Pike’s Black Heritage and Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church

Pike’s African-American residents can trace their families’ roots in the township for a century or more. One such symbol of the one hundred plus year history of African-Americans living in and near Traders Point is Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church.

Located at approximately 6000 N. Reed Road in Eagle Creek Park is this plaque on a rock located at the north end of a picnic area. “This plaque is a special tribute to the past generations who build and utilized this church from 1893 to 1972. Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church was founded in Pike Township in 1893 and was built on this site in 1930. As Eagle Creek Park developed, the congregation relocated to the present site at 5111 West 62nd Street. To the present and future generations this is a monument of their faith in God and hope for the betterment of mankind. Erected 1994. “
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About Ross Reller

I am pleased you have expressed interest in learning more about the historic Traders Point area in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1980 to 1982 I was employed in the PR department at Conner Prairie Museum in Hamilton County. There I learned about William Conner, an important figure in Indiana's pioneer days. A decade later I became interested in the history of the Traders Point area and was surprised to learn that William Conner had been the first land owner in the area. In 1823 he acquired, through the Federal land office in Brookville, a patent for an 80 acre tract carved by Eagle Creek and an Indian trail that was about to be named the first toll roadway through the township (Lafayette Road). Thirty years later a village took shape within this tract. A grain mill on the creek, houses, churches, stores, restaurants, and two gas stations would take shape here in the creek valley hamlet of Traders Point. By 1962 all improvements (except a farmer's co-op) had been removed by the Indianapolis Flood Control Board to make way for Interstate 65 and a new reservoir. This blog is dedicated to preserving evidence of this historic area but I will occasionally use it to discuss related topics. To activate this follow, simply click the confirm button below. If you don't want to follow, ignore this message and we'll never bother you again. I am also a member of the Old Pleasant Hill Cemetery, a non profit association still selling burial plots for those who would like to spend all eternity in Traders Point, and I am an officer in the Pike Township Historical Society and the Traders Point Association of Neighborhoods.
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