Indianapolis is a city with some fascinating historic districts located in the downtown area. One of these neighborhoods is Herron-Morton Place. The boundaries of the neighborhood are East 16th Street on the south, East 22nd Street on the north, the alley west of North Pennsylvania on the west, and the alley east of Central Avenue on the east.
Once known as one of Indianapolis' most elegant residential neighborhoods. Its name coming from the Indiana governor, Oliver Morton. This was home to many celebrated politicians, physicians, business leaders, and artists. Indiana artists T. C. Steele and William Forsythe founded their famed art school in 1888 in the same area.
The land that this neighborhood was built on, originally was purchased by the state for the Indiana State Fair Grounds. It was an undeveloped particle of land that soon became the "Morton Camp" for Civil War prisoners. By wars end, 15,000 rebel troops had been interned at the camp, with a peak population of 5,000 men, occurring in July of 1864. Union troops were stationed south of Camp Morton to what is now 16th Street in an encampment known as Camp Burnside. After the war, Indiana reclaimed the fairgrounds and used them until 1890. The area was then platted for residential use and home construction began. This neighborhood thrived until the "Great Depression" when many of the homes were divided into small apartments to rent. From the 1950's up until the 1970's many of these homes were lost due to fire and demolition.
In 1976, the Herron-Morton Neighborhood Association formed and began to renovate and encourage people to build and help control crime and destruction. In 1986 the neighborhood was added to the National Historic Register and became an historical preservation.
The Herron-Morton District historic homes reflect many architectural styles including Queen Anne, Italianate, Tudor, Arts & Crafts, Cottage, and Colonial Revival styles, and the neighborhood shows off some of these breath-taking examples of Indianapolis history every two years in their tour of homes. All of the above pictures are homes that are currently listed for sale by various brokers. Prices ranging from $249,900 - $659,900.
(Old Postcard from Indyscribe) It is my understanding that in the mid 80's - 1990's Indiana Historic Preservation Commission Put together a home history on every home that was still standing at that time. If you are interested in purchasing a home in this area and would like to know more about its history, contacting the Indiana Historic Preservation Commission is your best place to start. If you would like a copy of the Herron-Morton Plan please visit Herron Morton Plan (1986).
If you would like to own a piece of Indianapolis history, then Herron-Morton place is one of many older neighborhoods located in the downtown area. Please visit http://cyndisloop4indyhomes.com for more Indianapolis Area information.
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