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; 

Wallace-Bosart Home Predates Irvington

It is impossible not to notice the beautiful brick two-story home at 4704 East Washington Street. Most sources indicate that the large farmhouse was likely built around 1862 for the Wallace family. Little is known at this point about that family other than that they lived in the house until 1881 and that a nearby street is named for them. Ads placed in the Indianapolis News from March until November 1881, listed the house as for sale.

                    Farm of Wm. John Wallace--19 acres, great deal of fruit, outbuildings,
                    and a handsome brick house. Price low, terms easy. (March 31, 1881)

The Wallace-Bosart home in 2017. The two-story brick porch was likely added around 1915.

The Wallace-Bosart home appeared in an Indianapolis Star article on March 5, 1906 (p.3). The house had a one-story wrap around porch at the time and a windmill in the back. 

In early 1882, Timothy and Ruth Bosart along with their five children moved into the lovely estate. The children had plenty of room to play and in the backyard sat a three-story Second Empire structure with a windmill on top of it. Mr. Bosart had earned a comfortable income in the wholesale grocery business and then in the new electric power industry. He actually filed several patents and served as the Vice President and business manager for Jenney Electric Company. Mr. Bosart owned quite a lot of property and helped to develop the area north of his house now known as Bosart-Brown.  The street that bears the family name was also put in sometime in either the late nineteenth-century or early twentieth century. An Indianapolis Star article noted that sidewalks were added along Bosart Avenue north of Washington Street on May 2, 1903.

Two tragedies struck the Bosart family within two years. The first blow came on May 4, 1900, when Mr. Bosart died of a massive heart attack while at work. He was only 55 years old. The second and more horrifying event occurred on June 1, 1902. Mrs. Bosart along with her young son, Russell, and her mother, Lucetta Murray had gone to Crown Hill Cemetery to visit Mr. Bosart's grave. Upon leaving the cemetery, Mrs. Bosart's mother failed to see a streetcar. Lucetta Murray was instantly killed in front of her daughter and grandson.

Timothy Bosart (1844-1900), was a successful businessman. He helped to develop much the area around East Washington Street and Bosart Avenue. His untimely death of a heart attack shocked his family. (Photo courtesy of the Bosart family descendants via Ancestry.com)

Ruth Bosart (1858-1943) did her best to hold the family together after her husband's passing. Some of her adult children lived with her in the large house at 4704 East Washington Street. She died at the age of 84 having been a widow for forty-three years. (Photo courtesy of the Bosart family descendants via Ancestry.com)

Lucetta Murray, the mother of Ruth Bosart, was killed in horrible streetcar accident in 1902 near Crown Hill Cemetery.  (Photo courtesy of the Bosart family descendants via Ancestry.com)

Despite the sadness in her life, Ruth Bosart continued to manage and live in the large home with her children. In March of 1906, a reporter from the Indianapolis Star, profiled the Bosart family and property. He noted the flowing well, the large veranda that wrapped around the house (removed), and the number of fireplaces in the dwelling. At the time, the property was managed by Ruth's son, Oscar Bosart.

Several joyful moments took place on the property including an unusual event, a graduation ceremony. On June 13, 1909, the nearby Emerson School at New York Street and Linwood Avenue held their eighth-grade celebration on the lawn of the property. The students recited poetry by Longfellow including, "The Birds of Killingsworth" and "Tales of a Wayside Inn." They also sang words to Mendelssohn's "Spring Song." The Assistant Superintendent, Nebraska Cropsey, distributed diplomas to the 15 graduates who all held a garland of flowers while the remaining students and families watched.

The windmill on the Bosart property at 4704 East Washington Street as it looked in 1906. An Indianapolis Star article noted that the mansard-roofed structure was also likely used as a smokehouse in the nineteenth century. 

Dora Bosart, the daughter of Timothy and Ruth Bosart, became quite active in the Women's Franchise League, an organization dedicated to getting women the right to vote. The Smith College graduate, campaigned in the years leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment. At some point, she met and fell in love with a British naval war hero, Alfred Evans. The young man was a veteran of the Boer Wars in South Africa and he had fought in World War One. The couple lived at 4704 East Washington Street along with other Bosarts until 1925 when they moved to Long Beach, California.

The Bosart sibling to have the most important role in the home was Oscar Bosart.  Along with his wife, Mabel, and their children, the next generation of Bosarts transformed the residence into the Green Lantern Tourist Home in 1936. A "Talk of the Town" article from the Indianapolis News in 1937 revealed that Oscar and Mabel had the house painted white with green shutters to reflect the Civil War era. The author pointed out that the house had been painted red, gray, and brown in previous years. A 1944 Indianapolis Star ad touted the inn as having "running water in rooms." Weary travelers along the National Road could stop off and stay with the Bosart family.

The matriarch of the family, Ruth Bosart, moved to Long Beach, California to live with her daughter in 1928 and died there in 1943. Oscar and Mabel Bosart continued to dwell in the family home for the next several decades. Their daughter, Jane, was married in the house and the society page of the Indianapolis Star on April 20, 1941, wrote of the beautiful candlelit service. One of their sons, Oscar, Jr., sadly drowned in an accident near New York City in 1936. Their youngest son, Robert, served the country during World War II as a pilot in the North African and Italian campaigns.

Oscar and Mabel Bosart took over the management of the property. The young couple, photographed in 1914, were likely standing in front of an older porch at 4704 East Washington Street. They later turned the home into an inn in 1936. (Photo courtesy of the Bosart family descendants via Ancestry.com)

By 1917, the Bosarts had removed the older porch and added a two-story brick porch. In this photo, Mabel Bosart posed with her children, Jane and Oscar, Jr. (Photo courtesy of the Bosart family via Ancestry.com)

So, the next time you drive or walk by the large house on the northeast corner of Washington Street and Bosart Avenue, you will know that you are viewing one of the oldest homes still standing on the east side of Indianapolis.

Sources:
Timothy Bosart obituary, Indianapolis Journal, May 5, 1908, 8; Lucetta Murray's Death, Indianapolis News, June 1, 1902, 2; Ruth Murray Bosart obituary, Indianapolis Star, May 1, 1943, 3; Profile of Bosart Family, Indianapolis Star, March 5, 1906, 3; Ads for Wallace Sale, Indianapolis News, March 31, 1881, 1; Dora Bosart and the Women's Franchise League, Indianapolis Star, November 3, 1914, 8; Graduation Ceremony, Indianapolis Star, June 13, 1909, 20; Jane Bosart Wedding, Indianapolis Star, April 20, 1941, 47, Talk of the Town, Indianapolis News, October 19, 1937; Date of Wallace-Bosart home--

• Bodenhamer, D. J., Barrows, R. G., & Vanderstel, D. G. (1994). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1262.

Little Flower in the 1950s

The Little Flower neighborhood sits north and west of Irvington.  It has been a stable area since the first people started building small bungalows there in the 1910s.  Named after the Catholic Church along North Bosart Avenue, the community has been home to thousands of families over the years who started housekeeping in the modest dwellings.  Many of these families remained in the area for years and in some cases generations.

In the 1950s, the neighborhood was still filled with original families who had built small homes along streets like Wallace Avenue.  In 1927, Leo and Helen Erb's home at 1025 North Wallace Avenue was completed.  The couple raised their children in the house. Next door at 1027 dwelled Solomon Erb, the father of Leo and grandfather to several nearby kids.  The elder Mr. Erb passed away in 1944 so by by the early 1950s, Elmer and Gertrude Harmon owned the bungalow.  Norman and Lucy Wilson lived in 1101 North Wallace Avenue and had since its completion in 1928.  Mr. Wilson was an office manager for the Steckle Steam Specialties Company.  The Wilsons and Erbs would have known each other for nearly thirty years when these photos were snapped in early 1950s. People like the Erbs, Harmons, and Wilsons maintained their modest homes and kept up their small lots.  They planted trees and lovely flowers.  While many residents dashed to the suburbs, these families continued to dwell here well into the 1970s in some cases.

New generations are moving into the Little Flower neighborhood.  They seemed to have the same pride as the founders. They have a neighborhood association and residents still maintain their cottages and small lots.   Although many of the homes have been altered or enlarged over the years, the Erbs, Harmons, and Wilsons would have no trouble recognizing their stomping grounds in 2014.

Helen and Leo Erb standing in the backyard of 1025 North Wallace Avenue in 1952

Betty Jean, Kenneth, and little Ricky Erb in 1951 on the porch at 1025 North Wallace Avenue

Betty Jean, Kenneth, and little Randy Erb standing in front of 1025 North Wallace Avenue 1953.  Behind them, you can see 1027 and 1101 North Wallace Avenue.  Note that tulips are blooming in front of the spirea bushes.  

1025, 1027, and 1101 North Wallace Avenue in 2014

Erb home at 1025 North Wallace Avenue in 2014

The historic images are courtesy of Rick Erb via Ancestry.com.  

A New House in Emerson Heights--1911

Harold and Nell Scott moved into their dream home at 626 North DeQuincy Street in 1911.  The large American Four Square would also house their new baby, Martha Scott. Mr. Scott had done quite well and he soon worked his way up to becoming vice president of a local clothing company. Perhaps longing for an even more upscale address, the Scotts eventually built a beautiful home at 5435 Pleasant Run Parkway in 1923.  In this photo, taken shortly after the construction of the home in 1911, you can not only see the their beautiful dwelling, but also the lovely house next door at 630 North DeQuincy Street. In the distance, you can see a two-story home in the 600 block of North Wallace Avenue. To view a contemporary image these houses today, click on the link below.

Newly constructed in 1911:  626 North DeQuincy Street

The historic image is courtesy of Martha Scott Baum.  

A Birthday Party at the Wallace Street Presbyterian Church--1952

The Reverend John H. Bergen, the pastor of the Wallace Street Presbyterian Church, received a surprise on his 62nd birthday when the local chapter of the Bluebirds honored him with a cake. Mr. Bergen and his wife Lorene and children, John and Mary, dwelled in the small bungalow at 929 North Wallace Avenue which served as the church parsonage. The photo, taken in the basement of the church in 1952, shows the two chapter sponsors, Mrs. Vivian Azbell and Mrs. Flo Norton.  The girls in the photo include:

Juanita Stewart, Melinda Beberstein, Sandra Myers, Donna Young, Barbara Azbell, Carol Hall, Carolyn Rosemeyer, Shelly Norton, Brenda Frazier, Charlotte Spangler, Jennie Gray,  and Margaret Pete.  

The church, built in 1926, was truly a neighborhood church as no parking lot has ever existed for the structure located at 4805 East 10th Street. Congregants built onto the structure in 1948.  Oddly, the church is called Wallace "Street" Presbyterian Church despite the fact that it is located along Wallace "Avenue."  

The local chapter of the Wallace Street Presbyterian "Bluebirds" hosted a birthday party for the Reverend John H. Bergen in the basement of the church in 1952.

Wallace Street Presbyterian Church in 2014

Tenth Street entrance to the Wallace Street Presbyterian Church in 2014

Cornerstone for the newer 1948 addition to the Wallace Street Presbyterian Church in 2014

The historic image is courtesy of Barbara Sanders.