The 2009 Broad Ripple Historic Home Tour
Welcome to the Broad Ripple Historic Home Tour website. Since its inception in 2005, the tour has showcased nearly forty historically unique Broad Ripple homes. This year, the tour will feature ten more.
It is the primary goal of the Broad Ripple Historic Home Tour to tell the story of each home. We have uncovered many fascinating stories over the years. Some have been heartwarming, while others have been tinged with sadness. Although the tour is primarily historic in nature, architecture and interior design also play a role.
At the time of its founding, the Broad Ripple community was located well beyond the city limits of Indianapolis, in the "wilds" of Washington Township. In 1822, the Miami Indians signed a treaty giving up their land rights to the United States government, which then granted land patents to early settlers.
Among those early settlers were Jesse McKay and John Colip. They, in turn, sold portions of their land to Jacob Coil, who had come to Indiana with his family in 1836. Coil is considered to be the founder of Broad Ripple. In the same year, construction of the Central Canal began at its point of origin in Broad Ripple. As a result, the village quickly became a boomtown. Although that boom was short-lived, it did establish Broad Ripple as a center of commerce in Washington Township. The town was incorporated in 1884 and annexed to the City of Indianapolis in 1922.
Following its annexation, Broad Ripple became the focus of real estate speculators. The vast majority of homes now standing were built between 1922 and 1942, when World War II brought construction to a halt. The Broad Ripple Historic Home Tour attempts to document this history and help create a deeper appreciation of this period of phenomenal growth.
