1950, Irene Spitzer and Dorothy Schweiters went for a walk on a cold and frosty day along what would become South Sheridan Avenue. Behind them you can see vast stretches of undeveloped land and a tree line near English Avenue.

Irene Spitzer (left) and Dorothy Schweiters along with Smokey the dog walked upon South Sheridan Avenue in the winter of 1950. Small brick houses occupy this site in 2016. 

Irene Spitzer (left), the daughter of Edmund and Freida Spitzer of 6064 Dewey Avenue, posed with Dorothy Schweiters, the daughter of Norbert and Dorothy Schweiters of 6076 Dewey Avenue, in the winter of 1950 along South Sheridan Avenue. Note that the "street" was merely a dirt path at that point in time. 

Dorothy Schweiters (left) and her friend Irene Spitzer posed in the fields near their homes on Dewey Avenue at the edge of the city line in 1950. The Marbar Development Corporation added 100 homes upon the site in 1951. Beyond the girls, you can see the farms that existed just east of Irvington. 

In the summer and fall of 1951, contractors for the Marbar Subdivision were busy constructing 100 brick homes on the empty land near the Schweiters. On December 2, 1951, the public was invited to tour two of the model homes at 6019 Ivanhoe Street and at 338 South Webster Avenue. The small dwellings were marketed towards veterans and cost $11,500. Veterans needed to put at least $1,000 towards a down payment, but they could also finance that money as well. Those who qualified paid $63.89 for their mortgage. Visitors to the model homes noted the hardwood floors, full basements, tiled bathrooms, storm doors and windows, automatic furnaces, and Youngstown metal kitchen cabinets. The Schweiters still living nearby would have watched as their rural playground vanished and traffic along their once quiet street increased dramatically as families moved into the modern residences. (Information for the Marbar Subdivision came from: Indianapolis Star, December 2, 1951, 36; Indianapolis Star,  January 20, 1952, 30)

6019 Ivanhoe Street served as the model home for the Marbar Subdivision on December 2, 1951.

Typical modest brick homes in the Marbar Subdivision along South Webster Avenue in 2016

The historic photograph and information on the Schweiters family is courtesy of Deedee Davis.

A New Fire Station--1958

For fifty five years, Irvington firemen operated out of Station Number 25 located at 5432 East Washington Street. The building had been designed for a time when horses pulled the fire wagons and not for motorized firetrucks. In need of a modern facility, the city sold the station to East Side Chevrolet located next door and built a modern structure at 17 South Sheridan Avenue. The dealership quickly tore down the historic chalet because they needed space for their booming auto sales. By November 7, 1958, Irvington firemen took up residence in their new structure. The second fire station has actually served the community longer than the first as it has been in operation for fifty seven years.

Members of Fire Station #25 gathered for one of the last photos taken at 5432 East Washington Street c1958. Note that Vogel's Furniture, an Irvington institution, used to operate in the former Odd Fellows Building next door. Both structures in this photo have been razed. (Photo: Indianapolis Public Library System Digital Photo Collection)

The Indianapolis Times published this photo of fireman Bob McDonnell on moving day in 1958 as the Irvington Fire Station relocated from 5432 East Washington Street to 17 South Sheridan Avenue. Mr. McDonnell worked for the Indianapolis City Fire Department for several decades. (Photo: Terry Wilgus)

Dignitaries gathered for a dedication ceremony in November of 1958 at the site of the new Irvington Fire Station at 17 South Sheridan Avenue. In the distance, you can see the large homes on East Washington Street. (Photo: Indianapolis Public Library, Digital Photo Collection)

The second fire station to serve Irvington has now been in operation longer than the first. It is located at 17 South Sheridan Avenue. (Photo; Bill Gulde, 2015)  

Irvington Fire House--Station #25

One of the chief reasons for Irvington's annexation to the city of Indianapolis in 1902 was to obtain police and fire protection. Two disastrous school fires and numerous house blazes demonstrated to many folks in the community that Irvington needed city services. In 1903, the community hired architect John Stem to design a beautiful fire station to fit into the "classic" suburb. Mr. Stem was likely recommended by Hilton U. Brown, the publisher of the Indianapolis News, as the architect had designed Brown's large stone mansion at the southwest corner of East Washington Street and Emerson Avenue. (demolished) Stem's design was unlike any other fire station in the city. By 1903, the National Road or East Washington Street had emerged as the main commercial corridor for Irvington so the town planners placed the fire station at 5432 East Washington Street.

The Irvington Fire Station c1905 at 5432 East Washington Street

Stem opted for a European-styled structure with the first floor exterior sheathed in stone and the upper gables clad with wood shake. Since the first fire engines were powered by horses, the station had a stall on the first floor and a hayloft on the second floor. In the early years of the station, firemen, worked 24-hour shifts for six days of the week on a rotating basis and slept on the second floor. They were allowed to eat meals at home, but most dined at the station. Later, their schedules were modified to a more reasonable time frame.

If neighbors needed to report a fire, then they could run to a nearby fire alarm box scattered throughout the neighborhood. In 1910, there were fire alarm boxes located at several intersections including: Downey and Julian; University and Ohmer; 200 block of South Audubon Road; Beechwood and Burgess; Layman and Lowell; Washington and Ritter; Washington and Arlington; and Washington and Bosart. Many residents already had a telephone by 1910 so they merely had to pick up the receiver and call the station.

On February 8, 1929, Fire Station #25 obtained its first motorized vehicles. The horses, who had been lovingly tended to, were sent away to a nearby farm. The station hosted a Dalmatian and "Spot" became a beloved animal in the neighborhood.

Life for the firefighters was fairly routine. Oral histories conducted by the Irvington branch of the Indianapolis Public Library and now found online revealed that fireman had tasks to do each day. Substitutes or the newer recruits were assigned the worst jobs like stoking the coal furnace in the winter or cleaning out the disgusting spittoons. On Mondays, the men stretched out the hoses to dry and clean them. On Tuesdays, the men conducted inspections of nearby schools and institutions. On Wednesdays, the station was cleaned and the floors scrubbed. On Thursdays and Fridays, they cleaned every inch of the firetrucks and did maintenance work. They had some free time where they could play cards, read, or listen to a ballgame on the radio. Each man was given a task for dinner and the subsequent clean up. They also had assigned beds and each man a monthly night watch.

The Irvington Fire Station (#25) c1929 at 5432 East Washington Street

Over the years, dozens of men served their time in the beautiful but aging chalet of a fire station. Bob McDonnell, a veteran of World War II and an employee for the city fire department since 1938, started working at #25 in the early 1950s. Mr. McDonnell reported that by the mid-twentieth century, the station was in such poor shape that the firemen did not jump into the trucks until they were out on the concrete pad because they worried about the sagging floors.

Bob McDonell worked for Station #25 for many years. In 1958, he helped in the from the old station at 5432 East Washington to the new site at 17 South Sheridan Avenue. 

In November of 1958, the city of Indianapolis vacated the unusual fire station for a modern structure located at 17 South Sheridan Avenue. Sadly, the community had no rules in place to protect such structures so it was torn down very quickly as a nearby car dealership needed space for a parking lot. One can only imagine the reuse of this building in 2015 as a restaurant, a coffee shop, a bookstore, or as a boutique.

To learn more about the station and to see additional photographs click on the link below. Much of the information for this post came from an oral history interview with Errol Evans and from Terry Wilgus, the daughter of Bob McDonnell. Ms. Wilgus also provided the wonderful images.

http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/ioh/id/1483/rec/28

Reinhardt Home: Scene of a Crime--1913

Most historians who write of historic Irvington generally speak of the serene calmness and of the lack of crime in the area.  While that image is largely true, there have been several infamous moments in Irvington's history including a few murders and some physical attacks.  In the spring of 1913, the neighborhood was gripped with fear because of a burglar who kept targeting the area.

German immigrants Johann and Agatha Reinhardt were the first victims of an infamous barefoot bandit. Late into the evening and early morning hours of May 17, 1913, a burglar entered or tried to break into several Irvington homes.  He first targeted the Reinhardts at 6123 East Washington Street.  He had no trouble getting in as many Irvingtonians frequently left their doors and windows unlocked in those days.  While the couple slept, the burglar moved about the lower level.  He might have actually entered a bedchamber as he grabbed Mrs. Reinhardt's purse and a pair of Mr. Reinhardt's trousers.  The thief fled into an alley behind the house and rifled through the handbag and pants.  He only made out with $1.75 so he moved on to Mrs. F. A. Newby's home at 5639 Greenfield Avenue where he landed $5.50.  Next he removed a screen at the home of Mrs. R.P. Thatcher at 258 South Arlington, but she heard him and came to the window.  He ducked and managed to elude her view.  Boldly, the burglar then tried to get into 5929 Dewey Avenue, but for some reason stopped and fled.  His barefoot tracks were seen in the flower garden around the the home of W. I. Jones at 5915 Dewey, but he did not enter that house.

The bandit's boldest move came when he crept into the Burke home at 5905 Dewey Avenue.  He grabbed a Bible and propped open the bedroom door of Miss Opal Burke.  She awoke and saw the figure of a large man standing at the foot of her bed.  Her loud shrieks forced the intruder to flee from the home.  By that point, several people had called the police, but the bold burglar did not stop.  He then entered the home of Raymond Jones at 303 South Webster.  Mr. Jones awoke and grabbed his shotgun.  He fired seven rounds into the dark and the barefoot bandit fled into the night.  Mr. Jones followed him into the night air and fired more shots, but the thief managed to get away.  One can only imagine the talk the next day in the barbershops and drugstores around town.

Reinhardt Home Then and Now

The Reinhardt Home used to be at 6123 East Washington St. This photo was likely taken around 1910.

The Reinhardt Home was moved in 1929 to 22 South Sheridan Avenue. This is the home as it appears in 2012.  

German immigrants, Johann and Agatha Reinhardt, moved into their modest Victorian home at 6123 East Washington Street (then 5989) in the late nineteenth century.  Mr. Reinhardt, who called himself John G. Reinhardt in the city directories, was a blacksmith and later machinist.  The Reinhardts would continue to dwell in this home well into the 1920s.  In 1929, a developer bought the house and moved the structure just one square south at 22 South Sheridan Avenue.  This was done to prepare room for a commercial strip that still exists in 2012.  The Reinhardts merely moved with the house and adopted the new address.

Source:  "Barefoot Thief Tries Irvington," Indianapolis Star, May 18, 1913, 22.

South Catherwood Avenue

The Avant, Leak, and Higgenbotham families lived along South Catherwood and Sheridan Avenues for years.  In this undated mid-twentieth century photo, Toy Avant stands on his front porch at 132 South Catherwood Avenue.  This modest home still stands today and is one block north of the Pennsy Trail (former Pennsylvania Rail Line).  The Higgenbothams and Leaks were members of the the First Baptist Church (231 Good Avenue) for many decades.

The photo is courtesy of the Krystal Wagner family tree from Ancestry.com.

Image of First Baptist Church--c. 1938

This modest stuccoed church has been along Good Avenue since 1910.  Begun in 1887, congregants for the First Baptist Church used to meet in a small structure on the north side of University Avenue east of the Irving Circle Park.  They moved to their current structure in 1910 although the building as has been altered over the years.

Irvington's African-American population dwelled throughout the neighborhood.  Many members of the church lived away from the community and drove in for services.  In this historic image, taken around 1938, church members gathered for a photo.  The young women and ladies are all wearing dresses while the men are in ties.  I am sorry to report that I don't know many of the names in the photo, but this wonderful image is courtesy of the Krystal Wagner Family Tree page from Ancestry.com.  Gertrude Higgenbotham, who dwelled at 136 South Sheridan Avenue, joined the church in 1935 and is in this photo.  Her mother joined in 1921.  The Reverend R.H. Noel served as the minister.

The contemporary image shows the structure at 231 Good Avenue on a quiet Saturday morning in the waning days of the summer of 2012.