Irish workers helping to construct railroads continued feuds from their homeland. Nationally, railroads, especially for steam-powered trains, increased in construction during the 1830s. For the state of Indiana as a whole, railroad construction peaked during the 1850s with most large cities having some sort of connection by 1860. The 1837 riot in Vernon occurred during the construction of Indiana’s first significant railroad that linked Madison to Indianapolis; the rail line was eventually completed in 1847.
The riot in Vernon consisted of a longstanding disagreement between the Corkonians and the Fardowns immigrants from Ireland. The Corkonians hailed from the province of Munster, especially County Cork, while the Fardowns are believed to have come from other southern counties in the province of Connaught and Leinster in Ireland. The two groups feuded on access to employment opportunities in America, protecting their region’s people’s jobs by intimidating the other region’s people. The majority of Irish immigrants working on the Madison and Indianapolis railroad identified as Fardowns, roughly 1,400 of the 1,700 workers. When more Corkonians arrived and secured jobs on the railroad and threatened the Fardowns’ majority, the Fardowns attacked the Corkonians killing one and wounding others. Two Fardowns, Martin Crotty and Michael Brennan, were tried for the murder of Corkonian Patrick Galuly. Both Crotty and Brennan were convicted and sentenced to death. The Governor of Indiana, Noah Noble, commuted their sentences and they instead served life terms. Crotty and Brennan reportedly were the first “life-time men” in Indiana. The riot in Vernon was just one example of the continuation of Irish traditions and beliefs from immigrant’s homeland to their new one.
]]>Irish immigrants have a long history with Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. Throughout the nineteenth century, Indianapolis provided an urban environment for Irish Americans seeking opportunity in the Midwest. Many working-class Irish immigrants who came to Indianapolis found homes just southeast of the city center. So many Irish people lived in the neighborhood that it became known as Irish Hill. Researchers in the 1930s found that around 90% of Irish people living in Marion County at the time had once lived in Irish Hill. There was also a large Irish population in Fountain Square to the south.
Most of the Irish living in these neighborhoods came to the United States to escape famine and poverty. They did not have very much money and needed to work hard to support themselves. Some men found work building canals, roads, and railways in and around the city. Others worked in factories like the nearby Kingan and Company meat-packing plant. Unmarried workers often stayed at boarding houses operated by other Irish immigrants in the community. Hannah O’Connor, an Irish woman living on Georgia Avenue, had twelve railroad workers staying in her boarding house in 1880, most of them Irish. Like many women in the neighborhood, Hannah made a living doing domestic work. There were plenty of jobs for women around immigrant labor hubs. However, they had very few choices for what type of work they could do.
In addition to having jobs, the Irish neighborhoods in Indianapolis had a strong sense of community. This was largely built around religion. Most Irish immigrants were devout Catholics, and the church was central to their social and spiritual life. In the 1830s, there were very few Catholics and no Catholic churches in the city. Early Irish immigrants had to celebrate Mass in bars and rented rooms. The Irish community helped establish Indianapolis’s first Catholic parish, Holy Cross, in 1837. St. John the Evangelist Church was built in Irish Hill in 1850, and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church opened in Fountain Square in 1865. These churches started schools, hosted social events, and supported the needs of the Irish community.
In Irish Hill and Fountain Square, Irish immigrants worked hard to support themselves and each other. They created strong community bonds in their places of work, worship, and rest. Over time, Indianapolis’s Irish population spread throughout the city, and Irish Hill and Fountain Square welcomed diverse new residents. The neighborhoods still hold the memory of the Irish immigrants who built them.
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