History

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.