Indianapolis Women's History Tour

Entries on This Tour

1. Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

Adjacent to and managed by the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA), the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is a 100-acre tract of outdoor, "hands-on" art within a setting of woodlands, wetlands, and meadow landscapes with a lake, river, and canal. The land was donated to the museum in 1972 and the sculpture park and nature trail designed in 1996 in partnership with Indy Parks Greenways and the Indianapolis Water Company. The park's LEED-certified Ruth Lilly Visitor's Pavilion is a flagship project for the No Adverse Impact philosophy of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, and won architect Marlon Blackwell the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2012 Honor Award. Free public and audio tours of the park are offered by the IMA [1].

2. Crown Hill Cemetery

Crown Hill Cemetery, located approximately 2.8 miles from the center of downtown Indianapolis, is the resting place of some of the city's most prominent women and men. The cemetery was incorporated on September 25, 1863 as a non-sectarian, non-denominational, and non-profit facility, initially presenting an impressive view overlooking the city of Indianapolis. Crown Hill is the third largest cemetery in the United States not administered by the federal government. The grounds span approximately 555 acres and contain 25 miles of paved roadway and over 150 different types of trees and plants. More than 200,000 bodies are interred at the grounds, with approximately 1,500 new burials occurring at the site per annum. More than 25,000 people come to Crown Hill annually, often visiting on Memorial Day or Veterans Day. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

3. Julia Carson Home

United States Representative Julia Carson (July 8, 1938 – December 15, 2007) lived in this house for more than thirty years, from before she rose to political prominence until her death at age sixty-nine. A Democrat known for her progressive ideals, extended political service, and down-to-earth demeanor, Carson was the first women and the first African American to represent Indianapolis.

4. Lillian Thomas Fox and the Indiana State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs

Indiana State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, also known as the Minor House, is a historic National Association of Colored Women's Clubs clubhouse. The Club was founded by Lillian Thomas Fox (1866-1917), a leading member of the Indianapolis African American community and the first Black woman to work for a white Indiana newspaper. Fox and Beulah Wright Porter, the first Black woman physician to institute a practice in Indianapolis, founded the Indianapolis Colored Women’s Improvement Club in 1903 and the Indiana State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs in 1904. Fox used her role as a prominent, middle-class African American woman to enact social reforms in the Progressive Era.

5. Mary Hanson Carey Memorial Chapel

Since opening in 1908, Methodist Hospital has had a chapel space in the hospital. Because of space limitations, the first chapel was also used by the interns and bookkeepers. In 1933, Mary Hanson Carey donated the money for a dedicated chapel space in the hospital. With the expansion of the chapel the chaplaincy program also expanded, by the late 1960s, the chaplaincy department was one of the most active programs in the hospital. In 2021, the Daniel F. Evans Center for Spiritual and Religious Values rededicated and refurbished the walking labyrinth on campus as a part of an effort to maintain opportunities for spiritual reflection at Methodist Hospital.

6. The Propylaeum

Located in the Old Northside District, the building known as the Indianapolis Propylaeum was originally a private residence built by John Schmidt, a beer baron. In 1923, the structure was sold to the Indianapolis Propylaeum, an organization founded in 1888. The Propylaeum was a cultural and literary organization open exclusively to women.

7. Zerelda G. Wallace Historical Marker

This historic marker is located just north of the Central Christian Church and pays tribute to Zerelda G. Wallace, the first president of the Indiana Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Wallace presented a petition calling for a ban on alcohol signed by over 21,000 residents to the Indiana General Assembly in 1875. She would later become a leading voice on behalf of voting rights for women through her membership within the Equal Suffrage Society of Indianapolis. She also served as First Lady of Indiana when her husband became the governor in 1837.

8. May Wright Sewall Historical Marker

This historical marker commemorates one of Indiana's leading educators and women's rights advocates of the 19th and early 20th centuries, May Wright Sewall (1844-1920). Her achievements include helping establish over 50 women's rights and education organizations, such as the International Council of Women, the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society, and the Indianapolis Women's Club. She co-organized the 40th anniversary convention of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the country's first women's rights convention. She was also a delegate to the Universal Congress of Women in Paris, France, became president of the National Federation of Women's Clubs in 1889, and helped establish the National Council of Women of the United States. In her final years she became an advocate of world peace. She died just one month before the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women's right to vote, was ratified in 1920.

9. Madame Walker Theatre Center

Named after the first female millionaire Madam C.J. Walker, the building was an important center of activity for the African American community for decades until the neighborhood began to decline in the 1950s. Mrs. Walker, originally named Sarah Breedlove; made a name for herself as a millionaire from selling hair-growth products and for her avid support for civil rights. She made her mark on the movement towards equality in the early years of the 1900s when she began a lawsuit to protest discrimination in a theater. In addition to the lawsuit she also urged the decry of lynchings in the south as well as join a delegation that went to Washington to protest the War Department's segregationist policies to President Woodrow Wilson.

10. McArthur Conservatory, 1946-1963

From 1946 until 1963, Ruth McArthur operated the McArthur Conservatory at this location. The school occupied a three-story brick building with twenty rooms across from the Lockefield Gardens Housing Complex on Indiana Avenue. The school provided classes to both children and adults and was the first school in Indiana to offer a formal jazz program. In 1963, the school closed and the property was purchased by Indiana University.

11. "Milestones in Nursing" Historic Marker

Sitting in front of the old Wishard Hospital (now the Nursing Museum) is this marker that recounts the milestones of Indianapolis's history of nursing. The dates range from 1859-1913. As the old Wishard Hospital grew older and hard to maintain, a new hospital was constructed just 1,300 feet away, so that further milestones in nursing and Indianapolis can continue to be made.

12. Dr. Amelia Keller Historical Marker

This historical marker honors Dr. Amelia Keller (1871-1943), who, in 1908, became the first woman to join the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine. A specialist in gynecology and pediatrics, Keller also operated a private medical practice in Indianapolis for more than 40 years. In addition to her medical work, she was also an ardent suffragist and women's rights advocate. Her leadership roles included serving as the first president of the Women's Franchise League of Indiana, the first vice president of the Indiana Federation of Clubs, as as the first president of the Woman's Rotary Club of Indianapolis, and as president of the Indianapolis Equal Suffrage Society.

13. Indiana Women's Suffrage Historical Marker (Ratification on January 16, 1920)

This historical marker was dedicated in 2022 and recognizes Indiana’s women’s suffrage movement, which began shortly after the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. Although several measures to recognize women's right to vote were passed in 1917, the state Supreme Court intervened, and the women of the Hoosier State could not legally vote until Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment on January 16, 1920.

14. Grace Julian Clarke House

Suffragist, author, and journalist Grace Julian Clarke (1865-1938), lived in this house from 1873, when it was built, until her death in 1938. Clarke was one of Indiana's leading activists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was a member of many organizations including several women's clubs, was a staunch supporter of women gaining the right to vote, and co-founded the Woman's Franchise League. Clarke was a noted writer as well. She wrote a weekly column in Indianapolis Star, edited the paper's woman's page, and wrote two books about her father, George W. Julian (1817-1899), who was a lawyer, politician, and ardent supporter of women's suffrage and abolitionism. In 1868, he was the first to propose a women's suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

15. Sarah T. Bolton Historical Marker

This marker sits on the location where famed Indiana poet, singer, and activist, Sarah T. Bolton (1814-1893), lived from 1871-1893. Though born in Newport, Kentucky, she spent the most of her years in Indianapolis. She is well known in Indiana not just for her poetry and singing, but for her activism for women's rights. This area is called Beech Bank due to the prominence of Beech trees, of which the Boltons named their farmstead, "Beech Bank." The marker sits to the west of Bolton Park

16. Mary Bryan Historical Marker

This historic marker honors Mary Hunt Bryan, who is buried near this marker. Mary Hunt Bryan was one of the first women of European descent to journey west through the Cumberland Mountains. Although the marker states that she crossed the Cumberlands in 1776, that is unlikely as her husband Samuel Bryan was a soldier in the Continental Army at that time. According to his pension records, the Bryan family crossed the Cumberland Mountains in 1779. The family later moved to this section of Indiana sometime between 1830 and 1832.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Indianapolis Women's History Tour

Created by Lauren Angel on February 10th 2017, 9:53:47 am.

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Description

This expansive trail throughout the heart of Indianapolis includes eighteen landmarks related to women's history, including several historic homes, buildings, and markers. Together, the eighteen entries on the tour tell the story of some of the outstanding women of Indianapolis. Although many entries in the downtown area are close enough for walking, many others are spread throughout the city.

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Women's History

Entries on This Tour

Indianapolis Women's History Tour

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