Those of Irish ancestry have had a strong impact on the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. In total, they are the second largest ethnic group in Indianapolis. [1]
Most of the Irish immigrants to Indianapolis settled originally on east coast cities, but gradually moved westward to find better employment opportunities. With internal improvements seen as one way toward development in 1832, the Indianapolis newspaper Indiana Journal advertised for Irish workers to come work for the Wabash and Erie Canal, enticing them with $10 a month wages and cheap land. The Mammoth Internal Improvement Act defined the expectation of several Irish workers being available to work on such projects as the Indiana Central Canal and the National Road. However, once the Panic of 1837 struck, many Irish became unemployed. [2]
The 1840s saw the Irish begin to form small communities within the city, especially in the same poorer areas that free blacks resided. They created what would become St. John Catholic Church in 1840, after celebrating their first Catholic Mass in 1837 at a tavern on West Washington Street. Greater numbers of Irish came during the decade due to the Great Famine of Ireland, and relief efforts were started by the Indianapolis Irish to support those still in Ireland. [2]
At the start of the War, the Irish in Indianapolis mostly resided at Irish Hill, which gained a reputation as the toughest part of town, and Fountain Square. These areas tended to be next to railroad and streetcar lines, which relied on Irish workers. Other major employers of the Irish were construction and pork-packing. [3]
At the start of the War, the Indianapolis Irish formed the 35th Regiment, also called the 1st Irish Regiment, recruited at the parish school of St. John's. They would later be combined with the 61st Regiment/2nd Irish Regiment. Some of the Irish, particularly those that belonged to the Irish Republican Brotherhood (Fenians) thought the War would be good practice for eventually fighting Great Britain. Two rival chapters of the Fenians in Indianapolis recruited 150 Irish veterans to invade Canada from Buffalo, New York, in hopes of severing Canada from Great Britain in May 1866. All Fenians who attempted this, including the 150 from Indianapolis, were arrested under orders of President Andrew Johnson on June 6, 1866. [4]
By 1870, Indianapolis was the home of over 3,300 foreign-born Irish, with the total being 3,760 for all of Marion County. This saw the Irish attain greater political power in Indianapolis local affairs. Although the first two Irish mayors of Indianapolis, John Caven and Daniel MaCauley, were of the Republican Party, as a whole the Irish of Indianapolis sides with the Democrats, especially since the Republicans were the party of blacks, and Irish were opposed to them. This led to a racial riot on May 3, 1876, when in response to Irish Democrats intimidating black voters in Ward 6, a base of Irish Democrats in Indianapolis, 100 blacks from Ward 4 went to Ward 6, seizing hockey sticks to attack the Irish intimidators. The crowd was eventually dispersed by the city police and Mayor Caven, but not after gunfire was begun. Several blacks were injured, with one dying due to the riot. It was the worst in the city's history. [4]
In 1910 the Irish population in Indianapolis was 12,225, of which 3,255 were born in Ireland, composing 5% of the total population of Indianapolis, and 15% of its immigrant population. During World War I the Irish would side with the city's German population in denouncing the Allies, due to their hatred of Great Britain. [5]
An annual event called the Indy Irish Fest occurs every September. On St. Patrick's Day, not only is there a parade, but the Indiana Central Canal is dyed green to celebrate the holiday. [6]
There are also the Irish Dancers of Indianapolis, that celebrate the dancing of Ireland. [7]
Indianapolis, colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the 2020 United States census, the balance population was 887,642. It is the 16th-most populous city in the U.S., the third-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago and Columbus, Ohio, and the fourth-most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona, Austin, Texas, and Columbus. The Indianapolis metropolitan area is the 33rd-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S., with 2,111,040 residents. Its combined statistical area ranks 28th, with a population of 2,431,361. Indianapolis covers 368 square miles (950 km2), making it the 18th largest city by land area in the U.S.
Marion County is located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 977,203, making it the largest county in the state and 51st most populated county in the country. Indianapolis is the county seat, the state capital, and largest city. Marion County is consolidated with Indianapolis through an arrangement known as Unigov.
Thomas Taggart was an Irish-American politician who was the political boss of the Democratic Party in Indiana for the first quarter of the twentieth century and remained an influential political figure in local, state, and national politics until his death. Taggart was elected auditor of Marion County, Indiana (1886–1894), and mayor of Indianapolis. His mayoral administration supported public improvements, most notably the formation of the city's park and boulevard system. He also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee (1900–1916) and as its chairman (1904–1908). Taggart was appointed to the U.S. Senate in March 1916, but lost the seat in the November election.
Indianapolis has seven designated neighborhoods as Cultural Districts, first established in 1999: Broad Ripple Village; Mass Ave; Fountain Square; Wholesale District; Canal and White River State Park; Indiana Avenue; and Market East. The purpose of these designations was to capitalize on cultural institutions within historically significant neighborhoods unique to the city's heritage for economic development and revitalization.
Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65, Interstate 70, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of Marion County. Downtown has grown from the original 1821 town plat—often referred to as the Mile Square—to encompass a broader geographic area of central Indianapolis, containing several smaller historic neighborhoods.
The history of Indianapolis spans three centuries. Founded in 1820, the area where the city now stands was originally home to the Lenape. In 1821, a small settlement on the west fork of the White River at the mouth of Fall Creek became the county seat of Marion County, and the state capital of Indiana, effective January 1, 1825. Initially the availability of federal lands for purchase in central Indiana made it attractive to the new settlement; the first European Americans to permanently settle in the area arrived around 1819 or early 1820. In its early years, most of the new arrivals to Indianapolis were Europeans and Americans with European ancestry, but later the city attracted other ethnic groups. The city's growth was encouraged by its geographic location, 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the state's geographic center. In addition to its designation as a seat of government, Indianapolis's flat, fertile soil, and central location within Indiana and the Midwest, helped it become an early agricultural center. Its proximity to the White River, which provided power for the town's early mills in the 1820s and 1830s, and the arrival of the railroads, beginning in 1847, established Indianapolis as a manufacturing hub and a transportation center for freight and passenger service. An expanding network of roads, beginning with the early National Road and the Michigan Road, among other routes, connected Indianapolis to other major cities.
The Indiana Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Indiana. The chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee is Anne Hathaway.
Indiana, a state in the Midwest, played an important role in supporting the Union during the American Civil War. Despite anti-war activity within the state, and southern Indiana's ancestral ties to the South, Indiana was a strong supporter of the Union. Indiana contributed approximately 210,000 Union soldiers, sailors, and marines. Indiana's soldiers served in 308 military engagements during the war; the majority of them in the western theater, between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. Indiana's war-related deaths reached 25,028. Its state government provided funds to purchase equipment, food, and supplies for troops in the field. Indiana, an agriculturally rich state containing the fifth-highest population in the Union, was critical to the North's success due to its geographical location, large population, and agricultural production. Indiana residents, also known as Hoosiers, supplied the Union with manpower for the war effort, a railroad network and access to the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, and agricultural products such as grain and livestock. The state experienced two minor raids by Confederate forces, and one major raid in 1863, which caused a brief panic in southern portions of the state and its capital city, Indianapolis.
Camp Morton was a military training ground and a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton. Prior to the war, the site served as the fairgrounds for the Indiana State Fair. During the war, Camp Morton was initially used as a military training ground. The first Union troops arrived at the camp in April 1861. After the fall of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Shiloh, the site was converted into a prisoner-of-war camp. The first Confederate prisoners arrived at Camp Morton on February 22, 1862; its last prisoners were paroled on June 12, 1865. At the conclusion of the war, the property resumed its role as the fairgrounds for the Indiana State Fair. In 1891 the property was sold and developed into a residential neighborhood known as Morton Place, a part of the Herron-Morton Place Historic District.
The "Battle" of Pogue's Run took place in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 20, 1863, during the American Civil War. It was believed that many of the delegates to the Indiana Democrats state convention were carrying firearms in the hope of inciting a rebellion. Union soldiers entered the hall in which the convention took place and found personal weapons on many of the delegates. Afterwards, Union soldiers stopped trains carrying delegates to their home areas, causing many of the delegates to throw weapons into Pogue's Run, thereby giving the event its name.
During the American Civil War, Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, was a major base of supplies for the Union. Governor Oliver P. Morton, a major supporter of President Abraham Lincoln, quickly made Indianapolis a gathering place to organize and train troops for the Union army. The city became a major railroad hub for troop transport to Confederate lands, and therefore had military importance. Twenty-four military camps were established in the vicinity of Indianapolis. Camp Morton, the initial mustering ground to organize and train the state's Union volunteers in 1861, was designated as a major prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederate soldiers in 1862. In addition to military camps, a state-owned arsenal was established in the city in 1861, and a federal arsenal in 1862. A Soldiers' Home and a Ladies' Home were established in Indianapolis to house and feed Union soldiers and their families as they passed through the city. Indianapolis residents also supported the Union cause by providing soldiers with food, clothing, equipment, and supplies, despite rising prices and wartime hardships, such as food and clothing shortages. Local doctors aided the sick, some area women provided nursing care, and Indianapolis City Hospital tended to wounded soldiers. Indianapolis sent an estimated 4,000 men into military service; an estimated 700 died during the war. Indianapolis's Crown Hill National Cemetery was established as one of two national military cemeteries established in Indiana in 1866.
Military Park is the oldest urban park in Indianapolis, Indiana, covering 14 acres (6 ha). It is located in western downtown Indianapolis. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 28, 1969.
John Caven was an Indiana politician and Freemason who served as the 9th and 12th mayor of Indianapolis. He was also a member of the Indiana Senate.
Harrison Horton Dodd was a founder of the 1860s-era OSL, a paramilitary secret society which was a continuation and/or extension of the KGC. The basic goal of members of the OSL was to thwart the war efforts of the Union military forces, while remaining citizens of the United States.
The Bethel A.M.E. Church, known in its early years as Indianapolis Station or the Vermont Street Church, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Organized in 1836, it is the city's oldest African-American congregation. The three-story church on West Vermont Street dates to 1869 and was added to the National Register in 1991. The surrounding neighborhood, once the heart of downtown Indianapolis's African American community, significantly changed with post-World War II urban development that included new hotels, apartments, office space, museums, and the Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis campus. In 2016 the congregation sold their deteriorating church, which will be used in a future commercial development. The congregation built a new worship center at 6417 Zionsville Road in Pike Township, Marion County, Indiana.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
James Sidney Hinton was a Civil War veteran and Republican politician, the first African American to hold state office in Indiana and the first African American to serve in the Indiana state legislature.
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1967 took place on November 7, 1967. Richard Lugar defeated incumbent Democratic mayor John J. Barton, becoming the first Republican to be elected mayor of Indianapolis in nearly two-decades. Democrats had long dominated mayoral elections before 1967, having won ten of the thirteen mayoral elections since 1930. No Democrat would subsequently recapture the mayoralty until 1999, largely due to the city-county merger that created the Unigov in 1970 adding the votes of suburban Marion County, which shifted the composition the electorate towards the Republicans.
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1991 took place on November 5, 1991 and saw the election of Republican Stephen Goldsmith.
The Indianapolis mayoral election of 1925 took place on November 3, 1925 and saw the election of Republican former Marion County treasurer John L. Duvall, who defeated Democratic former Indianapolis city attorney Walter Meyers.