New Bethel
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wanamaker is a community of
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
located in southeastern Marion County,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. It is situated southeast of downtown Indianapolis in north central Franklin Township. The community is concentrated near the intersection of Southeastern Avenue and Northeastern Avenue. The town was built along the historic
Michigan Road The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkh ...
.


History


The Adams Family

In 1825, Reuben Adams came from
New Liberty, Kentucky New Liberty is an unincorporated community in northern Owen County, Kentucky, United States. Kentucky Routes 36 and 227 run through the community. Despite being unincorporated, it has a post office with a ZIP Code of 40355. The Jacob Hunter ...
to settle the land in the newly established State of Indiana. Adams cleared a plot of land, planted crop, and built a
log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...
, after which he returned to Kentucky to bring his family to Indiana. Not long after the move to his new home Reuben became sick and died in 1826, leaving his
widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...
, Mary Adams to raise eleven children in the Indiana wilderness. In 1834, Mary Adams had John H. Messinger lay out the town of New Bethel (the original name of Wanamaker) from a portion of her farmland. The town plat was recorded on March 24, 1834. The source of the name New Bethel came from the local New Bethel Baptist Church.


Post Office namesake

The Gallaudet
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
was established on January 30, 1854. For many years mail was brought by carrier from Gallaudet to New Bethel. In 1889, a post office was established in Sutherland's Store in New Bethel. The office was named Wanamaker instead of New Bethel because there was already a post office in Indiana called Bethel. The post office was named after
John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General ...
, who was the
United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...
at the time. The name Wanamaker over time became synonymous with the town of New Bethel. In 1914, after the store burned, the post office was moved across the street to a
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
and
interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
ticket office. In 1920, the post office once again moved to a new building at the location were the Sutherland Store had burned. On July 1, 1943, the post office advanced to Third Class office, and on July 1, 1952, it advanced to Second Class office. On May 1, 1960, it was made a branch of the Indianapolis Post Office. A new postal facility was built in 1965 with the dedication ceremony held March 13, 1965. For many years, highway signs bore both the names New Bethel and Wanamaker. The name Wanamaker came to be accepted as the predominant local name for businesses, churches, and schools in the community. In the 1960s, the town's name was officially changed to Wanamaker after multiple proposals had been rejected by the Indiana Board of Geographic Names.


Gallaudet Station

In the 1800s, Gallaudet Station, also known simply as Gallaudet was a post office and
train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
on the Cincinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago Railway. Gallaudet Station was located south of Wanamaker. Because of the close proximity to the station, Wanamaker and the area south of it was sometimes referred to as Gallaudet or Gallaudet Station. The Gallaudet name derives from the 350 acres of land having been originally owned by
James Smedley Brown James Smedley Brown (September 10, 1819 – 1863) was a nineteenth-century American educator of the deaf who is credited with the publication of the first dictionary of American Sign Language. He attended Oberlin College, and died in 1863. Caree ...
, once superintendent of the
Indiana School for the Deaf Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD) is a fully accredited school for the deaf and hard of hearing, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. History Origins and founding (1843–1860) William Willard, a Deaf educator trained under L ...
. Brown named the area in honor of
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Fitch Cogswell, Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the Education of the Deaf, educatio ...
, one of the founders of the first permanent school for the deaf in the United States. From October 1861 to November 1862, Brown served as the Gallaudet Station postmaster.


Michigan Road

The main thoroughfare in Wanamaker, Southeastern Avenue, runs over the original alignment of the historic
Michigan Road The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkh ...
. Michigan Road was one of Indiana's earliest roads and the state's first "super highway". Built in the 1830s and 1840s, the road ran from
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...
to Michigan City, via Indianapolis.


Annexation

Since its founding, Wanamaker had been an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
of Marion County, located outside the city limits of Indianapolis. In 1970, by an act of the
Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Sena ...
, Indianapolis was consolidated with the government of Marion County as
Unigov Unigov is the colloquial name adopted by the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, to describe its consolidated city–county government. By an act of the Indiana General Assembly, Indianapolis consolidated with the government of Marion County, India ...
. Wanamaker was annexed by Indianapolis. The ZIP code for the Wanamaker area is 46239, while the preferred city for the 46239 is ''Indianapolis'', though ''Wanamaker'' is still listed as an acceptable city.


Zink Raceway

The Zink Raceway was a local attraction just north of Wanamaker off of Post Road. The track has been closed for many years, but its remnants remain as a reminder of the days of small town racing circuits.


Public services

The
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is the law enforcement agency for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Its operational jurisdiction covers all of the consolidated city of Indianapolis and Marion County exce ...
and
Indiana State Police The Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the U.S. state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a State police (United States), state police force. Its headquarters are in the ...
provide law enforcement for the community. The
Indianapolis Fire Department The Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) provides fire and rescue protection and emergency medical services to the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. In total the department serves . History The first fire department in Indianapolis was not founded u ...
serves the Wanamaker area. The
United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...
Wanamaker Branch provides local postal services. Franklin Township Community School Corporation schools serve the Wanamaker area.


Churches

*Franklin Central Christian Church *Maple Hill United Methodist Church *New Bethel Baptist Church *Wanamaker Church of Christ *Nativity Catholic Church


Festivals


Old Settler's Day

Since the late 1980s, community service organizations have been hosting Old Settler's Day, a street fair, in downtown Wanamaker. Wanamaker's main thoroughfare, Southeastern Avenue, is closed from Northeastern Avenue to McGaughey Road for the event. Vendors set up booths the length of the avenue and sell concessions and unique products. The Classic Car Show is held in conjunction with Old Settler's Day, rain or shine. Trophies are awarded to the top three in each official car class, and special awards are presented for various achievements.Old Settler's Days
/ref> The festivities are concluded by a large fireworks show at Franklin Central High School. All the money for the firework show is donated via the community.


Highways

Interstate 74 Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa; the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange with I-75 in ...


Notable people

* Otis Gibbs, singer-songwriter


See also

*
List of Indianapolis neighborhoods This list of Indianapolis neighborhoods provides a general overview of neighborhoods, districts, and subdivisions located in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Nine townships form the broadest geographic divisions within Marion ...


References

{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Indianapolis Populated places in Marion County, Indiana Populated places established in 1834 Indianapolis metropolitan area 1834 establishments in Indiana