By 1880, Indianapolis was the third-largest meat-packing city in the country. One of the businesses in the city was the Deschler meat packing company in the backyard of their property on 423 California Street.. The Deschlers immigrated to Indianapolis from Germany in the 1860s and quickly established themselves in the food industry. They later would merge with another food industry company nearby and continue to build a prominent food business in the city.
The Kingan and Company meat packing plant at Maryland and Blackford Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, was larger than Deschler’s. Belfast resident Samuel Kingan founded his meat-packing company in Northern Ireland in 1845. Kingan opened additional factories in Brooklyn, New York, and Cincinnati, Ohio, before establishing the Indianapolis plant in 1863. An article in The Indianapolis Star boasted that workers at the new facilities would kill and pack 2,500 hogs per day.
Kingan and Company recruited mostly Irish immigrants for jobs at the plant. Employment opportunities drew more Irish to the nearby community. Some new arrivals sent their belongings directly from Ireland to the Kingan plant. Immigrants from all over Ireland lived in small homes and boarding houses in the neighborhood surrounding the plant.
The workers at the Kingan and Company meat-packing plant often endured long hours and dirty, dangerous conditions. The factory was loud with the sounds of squealing hogs and processing machines. Witnesses described conveyors of dead animals passing through crowds of workers at all hours of the day. The workers used cleavers to chop the meat going by, leaving blood and entrails all over the factory floor. Most of the employees were Irish men, but photos from the time show some women and children at work in the plant. Child labor was not uncommon in the 19th century. Many working-class children needed to earn money to help support their families, even though child labor is harmful to kids’ health and development.
The multiple stops on Blackford Street encompass the sites where both the Deschler and Kingan meat-packing facilities operated. Further north on Blackford Street, looking toward California Street, the Deschler Meat Packing Company operated. Further south on Blackford, at the intersection of Blackford and Maryland Street, one can look at the former site of the Kingan and Company meat-packing plant. Both sites played a major role in the history of Indianapolis and its industry.
]]>The Indianapolis Benevolent Society created the Widows and Orphans Friends’ Society in 1850. Originally, it paid private families to take in and care for individual orphans. The Widows and Orphans Friends’ society bought a residence and, in 1855, opened the Indianapolis Orphans Asylum at 14th and Capitol Streets. It helped over one hundred children. IBS supported the use of asylums to impose control and order over citizens affecting social norms. These asylums helped churches and families in need of placing the responsibility of care in another’s hands. Children and sometimes mothers would board at the orphanage, which acted less like an institutionalized asylum despite its name. Fundraising helped support the Indianapolis Orphans Asylum. In a newspaper from 1858, an exhibition of Italian paintings was displayed so the admission proceeds of 50 cents each person could benefit the asylum.
In 1875 the Indianapolis Orphans Asylum became its own organization providing resources for children and advocated better working conditions, access to basic education, and reforms in child marriage laws. The organization expanded to three additional institutions before a 1934 financial struggle caused by the Great Depression led the Orphan Asylum and the Family Welfare Society to combine. This resulted in the creation of the Children's Bureau of the Indianapolis Orphan Asylum. The bureau focused primarily on adoptions.
]]>The Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis was founded in 1879 after Reverend Oscar McCulloch invited Reverend Gurteen to speak to the Indianapolis Benevolent Society. Both Reverends advocated for Indianapolis philanthropy to switch to a scientific and non-religious charity approach. Rev. Oscar McCulloch, Mayor Caven, and four businessmen founded the Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis (COS) and elected McCulloch as president. IBS and COS became co-operating charity organizations creating the largest nonprofit social service in Indianapolis. McCulloch served as the leader of the Church of Plymouth in Indianapolis, where the organization was headquartered.
Initially, its membership consisted exclusively of men; over time, women became actively involved in its charitable efforts. Women were particularly dedicated to advancing the compassionate agenda. The Charity Organization Society operated with a constitution of guidelines and relied on donors to strengthen and expand its initiatives. The organization established committees and appointed investigators that assessed cases to determine where assistance was needed. Their evaluations prioritized efforts deemed urgent and identified individuals or groups considered ‘worthy’ of support. Member of COS were often from important families and connected men and women through similar civic and moral ideals. The value system assigned to those in need by COS spoke to the rich and middle class who supported self-independence and good behavior.
The Charity Organization Society assigned value based on contributions to society and themselves as a person in need. Charity came in many forms whether through donations or projects. In partnership with a local farmer one charity project planned by the Charity Organization society was to grow potatoes and then give them to the poor.
]]>The Indianapolis Benevolent Society was created on Thanksgiving Day in 1835 by James Blake, James Ray, and Calvin Fletcher. IBS was one of the first private charity organizations to impact individuals and families in Indianapolis. Benevolent societies appeared around the country and were intended to be non-religious. Most, though, were influenced by religious organizations. The Widow’s and Orphan Friends Society, for example, was comprised of church members who donated time and money to their causes. Women were allowed to participate while men led the efforts. They offered advice on home care and religious morals. The Marion County government had few funds for the poor. Private organizations stepped in to supplement public services providing clothing, food, and money. While it was admirable that members of these charity societies cared for the poor, their involvement also elevated their social standing. The Benevolent Society, like the Charity Organization of Indianapolis, supplied donations and assistance based on individual case evaluations and perceived need. They placed particular emphasis on supporting widows, children, and those suffering from illness. The society struggled financially to assist the public, new charities, along with the evolving public and private funding.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the Indiana Benevolent Society (IBS), roughly fifteen thousand members gathered to commemorate the organization's legacy. Led by reverends, the meeting reflected on the impact the society had made over its fifty-year history. At the time of IBS’s founding, Indiana was still a developing state, lacking essential resources such as railroads, schools, and a large population. As the city expanded, so did the needs of its residents, prompting a change in charitable efforts.
During the meeting, John M. Butler discussed that modern charity was increasingly influenced by self-interest and superficial desires. Change was necessary. The Indiana Benevolent Society remained committed to aiding those in need and identifying the deeper societal issues requiring resolution, intending to serve as active and engaged members of their community.
]]>In 1821, Christopher Harrison who was the Indiana State Commissioner in charge of Indianapolis' planning hired Alexander Ralston to lay out the capital. Ralston designed a square-mile area with a spoke and grid pattern leading to the center of the town. In the center of the map was a circle for markets and religious institutions, with a governor's residence at the center.
In 1827, the Indiana General Assembly commissioned a large two-story yellow brick building with a low hip roof to be constructed on the city circle as the Governor's residence. The house was built in the middle of the circle, fifty feet from the road on every side. Each side was identical with a large front door. Each entry had a hallway leading to the middle, forming a cross in the center of the building. The second floor, likewise, had four identical rooms and center hallways. The building was enclosed with a wooden fence on the street to keep out livestock.
No governor ever lived in the residence as Esther Ray, wife of the then-Governor James Brown Ray, refused reside at the mansion due to the lack of privacy. Instead, Supreme Court judges were allowed to use rooms in the mansion as their chambers. Supreme Court Justice Isaac Blackford spent most of his free time writing opinions on Indiana court cases in a room on the second floor. In 1857, the legislature ordered the mansion sold as it was falling into decay. The building was ultimately razed and sold for construction materials. In 1887, construction began on the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which is the structure that is located on the circle today.
]]>In preparing for the United States’s Bicentennial, the federal government initially planned for a large-scale celebration held in Philadelphia, the country’s first capital city. The idea faced criticism from the public, who accused it of being elitist and ignoring the country’s diversity. The backlash influenced the federal government to step back and instead fund more localized commemorations. As a result of this new approach, many projects in Indiana focused on aspects of American history that resonated more with its residents.
The George Rogers Clark exhibit at the Indiana State Museum is one example. It ran from February 25, 1976 to the 200th anniversary of the Siege of Fort Sackville on February 25, 1979. Clark was an officer in the American militia who played a critical role in the siege. This major American victory during the American Revolution resulted in the United States acquiring Vincennes, Indiana’s oldest city. Vincennes was named the capital when the Indiana Territory was created in 1800.
The three-year exhibit was a major undertaking with more than two-hundred people trained as visitor guides. Prior to the exhibit’s dedication, a dinner was held with recipes from the 1700s and there was a city-sponsored parade. Taking up the entire second level of the museum, the exhibit examined the life of George Rogers Clark by detailing his upbringing, early military career, and his victories over the British during the American Revolution. The exhibit ended with a new technology called a “historic documentary environmental theater.” This theater was only the third of its kind in the country and the first to show a history-themed documentary. It consisted of images of Clark’s campaign being projected above a large topographical map that traced his progress by pinpointing it with light.
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