Google Streetview Reveals the Lost Structures of the Greater Irvington Area, Part II

      Since 2007 the Google car has captured dozens of lost structures from the greater Irvington area. In part two of this series you will get to revisit many houses and two commercial buildings that used to grace the neighborhood. I am working on a third post just about the lost buildings of East Washington Street. That will come later this spring.  

39 South Arlington Avenue

     For as long as I could remember it, the cute cottage at 39 South Arlington Avenue had been empty, but that hadn't always been the case. The small residence was likely built in 1905 for Charles Wambold, a painter and wallpaper installer. Numerous families lived in the home over the years including the Armstrongs, Vannettes, Reeds, Coreys, Kelleys, and Willettes. No trace of the home exists today, but Google captured one of the last photos of the house in 2007. 

39 South Arlington Avenue, 2007 (Google Streetview)

Sonia Johnson posed in her front yard at 44 South Arlington Avenue in 1975. Her Grandpa and Grandma Willett lived across the street in the cottage located at 39 South Arlington Avenue. (photo courtesy of the Garza family)

4902 East New York Street

     The former two-story home located on the northwest corner of East New York and DeQuincy Streets dates to at least 1908. Clarence and Helen Cummins and their daughter Marian were likely the first residents of the home. Mr. Cummins earned a reputation as an outstanding reporter for both the Indianapolis News and Indianapolis Star. He briefly moved out to California to improve his health, but sadly he died at a young age in 1917. Mrs. Cummins also died at a young age leaving Marian without parents. She later went to Butler University and was a candidate for the May Queen pageant. The house burned sometime around 2013 and the site is now an empty lot. 

4902 East New York Street, Google Streetview, 2009

Marian Cummins (lower right) grew up at 4902 East New York Street. By the age of 20 she had lost both of her parents. (Indianapolis Times, April 30, 1930, p. 2)

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue

      Earl R. Gillum opened his grocery store at 448 North Riley in 1911. Next door, Hugh R. Kennedy operated at a drugstore. Later Beverly D. Brown took over the pharmacy. Numerous families lived upstairs in the apartments overlooking the Michigan Streetcar line. With the arrival of the concept known as the supermarket, little groceries like Mr. Gillum's struggled to survive. It also didn't help that the drugstore next door seemed to be a magnet for bandits. In the 1950s, a company known as Musi-Com leased the building for an office. Owner Robert Whitesell and engineer Charles Bailey pumped music into various large stores like Marsh Supermarkets. By the end of the twentieth century, not much seemed to be going on with the building. The structure had so much potential, but there must have been issues as one day it was just gone. 

446-448-450 North Riley Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

This Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a sketch of the corner in 1940. The pinkish color represents that building was brick. (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue

     The first ad for renting either 435 or 437 South Ritter Avenue first appeared in various Indianapolis newspapers in 1909. For over a century, numerous people moved in and out of the tiny one-bedroom duplex. You could rent either side for $6.00. By 1930, it leased for $20 a month. In 1912, burglars snuck onto the back porch of 437 South Ritter Avenue and stole Martin Moore's recently-churned ice cream and spoons. He only called the police because he wanted his spoons back. Several couples welcomed babies while living in either half including Otha and Mary Higgenbotham in 1922, Earl and Thelma Oaks in 1924, Ernest and Lucille Settle in 1930, and Clarence and Emma Stockdale in 1945. Of course joy and sadness often go hand in hand. Perhaps the most tragic case occurred in 1912 when forty-one-year old George Moore failed to hear the train at South Audubon Road crossing at the Pennsylvania Railroad. His young son Edward had to identify his deceased father. Many neighbors along Audubon Road testified that the train was going too fast. By 2009 the property was in poor shape and all of those memories were wiped away with the removal of the historic structure. 

435-437 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview

In 1922, several local newspapers announced that Mary and Otha Higgenbotham welcomed a baby girl into their lives. The Higgenbothams resided at 437 South Ritter Avenue at the time and were active members of the First Baptist Church on Good Avenue. They named their little girl Ardell. Long after they moved out of their home on Ritter Avenue, Ardell posed for this photograph.  (photo courtesy of Krystal Wagner via Find-a-Grave)

466 South Ritter Avenue

       For the first several decades of its existence, 466 South Ritter Avenue served as a home for the Meyer family. They were first recorded living in the house in 1907. The Meyers have the distinction of being one of the founding families of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. Irvington had largely been a Protestant neighborhood until the early twentieth century when many Catholic families like the Meyers moved into the area. The Meyers eventually moved around the corner into the beautiful two-story farmhouse located at 5802 Brookville Road. Through the remainder of the twentieth century, the home changed into both a restaurant and eventually a bar. The Ritter Inn became a landmark for many International Harvester employees who stopped by after work for a drink or two. The structure went up in flames in 2013. It had been empty for sometime. 

The Ritter Inn at 466 South Ritter Avenue, Google Streetview, 2011; The Meyer home in the rear of the structure was still visible. 

Regulars at the Ritter Inn swapped stories to reporter Marge Hanley in 1978. (Indianapolis News, May 4, 1978, p. 14)

110 South Webster Avenue

     In 1922 Jasper Raymond Rogers took out a building permit to erect the bungalow formerly located at 110 South Webster Avenue. He was a carpenter so it is possible that he built the house. Located in the Tilford and Thrasher Subdivision of Irvington, Rogers was one of the few white residents in the neighborhood. Over the years many Black residents purchased lots and built homes in the addition. Racist covenants and redlining prevented many Black citizens from the dream of homeownership in certain parts of the city. In 1938 Jesse and Maude Wright along with their children moved into the house. They resided in the bungalow through much of the remainder of the 20th century. Census records reveal that Mr. Wright moved to Irvington from South Carolina. He was part of the Great Migration, a movement of Black residents from the South for opportunities in the North. He worked in a foundry. The Google car captured one of the last images of the house in 2009. 

110 South Webster Avenue, Google Streetview, 2009

Tilford and Thrasher East Addition to Irvington as seen on the Baist map of 1927 (Indiana University-Indianapolis Digital Collections) 

     

Sources:  39 South Arlington Avenue--Polk's Indianapolis City Directory, 1905-1989; US Federal Census Records-1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; 4902 East New York Street--"Clarence Cummins Dies in California, Indianapolis News, September 11, 1917, p. 4; Obituary for Helen Cummins--Indianapolis News, December 12, 1928, p. 8;  448 N. Riley--"Addicts Blamed for Drug Store Narcotics Theft," Indianapolis Times, May 8, 1924, p. 2; "Two Armed Bandits Hold Up Drug Store," Indianapolis News, March 31, 1927, p. 40; 466 S. Ritter--"Meyer Services Wednesday," Indianapolis News, October 13, 1958, p. 8; "Former Ritter Inn is Destroyed by Fire," Indianapolis Star. October 24, 2013, p. A5; 110 South Webster--Obituary for Mrs. Maude Wright, Indianapolis Star, January 25, 1978, p. 40; Obituary for Carter Babb--Indianapolis Star, May 24, 1966, p. 42; Obituary for Jesse Wright--Indianapolis News, July 30, 1956, p. 7

Clapp Family Operated an Irvington Grocery Store For 50 Years

     For nearly fifty years, Irvington residents shopped at the Clapp Brothers (also known as the Clapp Food Market) Grocery at 6044 East Washington Street. Originally from Hartsville, Indiana, siblings William C. and John P. Clapp relocated to Beech Grove, Indiana in the early twentieth century. John P. Clapp ran the Beech Grove operation while William C. Clapp moved to Irvington in 1916 and opened a store at 7 North Webster Avenue. He also bought a house at 6024 East Washington Street for himself and his wife, Ora Belle Moore Clapp, and for his children, Climpson, Leland, and Ima Clapp.  In 1924, William C. Clapp moved the store into a much larger newly-constructed building at 6044 East Washington Street. 

      Mr. Clapp ran the business for many years before turning it completely over to his son, Climpson "Pete" Clapp. The Irvington Historical Society possesses photographs, letters, ledgers, and other ephemera from the Clapp family. The operation was shuttered in 1973. The Clapps would not recognize their storefront today as it has been greatly altered over the years. 

 

Employees of the Clapp Brothers Grocery at 6044 East Washington Street posed for this snapshot on April 30, 1926. William C. Clapp is likely standing in front of the Beech Grove transport vehicle. You can also see the Adde's Pure Oil Filling Station at 6040 East Washington Street. That building still stands in 2025. The Levy family home at 6036 East Washington Street is also visible. (courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society)

Ads for Easter products hang in the window of Clapp Brothers Grocery at 6044 East Washington Street on April 30, 1926. (courtesy of the Irvington Historical Society) 

William Clark Clapp (top center) posed with his brothers c1940. The men all hailed from Hartsville, Indiana. While we are not able to match their faces yet, Edgar, John, Calvin, and Samuel Clapp reunited for this photograph. (Irvington Historical Society) 

Interior shot of Clapps Brothers Regal Grocery Store c1934; We can narrow down the date of this image by the fact that Mr. Clapp displayed a National Recovery Act sign in his store. This New Deal agency was in operation from 1933 until it was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 1935. (Irvington Historical Society)

Store display for Thanksgiving c1934 (Irvington Historical Society)

Clapp Brothers first operated around the corner at 7 North Webster Avenue from 1916 until 1924. That building is still standing in 2025. (Irvington Historical Society)

Promotional ad for Clapp Brothers Food Market (Irvington Historical Society)

Notepad for Climpson Moore Clapp Food Market complete with the hours of operation (Irvington Historical Society)

Some of the Clapp Grocery Store records have survived including this document that shows the names of employees and their weekly salary in 1945. Omer Kehl worked as a meat cutter. Others include Eileen Bangel, Tom Carmack, and George R. Smith. (Irvington Historical Society)

Google Streetview reveals that the Clapp Brothers Market is still standing but unrecognizable in 2025. The filling station and nearby house shown in the earlier photos also still stand. (Google)

     I wish to thank the extended Clapp family who donated items to the Irvington Historical Society.

Sources:  Polk's Indianapolis City Directories, 1908-1973; Federal Census Records, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940; Newspaper articles: "Building Permit" (6024 East Washington St.), Indianapolis News, June 21, 1916, p. 16;  "Building Permits," (6044 East Washington St.) Indianapolis Star, January 10, 1924, p. 14; Obituaries:  "W.C. Clapp, Irvington Grocer, Is Dead," Indianapolis News, March 18, 1944, p. 9; "Mrs. Ora Clapp," Indianapolis Star, January 5, 1960, p. 21: "John Clapp, Beech Grove Civic Leader, Succumbs, Indianapolis Star, November 7, 1943, p. 13; "Climpson Clapp, 1897-1978," Indianapolis News, March 21, 1978, p. 28.

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; 

Postcards to an Irvington Family

What morsels about our lives do we leave behind? Only a few of us make it into the history books.  So, you can imagine my delight this winter upon finding a treasure trove of crumbs about an Irvington family. Sitting in boxes in a local antique shop and mixed in with hundreds of other families, sat dozens of postcards sent to the Barneys, who dwelled in Irvington for many decades. But what did these notes reveal? Stay tuned! 

In 1907, Ennis and Effie Fink Barney moved into their brand new Dutch Colonial home at 5452 Lowell Avenue (previously numbered as 5556 Lowell Avenue). The couple had been living at 49 South Irvington Avenue. Mr. Barney was the Assistant Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League and he also worked as a salesman for the Mishawaka Rubber Company. Sometimes he served as a part-time minister and usually filled in for small churches around the Indianapolis area whenever there was an unexpected vacancy.  The couple had four children named Chester, Virginia, Marian, and John. They remained in the Lowell Avenue dwelling until 1914 when they moved into a larger home at 41 North Webster Avenue.  By 1920, the entire family relocated to 5351 University Avenue where they resided for years.

Newspaper accounts from the early twentieth century, reveal that Mr. Barney was committed to the temperance movement. Like many other Irvingtonians, he believed that alcohol was the root of many social ills in our nation. He campaigned vehemently for prohibition. His sermons were printed in newspapers throughout the state. In 1907, he spoke to a large crowd in Richmond where he quoted from the Gospel of St. Luke and noted that the destruction of saloons would be the "salvation of these boys and girls." (Richmond Palladium, November 25, 1907)  Audiences in Angola, Muncie, Brazil, Columbus, and Frankton heard similar speeches. In 1910, he appealed to Indianapolis Mayor Samuel Shank to stop the practice of allowing saloons to have electronic pianos. He referred to these businesses as "disorderly houses."  (Indianapolis Star, May 25, 1910, 8) Mr. Barney was particularly thrilled to note the number of dry counties in the southern part of the United States and in Indiana. Irvington, of course, had been founded as a dry community so he must have felt at home on Lowell, Webster, and University Avenues. We have no record of his reaction to the passage of the 18th Amendment prohibiting the sale of alcohol nor his likely disappointment at its repeal with the 21st Amendment. 

The only known surviving postcard from Mr. Barney was sent to his oldest child, Chester Fink Barney in the summer of 1911. Chester would have been 13 years old at the time. Mr. Barney sent the card from Blaine, Washington near the Canadian border. He mentioned nothing of the temperance cause, but he does reference the rubber company for whom he also worked. 

Ennis Barney sent this postcard to his son, Chester Barney of 5452 Lowell Avenue in the summer of 1911. 

Mr. Barney mentioned the rubber company that he worked for so perhaps he was in Blaine, Washington on business. He wrote to his son:  

Dear Son    I have boiled or fried salmon for about one meal each day. They are cheep (sic) only 20 ‘cents’ for all you can eat. These men use Ball Rund Rubber boots; That’s why the salmon are so good and catch easily also. Papa

Chester Barney was an avid scout under Francis O. Belzer, the head of the Boy Scouts in Irvington. He  later served the country during World War One. He lived with parents until he was he in his 30s and then married Mildred Avis.  The elder Barneys spent their later years living with the younger Barneys. Chester lived in all of the Barney homes on Irvington, Lowell, Webster, and University Avenues. (Photo: Indianapolis Star, October 28, 1918, 11)

Ennis and Effie Barney lived at 5452 Lowell Avenue from 1907 until 1914. Mr. Barney held a variety of jobs including as a salesman, minister, and as a leader in the Anti-Saloon League. (photo 2017)

Mrs. Barney also traveled. She had family who lived in Colorado so there are several postcards to the family from this state.  In one of her notes, she wrote of a stay in the mountains.  She addressed the card to her husband on August 12, 1911, from the Long's Peak Inn at Estes Park.

Mrs. Barney mailed this postcard from Estes Park, Colorado in the summer of 1911 to her family at 5452 Lowell Avenue

Mrs. Barney wrote:  

We are 9000 ft. above sea level, it is cold, heavy wraps, fires and winter comforts. We will go to Denver tomorrow and I will write you more of this wonderful trip.   Love from Effie

Chester Fink Barney, the oldest child of Ennis and Effie Barney sent at least two postcards back to his mother. He had beautiful cursive writing and would later become president of the Camera Club of Indianapolis. Some of his artistic photography would later be featured in the Indianapolis Star. On August 15, 1915, he sent a brief note home to his parents as he had been attending a scout's camp in upstate New York. His family had only recently moved to the large American Four Square at 41 North Webster Avenue.

Chester Barney traveled to New York in the summer of 1915 and sent this postcard back to his family now living at 41 North Webster Avenue.

Chester Barney wrote this informational blurb to his mother in 1915:  

This is the summer home of the prop. of the Waldorf Astoria hotel at N.Y. Its cost was about $2,000,000. Yours CFB 

Virginia Barney in 1922 (Indianapolis News, June 17, 1922)

Marian Barney in 1931 (Indianapolis Star, June 8, 1931)

John Barney (Indianapolis Star, October 6, 1944)

Chester Barney, a photographer, snapped this image of Culver cadets sailing in 1938. Several of his photos were featured in the Indianapolis Star including this one on September 11, 1938. 

The Barneys dwelled in lovely home at 41 North Webster Avenue from 1915 until 1920. They then moved to 5351 University Avenue.  (photographed in 2017)

Virginia Barney, the second child of Ennis and Effie, graduated from Butler University in 1922. She was later married by her father to William Schumacher at their University Avenue home in 1923. Marian followed suit and graduated form Butler in 1926. She married Theodore Randecker and was also wed in the family home by her father. John Barney, the youngest child married Helen Adams and served the country during WWII.  Ennis Barney died first in 1940. Effie lived to be 91 and passed away in 1970. 

It is unclear of how a collection of 13 postcards ended up in antique store, but there are Barney family descendants living in the United States today. If any of them happen to read this post and are interested in the collection then drop me a note at williamfranklingulde@gmail.com. Otherwise, they will be donated to the Irvington Historical Society. 

Sources not already mentioned:

Federal Census Records; Ennis Barney's obituary, Indianapolis News, March 16, 1940, 20; Virginia Barney's marriage, Indianapolis Star, February 14, 1923; John Barney's obituary, Indianapolis News, November 13, 1997, 50; Effie Barney's obituary, Indianapolis News, June 9, 1970, 38; Ennis Barney's Prohibition articles came from the Stueben Republican, Richmond Palladium, Muncie Press, and many others;