INDIANAPOLIS STAR ARTICLE JULY 28

NATIONAL RURAL HISTORIC DISTRICT
Protecting history
Residents want to see area preserved

INDIANAPOLIS STAR JULY 28, 2006

By Leslie Collins
Star correspondent

The tunnels of trees along country roads south of Zionsville are like time machines
And perfect for designation as a National Historic area, local residents say.
Farmsteads along Moore Road and 96th Street -- owned by the same families for generations -- still have their original crop and pasture lines.
The old haunts of the Traders Point Hunt Club remain intact, and on a crisp autumn day you might still see a two-column parade of scarlet-coated riders on their meticulously manicured mounts -- in what amount to present-day hunts without the prey.
An old church stands on its original 1834 plot along Kissell Road, where members still congregate on a Sunday.
These are but a few reasons a group of residents is paving the way for pockets of Pike Township (Marion County) and Eagle Township (Boone County) to be designated a National Rural Historic District.
The area is nestled within a triangle of interstates -- I-465, I-65 and I-865 on the Northwestside of Indianapolis.
The historic designation puts no actual legal restrictions on property owners or developers, but can provide a layer of protection against federal projects such as road expansions and cell phone towers, said Cindy Lamberjack, who lives along Moore Road and has worked on the project.
The theory is that country roads preserve country settings.
"Any project dealing with federal aid is subject to several reviews, including historic preservation. It's one step beyond where we are now," she said.
That first step was a meeting Wednesday in Indianapolis, where a state review board approved an extensive study of the 60-square-mile area. The Multiple Properties Listing Document will be forwarded to the National Park Service.
The document is not a National Register nomination, said Frank Hurdis, chief of registration and surveys for the Indiana Department of Natural Resource's Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology.
"Once the study is approved, anyone who wants to nominate properties within the area will have an easier time. They won't have to reinvent the wheel."
Properties being eyed by Lamberjack and her neighbors include Moore Road between 86th and 96th streets, areas of Kissell and Hunt Club roads and the Ford Road-and-96th Street area.
"What we're doing here is layering levels of protection," Lamberjack said.
Her neighbors concur. Steven L. Jones was one of about 50 people who attended a meeting earlier this month, where they heard from Hurdis and Eliza Steelwater, a consultant hired to write the study.
Jones lives in a subdivision on west 86th Street, near the affected area. He's been rallying neighbors since the Boone County Commissioners proposed widening a bridge at Ford Road and 96th Street, two years ago. The commissioners backed off the plan.
"We want growth that is constructive and conducive to the property values," Jones said. "We want to preserve Traders Point more in the spirit Zionsville has been preserved, as opposed to letting it go the way of the rest of Pike Township."
Steelwater has documented the historical integrity of land along Moore Road, such as that purchased during the Great Depression by William Fortune. It remains within the same family today and is the site of the Traders Point Creamery.
"They have made building changes, but the acreage maintains historic boundaries as far back as the 1930s," Steelwater said. "Crops may change, but the same roads, field edges and similar landscape is still there."
Fritz Kunz owns the creamery and has been in on the process from the start.
"It's very exciting to think we might be able to influence the development of the area, so we won't just throw the look of our area completely down the drain," he said.
The original Traders Point Hunt Club started in the Moore Road stable of one of Kunz's forebears, Bowman Elder.
Histories such as this have ensured the first step in the neighbors' plan for historic preservation.
Read the 82-page application and a history of the area at:
www.in.gov/dnr/historic/bin/rb_apps/2006/eagletown ship_mpd.doc

William Conner and his "chain" of Trading Posts?

I have more about William Conner and his significant patent at Traders Point, Marion County (from digging through data at the Bureau of Land Management Land Patent search site and googling some Indiana county websites).

The Traders Point area purchase by Conner is truly fascinating. Conner displays a pattern of behavior that I saw until very recently in site selection; a businessman/family acquires multiple sites for their businesses in a hub and spoke fashion in areas that are in the path of progress and that are proximate to a central location. My hunch is that Conner was establishing a "chain" of trading posts, much like the modern day chain of hamburger restaurants, with Hamilton County as the hub.

This pattern of site selection is fascinating and makes the Marion County selection even more interesting as it was foundational in his later investment activity.

Conner's Marion County patent (Traders Point) issued June 26, 1823, was Conner's second land patent but his first land investment without a partner. He and Samuel Dickson received the first patent issued April 3, 1823 for 160 acres in the se 1/4 of sec 31, twp 19, Hamilton Cty (Conner House) for their service with the Canadian Volunteers. Wm. Conner would eventually purchase through patent 37 parcels in Hamilton County. Yet this 80 acre Traders Point site was the only parcel he ever acquired in Marion County. Later William Conner would acquire sites in :

1. Vigo County (1831)The county's name honored Colonel Francis Vigo (pronounced Vee-go) (1747-1836). Vigo, born in Sardinia, off Italy, became a prosperous merchant-trader in St. Louis. During the Revolutionary War he supplied George Rogers Clark with information, money, and materials for use in ending British influence in the Northwest Territory. Moving to Vincennes after the war, Vigo, now a naturalized citizen, rendered conspicuous military and civil service. The United States delayed repaying Vigo's crucial wartime loans, and he died practically impoverished. Consequently, Vigo's wish to donate a courthouse bell went unfulfilled until the government compensated his heirs and they subsidized a bell for the 1888 courthouse. The Terre Haute plat bordered the river for eight blocks and extended five blocks east. The town spread out from its public square at the center of the plat. In 1832 the approximately 1,000 residents voted to incorporate as a town. Officials began making headway in removing trees and underbrush from around the courthouse, grading streets, inspecting packing house, and building cisterns and a new jail. By the mid-1840s more than 100 businesses plus churches and schools encircled the public square.
2. Shelby County (1833 and 1837), Shelby County was formerly a part of Delaware County and was occupied by the Miami Indianas, though was vacated by them before the organization of the county. Shelbyville is the County Seat. By 1849 it contained 182 dwelling houses (16 were brick, 46 were 2-story and 2 even had 3-stories), 11 stores and groceries, 22 mechanics shops, two churches and two mills and a population of about 900.
3. Rush County (1834)Rushville is the County Seat. Settled in 1821 by Drs. H. G. Sexton and W. Laughlin, Joseph Nicholas, Stephen Sims and others, by 1849 it contained twenty-one stores, twenty-two mechanics shops, thirty carpenters and masons, eighteen professional gentlemen, one merchant mill, two sawmills, large and convenient churches and 222 dwelling houses with about 1,000 inhabitants.
4. Madison County (1835)Madison County was formally organized July 1, 1823. Pendleton was the first County Seat. Selected 1823, it was too far from the center of the county to be satisfactory. According to the act of January 13, 1826, the County Seat was relocated to a town called Bedford. Andersontown was the third County Seat. The rapid growth of Andersontown, a town much nearer the center of the county, caused the citizens of the county to apply to the Legislature for an act to relocate the County Seat and the change was then made as the result of the act of January 4, 1827 and the actual site appears to have been chosen in 1828. By the legislative act of December 6, 1848, Andersontown became simply Anderson. Anderson was an old Indian town named after Anderson, a Delaware chief, who formerly resided there. In 1813 it was burnt by a detachment of troops from Kentucky, then on an exploring tour. In 1849 Anderson had a Courthouse, Jail, fireproof public offices, a County Seminary and a population of about 300.
5. La Porte County (1837)This railroading town originated in 1831 when six men purchased the land at auction. In the following year, the layout for the town was designed.
6. Tipton County ? (1849)Tipton County was formed by a decree of an Indiana State Law, in 1844, from the northern portion of Hamilton County, and the southern portion of the Great Miami Indian Reserve. At that time, when Tipton became the 89th county in the state of Indiana, there were nineteen states in the Union. The northern 2/3 of the county, taken from the "Old Reserve" had no permanent Indian villages but it was the hunting grounds of the Miami, Delaware, and Pottowatomie tribes. The southern 1/3 of the new county contained only ettlements due to the harshness of the land, and for some time it was not considered a good place for new settlements. In 1846 the Indians were moved, under duress by the Army, west to Kansas; but nearly half of them, those with some white blood, or who owned land, or had influence with authorities were allowed to stay. When the Indian lands were offered for sale in 1847 the "wild land where fallen trees and beaver dams held the water in overflows and swamps" was still the hunting grounds of those Indians that had not been moved.

National Register UPDATE

Dear Traders Point Neighbors:

For those of you who attended the community meeting last Wednesday about our National Register application, you got a small glimpse of the extent of work that goes into preparing such an application and the steps of the process to be listed in the National Register.

The review board (Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology) meeting where our application will be considered is Wednesday, July 26, 2006, at 1:30 PM, in the Indiana Government Center South Building, Conference Room A. The meeting agenda is on the DNR web site. Our application is available on the web site at
http://www.in.gov/dnr/historic/rb_agenda.html

The full application can be viewed at the above web site and is listed under the title of "Eagle Township MPD". The application is 28 megabites and took my computer a bit of time to open. It is 82 pages and contains pictures and maps, some with color.

If you signed the sheet at last Wednesday's meeting requesting to receive a copy of the application, please download it from the DNR web site provided above. If that is not possible for you, then contact Cindy Lamberjack or me. Due to the length and complexity of the document, printing it for all the people who requested to receive a hard copy will be too expensive.

And, by the way, don't just download it, read it or at least scan around in it. There is a wealth of information contained in the application, and I think there is a satisfying sense of continuity to feel so connected to those who walked and worked our lands before us.

Sincerely,
MAS

National Register Application Meeting

A small group gathered July 19 at the Creamery to learn more about efforts to create historic place status for Traders Point. Frank Hurdis, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology is the reviewer of the application. He explained that the identification of properties in the neighborhood eligible for being listed on the National Register issues a measure of protection for those structures but does not limit the owner's ability to modify or convey the strucutures.

The primary benefit of National Register status is to call attention to an area's historical significance prior to the approval of any expense involving federal monies or approvals in the area, such as cell towers (FCC) or highway spending.

The "Multiple Property Listing Document" has been completed in draft form by Researcher Eliza Steelwater. Hurdis described her draft document as one of the most comprehensive and carefully researched of any he has reviewed. He was most certain that the draft would be accepted and sent to Washington for approval by the National Register as a framework, not as a specific listing in the National Register. Steelwater's research focused on historical properties within Eagle Twp. of Boone County and Pike Twp. of Marion County. Totaling 60 square miles, she chose a large study area using uncontestable established boundaries. She identified three distinct periods in history with examples of each located throughout the study area.

1. First Settlement Period (1820-1852). The Pitzer House in Boone County and the Old Pleasant Hill Cemetery on Moore Road (which she described as outstanding) are two examples from this period.
2. Agricultural Period, (post 1852 to pre-depression). During this time Eagle Village moved en masse to Zionsville due to advent of the railroad. Homes with Queen Anne and gingerbread style ornamentation are found throughout the study area. Many farm houses that have lost their farm properties and some surviving barns and silos typify this era. The 1910 Traders Point Farm Barn (8100 Moore Road) is a great example from this era. She said a farm depression preceded the great depression by five years and transferred ownership of many farm properties and non-farm industrialists and businesspeople from Indianapolis became interested at this time in living here and buying farms here. The decision by William Fortune and Bowman Elder to move to the area in the 1920s represent this theme. Dr. Asher's civil war era farmhouse and barn on Moore Road also typify this period.
3. Gentlemen Farms and Leisure Estates, (1920s - 1930s) typified by Normandy Farm estate of Herman Krannert on West 79th Street where the gatehouse is virtually unchanged in 75 years, and several other properties in the area, especially along Salem Church Road.

Mark Dollase, Historic Landmark Foundation of Indiana spoke of the protections that are available once a property has been placed on the register and the ease of registering individuals properties once the multiple property listing for the area has been adopted. He encouraged private property owners to create and donate conservation and preservation easements to not for profits such as Nature Conservancy and Historic Landmarks to receive favorable tax benefits. He also discussed urban historic neighborhoods in the area such as Lockerbie and Irvington. He said Traders Point will be the only rural historic district in Marion County. Following questions and answers, host Fritz Kunz served ice cream to those in attendance.

TPAN Mtg. August 16 @ 7 p.m.

Dear Traders Point neighbor:



The Traders Point Association of Neighborhoods (TPAN) will hold a community meeting on Wednesday, August 16th at 7 pm. The location will either be the Traders Point Creamery or the West 86th clubhouse. I will let you know just as soon as the location is finalized.



You may recall from our January meeting that the represented HOAs and neighbors agreed to organize the group as TPAN and to meet quarterly. This will be our summer meeting and the third of this year.



As in the past, we’d like to have at least one representative from every neighborhood from I-465 west to roughly Lafayette Road, between 71st and 96th Streets. If you cannot attend, please make sure that at least one representative from your neighborhood attends.



Everyone on this e-mail list is invited, and you should feel free to invite any neighbors who are interested in participating.



Agenda Overview:



1) Review the status of the issues of concern in the Traders Point area.



2) Share any new concerns regarding the future development of the Traders Point area.



3) Discuss possible solutions and actions the group may undertake to address these concerns.



4) Approve a formal structure for TPAN.

WFYI Video RE: Daniel Boone and Eagle Creek Park

Click links tab (right column) for DANIEL BOONE TREE VIDEO
A beech tree growing in Eagle Creek, Indiana is thought to bear the carved signature of the famous pioneer Daniel Boone.(This story was produced and originally broadcast by WFYI Channel 20 (Indianapolis). Although I vividly remember seeing this tree as it is featured in the story, by 2006 the dead and hollow tree was no longer standing.
Carving Out a Place in History
"I think Daniel Boone, being one of the country's original folk heroes, has drawn a lot of people to this area to look at the tree and to be someplace that Daniel Boone might have been." Eagle Creek Naturalist Fritz Nerding has told the story hundreds of times. It's probably the oldest folk tale in the region, a story told since the time Indiana first became a state. Supposedly, back in the 1790's, the great frontiersman Daniel Boone carved his name into this tree to help mark the uncharted territory now known as Eagle Creek. Daniel Boone was sort of a legend in his time and it carries on into today. People have always been fascinated with the explorers and I think that's what led to his being famous.

Of course as a tree grows it grows out like when you used silly putty and put it on a comic strip and pulled it to make funny faces. That's what would happen to the outside of the bark of a tree. It would distort over time as that tree grew and stretched so you can use your imagination now to form ideas of what it would actually have said or did say. The distortion of the 200 year old image lends itself to much speculation about both the message and the messenger.

Fritz has heard them all. One could be that it was just his named, carved with a circle around it. The other one was that it could have been a crude map that he had drawn of the area with Eagle Creek and showing some of the hills around the area. And then the third was that it was possibly like a bear paw print. Of course back then we did have bear in Indiana. The local legend raises many questions among historians. Here is what we do know: Boone helped blaze new trails throughout the Northwest Territory during the Revolutionary War period. His brother Squire Boone settled in southern Indiana during the 1780's and Boone was said to have visited his brother on occasion. The Eagle Creek waterway would certainly have been navigable by canoe during that time.

So it is conceivable that Boone came through this area. Yet some questions remain. Why would a man known for his fierce fighting against Native American tribes wander deep into this territory when the only inhabitants were Miami and Shawnee Indians? And why would Boone choose this tree to carve his famous moniker? At the time this Beech would have been considerably smaller, certainly there would have been larger trees upon which to mark the territory.

The whole story might have just been ignored had it not been for this: an original settler in the area, David McCurdy, scrawled a hand-written note in 1820, claiming that he could confirm that the markings on the tree were indeed carved by Boone. The affidavit noted that Boone was a "land-cruiser" to chart new territories for the U.S. Government. Later a Notary Public put his seal of authenticity on McCurdy's document.

People do come and look at the tree, not only as the Daniel Boone tree, but being a tree they can tie to history. But you can look at all the other trees, they are 200 to 300 years old and that ties back to when our country was founded. Think about the history in that respect and think about what it would have been like and if the tree could tell us a story about what it would have been like then and through that time. I think that draws people to the tree and the Boone legend.

The Boone Tree Legend has had far-reaching influence on this area. According to some accounts, the reason this vast wildlife area was protected from development in the early 20th century was due in part to Boone and the tree legend. Today Eagle Creek Park has been preserved in ways that echo back to the time of Boone.

Whether the frontiersman ever actually carved his name or not on this tree, Boone would have approved of the results associated with the local legen, if that tree helped save this forest because there was some history tied to it. Then I feel that was a good thing to have the history tied to the tree. Anyway, that you can people to appreciate trees and their benefits to the environment, that's a good thing." Transcript of the WFYI produced story as told by Fritz Nerding.

Video Link:
Boone Video

National Register UPDATE 07.19 @ Creamery!

Dear Traders Point Neighbors:

Good news! The process is moving along on applying for a National Register nomination for our area as an historic district. There will be an informational meeting on Wednesday, July 19th at 7:00 PM at the Creamery to explain to our area residents what a National Register nomination means for our area and the boundaries it will follow.

The review board meets on July 26th to review our application so we're anxious to move forward to inform our neighbors what it all means! We'll have the following three speakers at the Creamery informational meeting:

Frank Hurdis, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archeology

Mark Dollase, Historic Landmark Foundation of IN

Eliza Steelwater, Historic Consultant

It's been an immense amount of time and work by those closely involved in pursuing this very distinctive designation. The final result will be well worth the considerable effort. Let's all be proud of our unique Traders Point area and come together on July 19th to learn more about our historic area.

See you at the Creamery,
MAS