Irvington Had a Passenger Depot For 48 Years

      When Jacob Julian and Sylvester Johnson founded the new town of Irvington in 1870, they envisioned a passenger depot along the Panhandle (later Pennsylvania Railroad) to make it easier for homeowners and business folks to invest and live in the new community. That dream came to fruition in September of 1874 with the construction of the first station on what is now known as the northeast corner of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. Edwin Williams served as the first agent for the brick depot. In the winter of 1882, town officials added a rear room complete with a pump for cold water. 

      Paul Diebold in his book Greater Irvington asserts that the station became the unofficial town hall and meeting place for the community during the early years. For a brief time, residents could receive their mail at the depot until 1885. They also voted in elections here. George Russell, a realtor and postmaster, operated the telegraph for the neighborhood and often on election nights, local citizens gathered in the building to learn of the results. 

      The station also became very important for Butler University college students, who traveled here from all over the state every September. A newspaper account in the Indianapolis News on September 13, 1892, documented the moments that Butler students arrived that year. The reporter noted that the first young people came with their books and trunks and stashed the items on the platform. They continued to arrive on various trains through the "dreary" day. Some made it in time to attend chapel. Classes didn't start for three days so they had time to settle in at their boarding houses or perhaps at the dorm. Anxious freshmen arrived with excited seniors to start or conclude chapters of their lives. The story at the depot repeated in May. 

     In 1922, officials announced that the little depot at Irvington would be closed and demolished. There was no need for it as there were now several streetcar lines servicing the area. After the demolition, contractors from the Pennsylvania Railroad erected a small shed on the site. By 1970 that structure had also been removed and the land was sold to Everett and Una Brown, who built a house on the narrow strip of land. The site of the former Pennsylvania Railroad was later converted into the Pennsy Trail. 

Citizens walked along the wooden platform in front of the Irvington Depot c1890. The brick structure served the community from 1874 until 1922. (courtesy of the Ron Huggler Collection, Irvington Historical Society)

The Irvington Passenger Depot formerly sat on the northeast corner of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. (Map of Irvington, 1889, Irvington Historical Society)

The Irvington Depot Reprint (Indianapolis News, April 5, 1993, p.19)

A freight train steamed through Irvington during the winter of 1951. The Pennsylvania Railroad had a double track. To the right of the train you can see the shed that replaced the original depot. The most visible home in the photo is that of 5727 Bonna Avenue. The Gustin family lived in the house at the time that this photo was snapped. (photo courtesy of Martin Biemer of Classic Trains newsletter at trains.com)

Everett and Una Brown built this home at 135 South Audubon Road on the site of the former Irvington Depot in 1970. (photo snapped by Bill Gulde on June 18, 2023)

      I wish to thank Ron Huggler who documented much of the history needed for this post. His purchase of the top photo prompted him to build a diorama of the intersection of Bonna Avenue and South Audubon Road. You can see his creation at the Bona Thompson Memorial Center at 5350 E. University Avenue on the weekends from 1-4. 

Sources: Construction--"City News," Indianapolis News, September 3, 1874, p. 3; Enlargement--"City News, Indianapolis News, January 20, 1882, p. 4 and "City and Wayne Co.," Richmond Independent Telegram (IN), September 3, 1882, p. 3; Edwin Williams--"City News," Indianapolis News, April 28, 1874, p. 3; Election Site--"Warren Township Primary," Indianapolis Journal, May 12, 1898, p. 5; Election results via telegraph--Indianapolis News, October 13, 1903, p. 4; General articles--Grace Julian Clarke, "Irvington to Lose Station Built by Early Settlers," Indianapolis Star, May 5, 1922, p. 7; Paul Diebold, Greater Irvington II: Architecture, People, and Place on the Indianapolis Eastside, Indianapolis, 2020, pp. 206-207. 

Who Lived Here? The Williams Family of Irvington Terrace

Arthur L. and Margaret E. Williams moved into their brand new home at 6014 Lowell Avenue in 1916. It must have been an exciting time for the couple as birth records reveal that the family welcomed their first child, Robert, in May of that year. The modest home sits on a small lot in the Irvington Terrace section of the neighborhood just east of Arlington Avenue and north of Washington Street. Mr. Williams worked at a variety of jobs while living at the house. He managed a hardware store and later sold farm implements for International Harvester. The couple welcomed two more children, Joan and Patricia, while dwelling at this residence. In 1926, Mr. Williams was 38 years old when he sat for this portrait for a promotional book titled Fellow Citizens of Indianapolis. At the time, he was President of the Advance Transfer & Warehouse Company in the Wholesale District just south of downtown Indianapolis. Little is known of Mrs. Williams at this time, but the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana in 1938 so that Mr. Williams could sell farm implements there. Both Mr. and Mrs. Williams were buried in Washington Park Cemetery in eastern Marion County. Mr. Williams died in 1959 while Mrs. Williams lived until 1985.

6014 Lowell Avenue in 2016: The 1930 Federal Census reveals that the home was worth $6,000 in that year.

Information on the Williams family can be found in the obituary of Arthur L. Williams (Indianapolis Star, August 26, 1959) and in the usual places like census records, city directories, and even on the website "Find a Grave." 

The Schweiters Move to Dewey Avenue

Norbert and Dorothy Schweiters did something unusual in the middle of the Great Depression. They bought a house in Irvington. It probably helped that they both had good jobs and a double income. Mr. Schweiters met his bride at the Kiefer-Stewart Company, a wholesale drug business, where they were both employed. He worked in the tobacco division and supplied drug stores and hotel lobbies with tobacco products. Some of his clients even included the resort at French Lick, Indiana. Mrs. Schweiters worked as a stenographer and secretary for the company although she resigned once she began having children. In 1937, the couple took the big leap and purchased the modest two-bedroom bungalow at 6076 Dewey Avenue. Built in 1929, the Hannah, Williams, and Elliott families had already moved in and out of the dwelling by 1937. Longevity arrived to the house when the Schweiters set up housekeeping. For over fifty years, a member of their family dwelled in this Dewey Avenue abode. The couple raised their two daughters, Barbara and Dorothy, in the residence and everyday and into the night the family could hear the nearby passing trains behind their home along the Pennsylvania Rail Line.

6076 Dewey Avenue after a winter snowstorm in 1939. Norbert and Dorothy Schweiters had already lived here for two years when this photo was snapped. 

An apparent spring snowstorm struck the city of Indianapolis in April of 1940. Buds can be seen on some of the trees now laden with snow. The Schweiters family dwelled at 6076 Dewey Avenue at the time. 

The backyard of 6076 Dewey Avenue in January of 1939. Behind the home, you can see the roofline of the double at 145-47 South Catherwood Avenue. The home at the left of the photo remains a mystery at this time. 

The Schweiters of 6076 Dewey Avenue documented a January snowstorm in 1939. 

Norbert and Dorothy Schweiters proudly posed with their daughter Barbara on a bench in the backyard of their home at 6076 Dewey Avenue. Behind the family, you can see the home at 6072 Dewey Avenue. The Ricketts family dwelled there when this photo was snapped. 

Frank and Leota Roehm, the maternal grandparents of Barbara and Dorothy Schweiters posed with Barbara Schweiters in the backyard of 6076 Dewey Avenue. Mr. Roehm would later construct a playhouse for his granddaughters which still stands in the backyard in 2016. 

Dorothy and Barbara Schweiters paused for a photograph along the back sidewalk at 6076 Dewey Avenue in 1943. It was a warm summer day and the perfect opportunity to play with the family dog. 

The historic images are courtesy of Deedee Davis.  

Growing Up Along Audubon Road

Nancy Ostrander and Eva Ruth Ham grew up as sisters at 323 North Audubon Road. They were, however, not actually sisters.  Eva Ruth's mother died in Cuba in 1926. Her father, Thaddeus Cooper Ham, could not cope with an infant so he sent the young girl and her Cuban nanny, Esperanza Rodriguez, to live with his widowed sister in Irvington in 1927. Guinevere Ostrander raised Eva Ruth and her biological daughter, Nancy, in the beautiful home along Audubon. The girls attended School #57 and later Howe High School.  During the Great Depression, Nancy and Eva played at the homes of several neighbors although sadly they noticed that some of their friends had to move away because their parents could not pay the mortgage. The girls were particularly close to the Lavelle sisters who dwelled in a beautiful Prairie-styled home at 5720 Lowell Avenue. Other childhood playmates included the Hughes and Schultz kids. Both Nancy and Eva Ruth grew up to become successful women.  Eva Ruth matriculated to Indiana University while Nancy graduated from Butler University. Both girls moved away from Irvington although their mother and nanny remained in their childhood home.  Eva Ruth married and started a family.  Nancy lived all over the world as she worked for the U.S. Department of State.  In 1978, she was appointed by President Carter to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Surinam.

Peg Cannon, a cousin, posed with Nancy Ostrander and Eva Ruth Ham, in front of 323 North Audubon Road c1930

Nancy Ostrander in the side yard at 323 North Audubon Road c1931: If you look closely, you can see the rear of 319 Lesley Avenue.  

Nancy Ostrander at 323 North Audubon Road c1931. Behind her,  you can see the rear of the home at 5732 Lowell Avenue.

Happy Birthday to Nancy Ostrander c1932 at 323 North Audubon Road. Behind her you can see a lovely grape arbor. 

Guinevere Ostrander c1940 with Smokey at 323 North Audubon Road. 

Nancy Ostrander in front of 323 North Audubon Road c1942

Esperanza Rodriguez (later Myers) came to live with the Ostranders in 1927. She grew up in the mountains of Cuba and knew only Spanish and German when she arrived in Irvington. Maids and nannies received Thursday as a day off. Miss Rodriguez took English lessons from Mrs. Williams who lived at 345 North Audubon Road. The girls called her "Tata." She remained a part of the Ostrander family for the rest of her life. 

323 North Audubon Road in 2015

The historic images are courtesy of Nancy Ostrander.  

Our Lady of Lourdes Graduating Class--1947

Eighth graders from the graduating class of 1947 from Our Lady of Lourdes School gathered for one last photograph.  The church and school had been an important part of the neighborhood for nearly forty years.  Many of the students in this photograph had attended the school for eight years.  Justine Collins and Joseph Lutz had the highest grades from the class while Thomas Williams, Marilyn Schmidt, and Barbara Noonan had perfect attendance.  The local priest urged parents to "remember their obligation of providing a CATHOLIC EDUCATION in high school for their children." (back of this flier) Students who had not attended Our Lady of Lourdes but desired to attend a Catholic high school would need a letter from a local pastor and then have it submitted to the Archbishop.  The children in this photo would have a much easier path to a Catholic high school.

First Row: Marilyn Hagan, John Foley, Max Haughton, Thomas Williams, Mary Ann Just, Kathleen Gallagher, Donald Newman,  John Schulz, Robert Denari, Marjorie Schauinger
Second Row:  Richard Mayer, Elizabeth Rumple, Mona Lee Cull, Jacqueline Bender, George Lawler,  Sue Ann Dillchay, Anne Shannon, Justine Collins
Third Row: Nadine May, Marie Speicher, Joan Miller, Joan Fox, Earl Owens, Jane Fox, Patricia Braun, Patricia Schoettle, Marilyn Schmidt
Fourth Row: Joseph Lutz, Marilyn Hofer, Joan Gannon, Robert Commons, Mary Margaret Rohyans, Barbara Noonan, James Matthews
Fifth Row:  Donald McWilliams, Rose Ellen Sexton, Patricia Alandt, Rita Harding, Margaret Everett, Richard Simko

Our Lady of Lourdes in 2014

The historic flier is courtesy of Suzette Hagan.

A View from Our Lady of Lourdes, 1954 and 2014

Gloria Pirtle beamed as she ascended the stairs along with her mother, Ona Pirtle, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on East Washington Street on November 27, 1954. An unusual snowstorm had struck the city of Indianapolis only hours earlier. The cold temperatures kept the snow on the ground but did not prevent her guests from witnessing her marriage to Julius Becker. (5621 Beechwood Avenue)

Behind the two ladies, you can see the large house at 5332 East Washington Street on the left and the double located at 5334-36 East Washington Street.  The larger home had been carved into apartments by 1954.  Mary Stamper and Clayton Spindler were listed in the larger dwelling in the 1954 Polk's City Directory.  Several families resided in the double next door including the Crichfields, Williamses, McDavitts, and Johantgens.

On her wedding day:  Gloria Pirtle walked into Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with her mother, Ona Pirtle, on November 27, 1954.

5332 and 5334-36 East Washington Street in 2014

The historic image is courtesy of Suzette Hagan.