Important Indianapolis Black-Owned Landmark Discovered in Sumner Images

      For the past several years, a group of local researchers have been busy trying to identify hundreds of images in the Osbert Sumner photo collection. Mr. Sumner, who lived in Irvington, documented many scenes throughout Marion County in between 1898 and 1903. Some of the photos have stymied our faithful researchers as Mr. Sumner was originally from Canada. As you would expect, he also snapped images there. We wondered about a tall three-story structure located on a body of water. Was this in Oakville, Ontario? The answer was no. Last week, historian Deedee Davis, solved the mystery. The Park House sometimes known as the Franklin House stood at 126 North Missouri Street along the Central Canal in what is today, downtown Indianapolis. 

      While the story of this building is still unfolding, here is what we know. The Indianapolis Sentinel recorded that Thomas Nelson took out a building permit for the large house in 1865. An Indianapolis News article indicates that it was Black-owned by at least 1870. Over the next several decades, dozens of black families and individuals moved in and out of the boarding house. Its position along the stagnant and defunct canal and across the street from a large brewery did not make it an ideal location. Numerous additions to the sprawling structure also provided rooms for folks who might not be staying long in the city. If you zoom in on the Sumner image, you will see the word "Hotel" on the sign. We also know that black members of the Grand Army of the Republic (Civil War veterans) held a reunion in the house in 1890. 

     By the late 1890s, a dispute over the ownership and the deterioration of the building led many city officials to call for closing the boarding house.  In 1900, the city condemned the building and ordered that it be demolished. Dozens of people lost their home. Before its removal, a census taker named Frank D. Hester arrived on June 1, 1900, and recorded the last residents. His documentation revealed that 22 people still lived on the property. Many had been enslaved in their younger years. While most could read or write, some of the older residents could not.  Most were from the South and had moved north during the beginning of the Great Migration. George W. Harris managed the house and lived there with his wife, Alice, and several of their children, including Effie Jane, Ida May, Geneva, Susana, Charlotte, Edna, and Jeanette. Mary and Joseph Dobbins leased rooms from Mr. Harris. She was a cook and he worked as a day laborer. Other people to live in the house that year included: Clarabel Huston, 39; Spencer Brown, 60; Abram and Augusta McCallister; Samuel Haddox, 59; William Turner, 28; William Shiflett, 40; John Scott, 56; Perry Fishback, 57; Martha and Florence Neal; and Berry Crabtree 18. 

     Now we have to get to the question as to why Osbert Sumner photographed this landmark. Believe it or not, his maternal grandfather's name was Thomas Nelson! We believe that he was likely documenting a structure built by his grandfather before it was torn down sometime in 1900 or 1901.  How did Deedee Davis solve this mystery? While researching another topic she came upon the Indianapolis News article and photo seen below. Stay tuned as we continue to identify more images from the Osbert Sumner collection. 

Irvington resident, Osbert Sumner, photographed the boarding house at 126 North Missouri Avenue one block from the Indiana State Capitol building c1900 (Irvington Historical Society)

If you look closely, you can see "Park House" printed on the side of the boarding house formerly located at 126 North Missouri Street. You can also see the footbridge that used to cross the canal. (Indianapolis News, December 1, 1900, p. 3)

The 1898 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the exact location of 126 South Missouri Street along the bend in the canal in between Market and Ohio Streets. Across the canal workers toiled in the American Brewery Company, a large brick industrial building. (Library of Congress)

Google satellite imagery reveals that nothing remains of the former neighborhood except the canal where the Park/Franklin House once stood. (Google Earth)

     To See Sumner's images of the Benton House in Irvington, click on the link below:

Benton House by Osbert Sumner

    

I wish to thank Deedee Davis for her tenacious research on the Sumner Collection.

Sources:  Building Permit--Indianapolis Sentinel, March 16, 1865, p. 3; Black owned hotel--Indianapolis News, May 27, 1870, p. 4; Indianapolis News, July 23, 1870, p. 1; Ads for boarding house--Indianapolis News, April 12, 1872, p. 1 and Indianapolis News, November 29, 1872, p. 29; Refurbished A.T. Ramsey--Indianapolis News, June 2, 1874, p. 1 and Indianapolis News, June 12, 1874, p. 1; Reunion for GAR--"Reunion of Colored Soldiers," Indianapolis Journal, September 27, 1890, p. 5; Legal issues--"A Complicated Mortgage Case," Indianapolis Journal, September 11, 1896, p. 8; Condemnation--"Franklin House Condemned," Indianapolis News, November 26, 1900, p. 8 and "Board of Works Routine," Indianapolis Journal, November 29, 1900, p. 8.

Historic Glass Negatives See the Light

     In 1965, Richard and Colleen Wilson moved into 68 North Ritter Avenue. Under the basement stairs the couple discovered a soap crate filled with several hundred historic glass negatives. The family kept the artifacts for years and then donated the collection to the Irvington Historical Society in 2012.

     After receiving a grant, members of the Irvington Historical Society scanned all 338 images.  Director, Steve Barnett, determined that the photos belonged to Osbert Sumner, who lived at the Ritter Avenue home from 1904 until his death in 1932. Over the next decade researchers thoroughly examined each photograph. A major breakthrough occurred in 2022, when local researcher Deedee Davis discovered a Sumner family diary at the Oakville, Ontario Historical Society. Osbert Sumner originally lived in that town before moving to Indianapolis. The diary provided key entries that helped unlock many of the mysteries of the collection.

     Mr. Sumner's photographs contains incredible documentation of life in Canada and Indianapolis from 1899 to 1903. His subjects included family members and friends, canoe outings, parades, a convention, and even the funeral of President Benjamin Harrison. Some of the photos had been developed, but many will now be seen for the first time in over 125 years.

     To see these incredible photos in person, visit the Bona Thompson Center at 5350 University Avenue in Indianapolis. The collection will be on display from May 31 until November 16, 2025. We are open on the weekends from 1-4PM.  I have included a small sample below. 

Osbert Sumner photographed an unidentified girl on the steps leading to the Benton Home at 312 South Downey Avenue in Irvington. He most likely took the photo on July 4, 1901. He attended a celebration there. 

George Sumner, the father of Osbert Sumner, kept a diary. From one of his entries, we know that this photo was likely taken on October 10, 1900 in downtown Indianapolis. The elder Sumner, who lived in Oakville, Ontario, was visiting his family here. The city hosted a "Fall Carnival" complete with temporary ornamental arches leading into Monument Circle. 

Osbert Sumner captured a fallen cyclist in the Morton Place neighborhood of Indianapolis near the intersection of East 19th and North Delaware Streets. Note the beautiful esplanade that used to be in the middle of the street c1900. 

Osbert Sumner (1872-1932) received a camera as a gift from his fellow co-workers in 1898. For the next several years, he documented life in Indianapolis and back in his hometown of Oakville, Ontario. He loved the outdoors and many of his photos show excursions in canoes on various waterways in central Indiana. 

Historic Photos of the Benton House Emerge

   Several years ago, the  Irvington Historical Society acquired the glass negatives that belonged to Osbert Sumner of 68 North Ritter Avenue. Mr. Sumner, a Canadian by birth, loved photography. As a young man, he documented his life. Most of the images are from his time as a member of the Indianapolis Canoe Club. His photographs are gorgeous and show beautiful river and stream scenes along with many male and female friends who floated down local waterways with him. Some of the photographs also show his hometown in Oakville, Ontario. The Irvington Historical Society will be exhibiting images from his collection in 2021.

   Hiding in plain sight in the Sumner collection were images of the Benton house at 312 South Downey Avenue. Nothing in the photographs made sense however, as the aging Professor Allen R. Benton, a widower after 1900, lived alone in the beautiful Second Empire home. So, who were all of these young people hanging out at his residence on a summer day?

    The answer required some detective work, that I must say, is still ongoing. Thanks to a subscription to Newspapers.com, I was able to find some morsels to assist with the mystery. On May 25, 1901, the Indianapolis News carried this society bit on page 22:

      Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Gardner have taken the residence of Dr. Allen R. Benton at Irvington for the summer and will go there on Wednesday.

     F. C. Gardner? Who was this? My research led me further to Fred C. Gardner, the future secretary-treasurer of the Atkins Saw Company. The rising business star was very active with the Disciples of Christ where he might have met Allen R. Benton. He later replaced Dr. Benton as the treasurer for Butler University in 1903. Mr. Gardner was 39 years old in 1901 as was his wife Cara Davis Gardner. They had two children, four-year-old Mary and two-year-old, Margaret. They lived at 1318 North Broadway in 1901.

     The Gardners likely found the Benton house  as a quiet retreat away from the city. But where did Professor Benton go? Society snippets in both the Indianapolis Journal and News indicated that he traveled to visit relatives for part of the summer although he was occasionally home. Did the Gardners remain in his house during those times?

      Then, I found this amazing blurb published on page three in the Indianapolis Journal on July 3, 1901:

      Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Gardner have taken Professor Benton's home in Irvington for the summer and have invited a number of friends out to spend the Fourth with them.  

     Did I just uncover the exact day and year as to when these amazing photographs were snapped? Osbert Sumner was 29 years old and single at the time. What was his connection to Fred C. Gardner? They were both active members of the Republican Party and in the Masons. Was Mr. Gardner also a member of the Canoe Club? In one of the photographs, a young man is wearing patriotic-striped socks. Wouldn't one do that on the Fourth of July?

      By examining photos of Mr. Gardner in the Indianapolis newspapers, I am able to determine that he is in these historic images along with Osbert Sumner, of whom we already knew what he looked like. The women in the photos still need more research. One of them might be Cara Davis Gardner. Another might be her sister Hazel Bird Davis, who never married, and lived with the Gardners at the time. Two of the younger girls in the photos might be Mary and Margaret Gardner.

    On the day that the photographs were snapped, it appears to be late in the afternoon or early evening as the sun is in the western sky. Mr. Gardner, who has a beard and is wearing a dark suit, can be seen holding the shutter release cable in a few of the images. You will note that the address of the house prior to the neighborhood's annexation as 364 Downey Avenue. This fact also tripped me up in the beginning.

      More work is needed, but this exciting find adds new imagery about one of the neighborhood's most important landmarks. You will note that there were no immediate neighbors and that there used to be a carriage house or a barn nearby. The photos were taken before the brick was painted and it appears that Professor Benton used planks as a front sidewalk.

Fred C. Gardner, in the center, posed with three ladies, one of whom might have been his wife, Cara Davis Gardner, and one of whom might have been his sister-in-law, Hazel Davis, along with a young man on the stoop of the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue most likely on July 4, 1901.

An unidentified young girl sat along the stairs leading to the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue on July 4, 1901. A carriage house or barn can be seen in the distance. Note that the sidewalk leading up to Professor Benton's home used to be wooden planks. 

Children posed on the lawn of the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue on July 4, 1901. Two of the young girls in the photo are perhaps Mary and Margaret Gardner, the children of Fred and Cara Davis Gardner.

A group of younger adults gathered at the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue most likely on July 4, 1901. We only know the name of Fred Gardner, who is seated second from the right. His wife, Cara Davis Gardner, and his sister-in-law, Hazel Davis, might be seated nearby. 

Osbert Sumner, an amateur photographer and member of the Indianapolis Canoe Club, posed on the lawn at the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue with several other younger people including Fred C. Gardner, seated in the chair, on July 4, 1901. Mr. Sumner, who is seated on the ground, later moved to 68 North Ritter Avenue. 

A woman watches over the children at a lawn fete on the grounds of the Benton home at 312 South Downey Avenue on July 4, 1901. 

Fred C. Gardner as he appeared on March 1, 1906, in the Indianapolis Star

The Benton House at 312 South Downey Avenue in the spring of 2020 (photo by Wm. Gulde) 

Scans of these historic images are courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society. I also wish to thank Deedee Davis and Paula Schmidt for their assistance with this post.