The Zoercher Family of Layman Avenue

Finding historic photos of one's house can be difficult and for some of us, elusive. For others, it is as easy as a knock on the door. How many of us have longed to go into a childhood home or the former house of a grandparent? That is exactly what happened when members of the Zoercher family returned to 52 North Layman over fifty years after leaving the beautiful American Four Square.

James Zoercher (1909-1965) grew up in Irvington at 68 N. Whittier Place. His father was a prominent attorney. On January 24, 1931, James, married Eleanor Hadd (1908-1982) and began working for Indianapolis Power and Light. Mrs. Zoercher lived in both Boston and Baltimore prior to moving to Indianapolis. The young couple eventually set up housekeeping at 52 North Layman Avenue in 1934 and remained until 1955. They raised their children in the home and thankfully took many photos of their beloved family and of the Layman Avenue area. These photos are now treasured by the current homeowners.

In the top photo, you can see an image of the house taken around 1940. A contemporary shot of the same side of the dwelling was shot on March 19, 2012. In the other historic photos, you will see various members of the Zoercher family gathered on the front steps. Most of the shots are of the children although you can see Mrs. Zoercher in a few of them. You will note that most of the photos date from the late 1930s throughout the 1940s. The Zoerchers were clearly fashionable people based upon their stylish clothes. Mrs. Zoercher eventually worked as a therapist at the La Rue Carter Hospital. More photos of this interesting family will be forthcoming. The historic images are courtesy of Andrea de Mink.

The Big Reveal! Bruckman Coal Building

As I type this note, workmen have begun to peal away the layers aluminum and vinyl siding at the former Bruckman Coal building at 203 Good Avenue. The current owners were delighted to find that the wood siding on the south side of the building was in good shape and completely salvageable. The removal also found ghost windows and doors. Twentieth century Irvingtonians were practical and thought that if they sheathed their homes and businesses in various sidings they could save money. Thankfully, many residents in the twenty-first century have begun to strip away those layers and are restoring the original footprints. Vintage Irvington has learned of another big reveal coming soon! Stay tuned. You may discover more about this interesting structure by clicking on "Bruckman Family" below.

Layman and Lowell--Then and Now

Sometime in the mid-1940s, a member of the Zoercher family went for a walk after a winter snowfall and took this photo. In the picture, you can see North Layman Avenue as it intersects with Lowell Avenue. Diligent residents had already cleared the sidewalks, but several inches of snow remained on the lawns and trees along Layman. The Zoerchers lived at 52 North Layman. More information on this family will be forthcoming. The contemporary image shows the same intersection on March 15, 2012. The historic image is courtesy of Andrea De Mink.

Tennis Anyone? Butler Team in 1899

Two members of the Butler University tennis team posed for this photograph in 1899. Carl McGaughey, who was related to the prominent physician Samuel McGaughey, is on the left while E. S. Powell is the right. The McGaugheys lived on East Washington Street near the site of the present Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.

Note that the court is marked and appears to be grass or dirt. Although tennis is an old sport, it really did not take root in the United States until the 1880s. By the turn of the last century, the sport was growing in popularity.

Lost Irvington--15 South Ritter Avenue

Some Irvington houses have been lost over the decades because of the proximity to commercial businesses along East Washington Street. With the proliferation of the automobile, the need for parking rose exponentially. This lovely early twentieth-century home used to sit at 15 South Ritter Avenue behind a bank and the Irving Theater, but it was removed for a parking lot.

Butler fraternity members called the dwelling home throughout the 1920s. The following set of photos, taken in 1920, shows the home when it housed many local Butler students. In the top photo, you can not only see the house, but the Masonic Lodge and some homes along Johnson Avenue behind it. In the bottom photos, members of the fraternity pose for photos. Notice the wonderful woodwork, hardwood floors, and fireplace. You will also likely enjoy the interesting furnishings including the phonograph machine in the second photo. These photos are reminders that we must do better in our generation of preserving this wonderful neighborhood so that structures like this are never again demolished. The historic images are courtesy of Amy Friedly.

An Orion Avenue Cottage

Orion Avenue is a quiet street located south of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, west of Emerson Avenue, and north of Brookville Road. It is a short street that most Irvingtonians have not likely driven down. While most of the housing stock along the avenue dates from the 1920s and later, there is at least one very old cottage located at 5014.

The 1889 map of Irvington shows a structure on the site. Orion used to be called Nora and South Bancroft was formerly known as Parker. Irvington founder, Levi Ritter owned the acreage around the home, but he lived in a grand place at the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Ritter Avenue.

The earliest known family to call 5014 home were the Coffins. George W. and Louisa Fulwider Coffin planned to spend their retirement years in the home and they moved into the house in 1908. The large lot was perfect for Mr. Coffin because he loved to garden and he sold his vegetables and flowers at the Indianapolis City Market. The house used to have the address of 4876 Orion, but it was changed in 1917 to 5014. The Coffins, both in their sixties, usually kept boarders. In 1910, two ministers named Summer Robinson, 21, and Frederick Jacobs, 27, lived in the home. By 1915, Mrs. Coffin's health appeared to be failing and the couple left to stay with children. Eventually, she passed away in Oak Park, Illinois on October 17, 1915. Mr. Coffin would live until 1926. Both were buried in their native Montgomery County, Indiana.

The Rubush family moved into house in 1915 and remained until the 1930s. William Rubush was a brick mason and contractor and worked on many landmarks and memorials around the city of Indianapolis. His wife, Clara Jenne Rubush, ran the household. Both of the Rubush's were members of the Universalist Church in Oaklandon in northeastern Marion County. They raised five children in the house. Their daughters Zerelda and Ada attended the Hibben Dance School in Irvington in 1921 and Zerelda later sang in the opera The Pirates of Penzance at Butler University on January 11, 1923. Both daughters would become teachers with Zerelda moving to Paris, France. One son, Jack Rubush, became a sheriff in Hancock County, Indiana, while another son, Richard Rubush, worked in a variety of jobs.

Tragedy awashed the Rubush family on May 28, 1923, when their twenty-two-year-old son, Theodore was struck by a train and killed. Theodore had just married Dorothy King and was living at 4001 East Washington Street. He was on his first day of a job delivering the Indianapolis Sunday Star near Julietta, Indiana in eastern Marion County. He had recruited his fifteen-year-old brother-in-law, David King, to drive his auto while he passed out newspapers. As young David was driving the car, it stalled on the Baltimore and Ohio tracks. A new driver, he threw the car into reverse and the auto stalled once again. Theodore was killed instantly while David survived with some terrible injuries. The Rubush's held the funeral in their home at 5014 Orion Avenue. Sadly for the Rubush family, the property abuts the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad so they likely thought of their son daily as the train conductors blew their whistles to announce the train's arrival to Irvington at Emerson Avenue.

The Swain family lived in the home in the early 1940s and then the Thompsons moved into 5014 in 1944. They would remain for several decades. Rodney Thompson worked for Irvington Ice and Coal on South Ritter and eventually worked his way up to managing the facility. The Thompsons raised their children in the cottage on the large lot. More information will be forthcoming on this interesting family.

Each house has its own story to tell. What other tales remain from this one small home on this quiet street? More research is needed not only on this house, but on many others along Orion Avenue.

In the top photo, courtesy of Kathleen Lynch, you can see Louisa Fulwider Coffin, as a passenger in her brother's car. The three women in the backseat of the car, are Louisa's sisters. She was visiting the family in Montgomery County, Indiana near New Richmond when this photo was taken around 1910.

In the second photo, you can see two views of 5014 Orion Avenue. The bottom part of the photo shows the home in 1944 just after the Thompsons planted some evergreen trees. In the top part of the photo, you can see the house in 1950. The trees had started to grow. These photos are courtesy of Sue Thompson.

It is nearly impossible to get a contemporary view of the house in 2012 because the Thompson trees now tower over the home nearly seventy years after these photos were taken, however, you will note that the dwelling has been enlarged.

Lost Irvington--Julian/Layman Villa

In 1952, the wrecking crews began to dismantle one of Irvington's original homes. First built for Jacob Julian, one of the founders of Irvington in 1871, the home passed to the Layman family in 1887. The three-story Second Empire villa was the site of the first wedding in Irvington on February 24, 1875, when Edgar Brown married Martha Julian, the daughter of Jacob Julian. The next day, the house became the site of one of the first crimes in Irvington when a thief entered the home and stole the bride's wedding gown and slippers.

Thirty-five years later on February 15, 1910, the Laymans celebrated the the joyous wedding of their daughter, Katherine to Harvey Elam. The next day, a terrible blizzard paralyzed the city of Indianapolis.

One of the Layman sons helped to develop the Audubon Court Apartments on the southeast corner of East Washington Street and Audubon Road in 1914. Land became highly sought after as developers strove to construct apartment buildings along the National Road.

Entrepreneurs knocked down the house at 29 South Audubon Road in the winter of 1952 to make way for the Saxony Apartment Complex. The new site included 69 apartments and cost about $651,000 to build. Unfortunately, the neighborhood lost several of its crown jewels during this period of history. To view the home in its glory click on the "Julian Family" or "Layman Family" links below.