On Indiana University Indianapolis’ campus, on the Northeast Corner of Vermont and Blackford Street, there is an Indiana Historical Bureau (IHB) marker for Isaac Blackford. The longest-serving Supreme Court Justice in Indiana’s history, he worked to further education in Indiana through his involvement in Indiana University and the Historical Society.
The IHB was established in 1915 as the Indiana Historical Commission to celebrate the statehood Centennial. After the celebration, the Commission continued its efforts by collecting information about World War I. In 1925, the Indiana legislature voted to make the organization permanent and changed the name to the Indiana Historical Bureau. The IHB’s continues its mission of educating the public through markers, oral histories, and archaeological projects.
The Bureau encourages the public to apply for a marker making sure that each marker is factually accurate and effectively educates the public. Applicants are responsible for paying for the cost of the marker, usually through fundraising or grants. Text on the marker is limited, as each side of the marker only allows for a maximum of 350 characters, forcing the applicant to weigh each word.
The IHB marker was placed on the IU campus in 2011 to commemorate the life and achievements of Blackford, a member of the Indiana University Board of Trustees starting in 1838. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law in 1845 from IU.
]]>On April 1st, 1835, Isaac Blackford purchased three land parcels on the southwest corner of North and West Streets. Covering 27.42 acres, the properties— known at the time as Lots 152, 153, and 154 — stretched as far west as today’s Blackford Street on the West and New York Street on the South, for a combined amount of $553.00. This area, now part of the IU Indianapolis Campus, was undeveloped at the time and not yet incorporated into the city. Blackford began subdividing the land in the 1850s, yet much of the development started in that area in the 1860s years after his death. Looking at the 1917 Baist Maps of Lots 152, 152,153, and 154, his half-sister Mary Coon Condit who inherited Blackford’s wealth, profited from these lands as many of the subdivisions are in her name.
Once, a subdivision was located at the corner of Blackford Street and Vermont, where Erie and Rachel Locke purchased land off Blackford in September 1857. The Lockes held the land until 1869, when they sold one of their lots to Elizabeth and William Chamberlin. Elizabeth Chamberlin appears in the 1880 census as a widow whose father was from Ireland and mother from New York. Ultimately, Indiana University acquired the property from Fannie Hyde, a schoolteacher, in the late 1960s to early 1970s.
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