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1849 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Gazetteer," published by E. Chamberlain
Marion County, in the center of the State of Indiana, named in honor of General Francis Marion, was organized in 1822. It is bounded north by Boone and Hamilton, east by Hancock and Shelby, south by Johnson and Morgan, and west by Hendricks, and being just twenty miles square, it contains 400 square miles. It is divided into nine civil townships, viz: Lawrence, Washington and Pike on the north; Warren Center and Wayne through the center; and Franklin, Perry and Decatur in the south. The population in 1830 was 7,181, in 1840 16,080, and at this time [1849] about 24,000. In the north part of the county, near White River, Fall Creek and Eagle Creek, is a rolling country, beautifully diversified with hills, and a small portion of the southwest of the county is of the same description; but the residue, with few exceptions, appears to be almost level, though when accurate surveys are made, as they have been on the Railroad lines, there is found to be a considerable ascent from the river and creeks. As farms are improved, also, they usually become dry, in most seasons, with very little draining. One-third of the county, at least, is a kind of second bottom. It was originally covered with large sugar tree, walnut, ash, white and burr oak, beech and a few poplar, without underbrush, and thickly matted with wild grass. The soil, here, is black loam, clay and sand, intermixed and based on limestone gravel, four or five feet beneath the surface. This kind of land lies next to the streams, is easily farmed and is very productive in corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, vines and fruit, and, in fact, all the articles usually raised in the climate. Further back from the streams, the timber is of a poorer quality, and the soil is a black muck, based on clay, which though at first not well adapted to corn, yet becomes so in most seasons, and is especially favorable for grass, and appears to improve the longer it is cultivated.
The agricultural products of the county are abundant, and the surplus products exported, consisting of corn, wheat, flour, pork, beef, live hogs, horses and mules, are estimated to be worth about $300,000 annually; yet the farming capabilities are as yet very far from being ascertained.
There are in the county twelve gristmills, twenty sawmills, three woolen and one cotton factory, besides various manufacturing establishments in Indianapolis. Two printing offices, issuing weekly newspapers, were established here as early as 1822 and 1823, the one by Smith & Bolton, the other by Gregg & Maguire; the former was the predecessor of the "Sentinel," and the latter of the "Journal." N. Bolton, of the one firm, is now the Register of the Land Office, and D. Maguire, of the other, is the Auditor of Public Accounts. Both these gentlemen stand high among their political friends and the public generally. There are two other printing offices in Indianapolis, with one of which the veteran printer, John Douglass, is still connected.
There is so rapid an increase of manufacturing operations at Indianapolis, that by the time our book is published, the sketch will be very imperfect. As soon as the Terre Haute Railroad brings coal here, the increase of manufactures, population and business must be still more rapid. There are also about 100 stores, 100 school houses, in which schools are kept up a portion of the year, forty lawyers, fifty physicians, forty preachers, and thirty-six churches, of which the Methodists are most numerous; then follow Baptists, Christians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Friends, Episcopalians, Catholics, Seceders, Universalists, etc. The taxable land in the county is 246,127 acres.
1938 Adams County Retrospect - Based on "Indiana Review," published by the State Legislature
From almost every standpoint -- commercial, economic, political, educational, and cultural -- Marion County is Indiana's leading county. Located in the heart of Indiana, it is the geographic, population, and nerve center of a great state.
When Indiana was admitted to the Union, December 11,1816, Congress donated four sections of land to be used as a capital city. These sections could be selected from any of the land not sold. Commissioners, appointed by the legislature in 1820 to select the site, which was to become the capital city, decided that the geographical center of the state would be most logical. They set out to select one of the three central sites offered. One was a few miles northeast and one was south of the present city. The third, which covered the four sections around the mouth of Fall Creek, was selected. The place seemed quite unpromising, for it was located in the wilderness with no more than a dozen in population.
Dense forests surrounded the little settlement. The nearest settlement was sixty miles away. There were no roads, farms, or source of supplies. There was nothing, in fact, to indicate that this wilderness was destined to become within three-quarters of a century the largest inland city on the continent.
White River was thought to be navigable for the boats then used. It was considered the means by which the people of the new city would be fed and clothed, but that did not prove to be so. Although formal Indian warfare had nearly ceased, massacres had not. The rich soil that characterizes the Hoosier State was no attraction, for it was a matter of years of work to clear the land. Even if the land had been readily cultivable, there were no markets. Malaria was another pioneer enemy that made the young state an uninviting area for settlement.
The figures of the 1810 census had given the whole Indiana Territory a population of only 24,520. Despite all those drawbacks, Indiana had expanded to a population of 147,178 in 1820, after four years of statehood.
When the commissioners had reported, and the legislature had approved their selection, the search for a name began. Each legislator had his own choice, but finally Indianapolis, suggested by Jeremiah Sullivan, Judge of the Supreme Court, was agreed upon. In April 1821, the work of laying out the city began. Elias P. Fordham and Alexander Ralston were appointed surveyors.
Ralston, who a few years before had been associated with Major L'Enfant in the laying out the City of Washington D. C., suggested Indianapolis be one square mile. The streets within the mile square were to cross one another ate right angles, with four avenues running from a central circle. A small knoll, which rose from the surrounding level ground, was used as the center, where they planned to locate the Governor's Mansion. Today that center is the Monument Circle and the original boundaries of the city -North, East, South, and West streets-are within the downtown district. The result is that Indianapolis is one of the nation's best-planned cities, a combination of the Versailles "Spider Web" and Thomas Jefferson's idea of the Federal City of regular squares.
The first sale of lots began in October 1821. The intent was to raise money for state buildings and a great demand was anticipated. The sale was unsuccessful, however, and only about $7,000 was realized on the sale of more than three hundred lots.
Even after ten years only three-fourths of the property had been disposed of, and it was not until 1842 that the mile square and the three other sections were sold. The state realized less than $150,000 from the sales.
From the time Indianapolis was laid out, rumors persisted that it would never actually become the capital. Tales of the unhealthy location, the lack of facilities, and impossibility of making a livelihood in the wilderness deterred many who would have otherwise settled. The spring of 1822, however, brought settlers, and these rugged pioneers began to clamor for recognition.
The first of the year had seen a number of advancements. The town had a population of about 500, regular mail service had begun, the legislature appropriated $100,000 for roads to the new capital, and the first newspaper made its appearance. The legislature also provided for the formal organization of Marion County, which became effective April 1, 1822.
The county then included the territory which has since become Boone, Johnson, Hamilton, Hancock, and Madison counties.
Indianapolis' first school started I 1821. The first election was in February 1822, when 336 votes were cast, about 100 of them from Indianapolis. The first County Court began session September 26, 1822, in the cabin of Jonathan Carr. In that session the first emigrant applied for naturalization. The first Fourth of July celebration in Indianapolis took place that year, which also marked the organization of the first militia regiment. In those times all able-bodied men were required to attend regular musters of the militia.
The year 1822 saw the renewal of assertions that the capital would never actually be brought to Indianapolis, and many property holders were becoming uneasy about their purchases. However, several important advancements were made, including the establishment of a ferry across White River, the opening of a brickyard, erection of the first brick building, and the construction of the first two-story frame house.
The sturdy pioneers began to petition the legislature for representation in that body, and, in August 1823, an election was held, and the first representatives were sent. When the legislature met in January 1824, the final order for removing the state capital was given. The removal was to be made January 10,1825, the next session of the legislature to take place in the Marion County Courthouse. When Marion County's representatives returned from the legislative session the jubilant citizens gave them a hilarious reception.
With the final decision to bring the capital here, Indianapolis began to show signs of permanency. In November of 1824, the State Treasurer set out from Corydon with the archives of the state. Traveling in a two-horse wagon, he progressed at the rate of about twelve miles a day, but by the end of November the state had been settled in its new quarters. The citizens waited eagerly for the first session of the legislature.
The comment of the legislators upon their arrival, particularly from the faction, which had opposed removing the capital, can only be imagined. The new capital was a straggling village. Its only cleared street was full of stumps. The houses were scattered about the deep woods of the mile square, and could only be reached along cow paths. The three taverns were scenes of much state business, as legislators and citizens gathered about their roaring fireplaces during the evenings to discuss the affairs of the young commonwealth.
However, the town saw improvement. An appropriation of fifty dollars was made to clean out Pogue's Run, the main source of Malaria. The district outside the mile square was ordered sold or leased in four-acre tracts. Thus, in the present residential sections farming was encouraged.
In 1826, although the population was still small, about 726, many phases of activity pointed toward eventual development on a large scale. Several societies were established, and the Federal Government removed the Land Office here from Brookville. An artillery company and a bucket and ladder fire company were organized.
No provision had been made of the Governor's Mansion, even though the city had been laid out with the original intent of using the Circle as site. The 1827 legislature appropriated four thousand dollars, and work was begun. The result was that state offices were moved there, and the governors were forced to find other homes. In 1839, the legislature ordered the purchase of a suitable residence. The first one, located at the southwest corner of Illinois and Market Streets, was purchased. Governor Wallace was the first to live here, and five others followed him. It was, however, an unhealthy building, causing much distress, and it was abandoned and sold in 1865. Since that time the state has owned no Governor's Mansion. The present mansion on Fall Creek Boulevard is owned by the city and Park Board and is leased to the state.
The first statehouse was completed in time for occupation by the legislature of 1836, the county building having been used prior to that time. The present edifice was completed in 1888.
The year 1831 marked the beginning of internal improvements in the state, Indianapolis profited by the building of the National Road, and the legislature of that year granted charters to several proposed railroads, though none of them materialized. April 11, 1831 saw what was then considered a great event. A steamboat, the Robert Hanna, succeeded in navigating White River to Indianapolis. It appeared to be the beginning of a valuable commercial route, but this steamboat was the only one to make the try successfully. For many years repeated efforts were made, none getting beyond Spencer. The legislature considered a plan for slack water navigation and in 1851 a navigation company was chartered. Nothing was accomplished and finally even flatboats abandoned the stream.
The first large internal improvement program came in 1836, when the state began a great system of railroads and canals, none of which were completed by the state, chiefly because of the 1837 panic. Conditions became so bad the legislature was forced to issue scrip. The ensuing years were not good and a depth was probably reached in 1841. Slow revival started in 1842 when the State Bank resumed its suspended specie payments and in 1843 with the near completion of the Madison Railroad, business revived greatly.
The greatest expansion came in 1847 with the completion of the Madison Railroad connecting Indianapolis with the Ohio River. New businesses and factories opened as thousands of settlers arrived in the city.
The first attempt at corporate government was not highly successful. The first municipality existed for only about four years, until 1836, when the town was granted a special charter. In 1847, however, in view of the expansion, a city charter was granted and approved on March 27 by a public vote of 449 to 19. The first Mayor, Samuel Henderson, was elected April 24. The city council's first consideration was a system of street improvement, for, although the city had a population of near 6,000, Washington was the only street and it was obstructed with numerous stumps.
Another action of this first city council was to provide free schools. An appropriation had been made by the state but it was only sufficient to keep them open about four months of the year, so that a tax was necessary.
The city was now well established and much private and government building was in progress, including the Blind School, Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and the Insane Hospital.
Indianapolis' growth from that time has been steady and sure, with none of the "boom" city phenomenal rises and falls. This steady progression has resulted in a conservative element of home-owning citizenry.
The city's outstanding present-day points of interest include:
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument-Located in the heart of the city, on the Circle originally intended as the site of the Governor's Mansion. This beautiful obelisk has the distinction of being the first monument ever dedicated to the private soldier. It is the second highest shaft in America, rising 284.5 feet. The first action toward its building was taken in the 1887 session of the legislature, when the original appropriation was made. It was finished in 1901 and dedicated May 15, 1902. Statues of men of the time commemorate four yeras of Indiana history. The period of the Revolution is represented by a statue of George Rogers Clark; the war with Mexico by a statue of Governor Whitcomb; the War of 1812 and the Battle of Tippecanoe by a statue of William Henry Harrison, and the Civil War period by a statue of Governor Morton. There is a museum in the basement and an observation platform aloft.
Indiana World War Memorial Plaza is located between Meridian and Pennsylvania Streets, extending from New York to St. Clair Streets, a plot five blocks long and one wide. In the extreme northwest corner is a four-story limestone building of Greek architecture. This building, housing the national headquarters of The American Legion, is a gift to the Legionnaires from Indiana. A cenotaph, a tribute to Indiana's war dead, stands at the head of a mall two blocks long.
Indianapolis Public Library faces the War Memorial Plaza from the north. It is the state's finest library and ranks high from a national standpoint. It was dedicated October 7, 1917, on the birth anniversary of James Whitcomb Riley, who donated part of the land upon which it stands.
The Scottish Rite Cathedral faces the Memorial Plaza from the west. A masterpiece of old-world architecture, it has gained worldwide reputation for its beauty. Its carillon bells are among the finest in the nation.
Christ Church is situated on the Circle. The cornerstone was laid in 1838 for the original structure and was placed in the present edifice, completed in 1860. Open night and day, it is famous as the "little church of the Circle" and is one of downtown Indianapolis' beauty spots.
The Federal Building, which covers one complete city block since the recent addition, is one of the best in the country. It was completed in September 1905. The new addition, which doubled the floor space of the already massive structure, faces the Memorial Plaza from the south.
Indiana Statehouse is one of the city's greatest buildings. It covers nine acres, between Washington and Ohio Streets and Capitol and Senate Avenues. It is of the Corinthian Style of architecture and was erected in 1878. A State Museum is located in the basement. On the third floor are statues representing law, oratory, agriculture, commerce, justice, liberty, history, and are. There are, in addition, many memorials in the forms of paintings and bas-relief statues, in honor of the state's governors and other notables. Facing the east, from the level between the two sets of steps leading into the building, is an imposing memorial statue of the great Civil War Governor, Oliver Perry Morton. Another memorial is of unusual note, a bust statue of Richard Owen in the building. This was dedicated by soldiers of the Confederate Army in appreciation of Captain Owen's kindness while in charge of war prison camp.
Indiana State Library is located opposite the northwest corner of the statehouse grounds. It is the world's largest repository for collection of Indiana books, having more than 33,000 volumes on this one subject.
John Herron Art Institute is located at Sixteenth and Pennsylvania Streets. It has a permanent exhibit of paintings, drawings, etchings, sculpture, and medallion work by such artists as John Singer Sargent, Cecelia Beaux, Frank W. Benson, Emil Carlson, William M. Chase, Mary Cassatt, Frank Curior, Childs Hassam, Charles W. Hawthorne, George Inness, W. L. Metcalf, Abbott Thayer, Wayman Adams, J. Alden Weir, and many others.
Children's Museum is located at 1150 North Meridian Street [in 2004 it is located at 3000 N. Meridian ... perhaps this is a previous location]. It is one of the nation's foremost children's museums, with some 25,000 curios displayed in its thirty rooms.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is located on State Road 34, west on Sixteenth Street, immediately outside the city limits. Here, on the two-and-a-half-mile brick oval, originally built in 1909, is held annually the world's foremost racing event, the 500-mile speed classic. Upwards of 150,000 people from all over the world attend annually.
James Whitcomb Riley's Home is located at 528 Lockerbie Street. It has been preserved as it stood when the famous poet was producing many of his best works.
Booth Tarkington's home is located at 4270 North Meridian Street. This is the Indianapolis residence of the great author of "Penrod," "Seventeen," "The Gentleman from Indiana," as well as innumerable other novels and short stories.
Charles Warren Fairbanks' Home is located at Thirtieth and Meridian Streets. Though now owned by an insurance company, it has been preserved in its original beauty as a memorial to the former Vice-President.
Schuyler Colfax Statue is located in University Park. Colfax was the first Indiana man to become Vice-President.
Benjamin Harrison Monument is located in University Park. This is a memorial to the President of the United States, who, though not a native, spent the greater part of his mature life here. His home on North Delaware Street has been converted into a memorial to him.
Thomas A. Hendricks Statue is located on the grounds of the Statehouse. It was erected by popular subscription and unveiled in 1890 as a tribute to one of the state's most distinguished sons. The monument as a whole is 38.5 feet high, the statue 14.5 feet.
Crown Hill Cemetery is located on West Thirty-fourth Street. This is the fifth largest cemetery in the world, and the burial place of innumerable famous persons, including President Harrison; Vice-Presidents Fairbanks and Marshall; Senators Taggart, Beveridge and Kern, and Governor Morton. At the crown of the highest hill is the grave of James Whitcomb Riley.
United States Veterans' Hospital is located on West Riverside Drive.
Indiana University Medical Center is located on 125 acres owned by the city and state, just east of White River, between Michigan and Tenth Streets. It is one of the great medical centers of this country. Its buildings include James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children; William H. Coleman Hospital; Robert W. Long Hospital, and the Nurses' Home. The Indianapolis City Hospital, with its outpatient departments, dispensaries, and general hospital quarters, is immediately north of these grounds. The Indiana University School of Medicine and School of Dentistry are located in this group.
Riverside Park is located south of Thirty-eighth Street and west of East Riverside Drive. This is the city's largest park, covering 900 acres, and traversed by White River, which separates the wooded section from the amusement part.
Garfield Park is situated at Shelby Street and Garfield Drive. This is the second largest of the city's thirty-two parks, having an area of 128 acres. It is one of the city's beauty spots, its sunken gardens, greenhouses, and fountains attracting many visitors.
Indianapolis is the second largest state capital in America, twenty-first largest city. Its average annual increase in population is from four to six thousand. It is the largest inland railway center in the United States.
The city had 710 manufacturing establishments according to 1935 federal census, exclusive of those corners whose annual production was valued at less than $5,000. The pay rolls for 33,373 wage earners totaled $35,307,418, and the value of products $222,592,177. Among the more important establishments are machine shops, rolling mills, and iron, automobile, and agricultural implement works. Meat packing and agricultural products are of equal importance. Other important products include pharmaceutical products, upholstered furniture, railroad cars, organs, glass, woolens, cotton goods, silk, hose, shock absorbers, gloves, popcorn machines, automobiles, poultry remedies, automobile bodies, transmission chains, hog serum, saws, tools, food products, and radio parts.
Indianapolis has the largest manufacture in the world of insulin, cotton gloves, transmission chains, cleaning chemicals, paper shopping bags, theatre sound equipment, commercial truck bodies, concrete placing machinery, metal post office equipment, made-to-measure suits and overcoats, the innertubes, malleable castings, popcorn machines, peanut roasters, poultry remedies, paper pulleys, bifocal lenses, liver extract, and coupon books. Manufactures of which the city is among world leaders: silk hose, corn products, canned foodstuffs, home appliances, road machinery, aircraft engines, pharmaceutical supplies, tents and awnings, maps and atlases, reduction gearing, automobile batteries, saws, tile, shoe polish, hog serum, coal stokers, and janitor supplies. In all, there are more than a thousand products made.
Indianapolis is one of the largest six-grain markets in the world. More than 30,000,000 bushels are handled annually. The city is the third greatest livestock center in the nation, its stockyards, largest east of Chicago, handling an average of nearly a million a dollars day. Indianapolis packers and butchers purchase more than 40 per cent of all livestock received. Most of the other buyers are from the East.
Indianapolis has over 735 wholesale establishments, normally transacting business in excess of $306,000,000. The city's proximity to the nation's center of population makes it a principal distribution point for the country as well as the region. Its retail activities rank it as one of the nation's leaders. Among the firms contributing to this ranking are: Advance Paint Co., A. F. Deaney Co., Gibson Co., Indiana Equipment Co., Indianapolis Blueprint Co., Indianapolis Paint and Color Co., Marchant Calculating Machine Co., Royal Typewriter Co., Taylor Company Inc., C. H. Wallerich Co., and the Pennsylvania Tire Co. Within a radius of seventy miles it is the major purchasing center. Annual net sales are over $139,000,000. In addition to there are some 500 stores in the suburban cities and throughout the county with net sales of $5,950,000.
The city is advantageously situated as to centrality, being within a few miles of the state and national center of population. It is the greatest motor transportation center; center of the greatest electric railway group; center of a nation-wide web of railway systems. It is center of the mid-western industrial region, which produces about one-third of the nation's products. Intersecting in the city are four national highways. Eight state highways center in Indianapolis. It is near the centers of the corn and wheat belts.
More than forty national organizations have their headquarters in the city, as do some seventy-state organizations. About one-third of the state organizations hold their conventions here. The city entertains on the average of 300 conventions annually, with attendance totaling 110,000 visitors.
Indianapolis is recognized as an aviation center, its Municipal Airport having been selected as a government laboratory for testing of blind flying apparatus and all other devices for safer landing conditions. Besides the fine Municipal Airport, there are four others. The city is located on four of the routes designated by the Department of Commerce as civil airways.
The city is also a military center. Northeast is Fort Benjamin Harrison, third ranking military post in the United States. At Riverside Park, in Indianapolis, is a new Naval Armory, training center for the Indiana Naval Reserve. The Reserve's State Armory houses eighteen units of the Indiana National Guard. The 113th Aero Squadron of the Guard operates its own flying field, Stout Airport, at Mars Hill, Indianapolis.
Indianapolis has an excellent police department, and was the fourth city to adopt the radio system. The State Police also have broadcasting units in the city, key station of the extensive state network. The safety of children at street intersections near public schools is enhanced by the work of 1,100 boys, the Indianapolis School Patrol. There are excellent fire protection facilities, and the insurance rating is better than that of any other city of more than 40,000, with exception of New York.
The fine educational facilities provide excellent training in almost any line. There are eighty-seven public schools, six high schools, and twenty-seven parochial schools and academies. Among the institutions located in Indianapolis are Butler University, Indiana Central College, Indiana Dental College, Indianapolis College of Pharmacy, Indiana Law School, St. Agnes Academy, Boys' Park School, Ladywood School, Tudor Hall, John Herron Art Institute, Indiana School for the Deaf, Board of Industrial Aid for the Blind, State School for the Blind, Bogue School for Stammerers, and other special schools in music, arts, and business training. A valuable asset to the public school system is the Children's Museum.
Among the recreational facilities are 85 tennis courts, 23 baseball diamonds, 29 softball diamonds, 8 football fields, 1 hockey field, 6 golf courses, 1 archery range, 1 open-air theatre, 10 coasting hills, 1 lake about 16 acres, 2 croquet courts, 5 swimming pools, 1 bathing beach, 15 wading pools, 20 bridle paths, 8 community houses, and 90 horseshoe courts. This municipal park system is valued at $10,000,000.
Public support of thirty-seven charitable and philanthropic organizations is concentrated in the Community Fund, whose contributors have increased in number from 12,000 to 68,000.
Indianapolis, long recognized as home of literary men, such as the great Theodore Dreiser, Lew Wallace, etc., commemorates others either native or resident, some still living. Among the better known harbored in the city have been: Booth Tarkington, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize in fiction; James Whitcomb Riley, the "Hoosier Poet"; Ann Nichols; Kin Hubbard; Kate Milner Rabb; Margaret Weymouth Jackson, to name a very few of the impressive list.
A few more bits of specific information about the chief city of the state: Altitude, 739 feet; area, 54.16 square miles; sixteen banks, three of them national; bank resources, $287,653,000, deposits, $260,064,000, clearings, $862,324,000; 481 churches; 39 club, downtown, luncheons, and country; 586,681 volumes in the public library with its 20 branches; 15 golf courses (including municipal); metropolitan district population (1930), 417,685; motion picture houses, 53; two broadcasting stations (excluding police units); 802.77 miles of streets; 6 legitimate and vaudeville theatres; 190.1 miles of street car and bus lines; 121 passenger trains entering and leaving city daily; the Union Station's tracks are elevated. The figures given in this paragraph are of 1936, unless otherwise designated.
Marion County is composed of nine townships covering an area of 397 square miles. The surface is mostly level, with the exception of portions in the north and southwest, where the land is rolling, with some hills. White River, Fall and Eagle Creeks are the principle waterways.
The county was formally organized pursuant to an act of legislature, December 31, 1821, and named in honor of General Francis Marion. Indianapolis has always served as the County Seat. The incorporated cities are Indianapolis, 364,161; Beech Grove, 3,552; incorporated towns: Speedway, 1,420; Woodruff Place, 1,216; Southport, 521; Clermont, 448; Castleton, 222; Edgewood, 142; Crow's Nest, 79; Lawrence, 840; Lynhurst, 51; Ravenswood, 128; Rocky Ripple, 133; Shooter's Hill, 11; Warren Park, 164; Williams Creek, 51; Woodstock, 28; Highwoods, 28; Spring Hill, 22; North Crow's Nest, 8; Meridian Hills, population unknown. Woodruff Place is one of the nation's most unusual incorporations. It is a town within a city, section of three streets, running for five parallel blocks, in the heart of Indianapolis. Marion County population in 1890 was 141,156; 1900, 197,227; 1910, 263,611; 1920, 348,061; 1930, 422,666.
The foremost county of the state had 736 manufacturing establishments according to the 1935 federal census figures. These employed 36,828 wage earners on pay rolls of $39,492,726. The value of the manufactured products was $238,387,664.
The county had 2,964 farms averaging 57.9 acres each. The total value of these was $25,506,232. A total of 48,436 head of livestock was reported.
The total tax valuation for Marion County as of 1936 was $593,401,970.
Courthouse History
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