Franklin Township Historical Society
Franklin Township history, Marion County, Indianapolis, Indiana
Tonight, February 7th, is the community meeting with the Indy Parks department about development of the park property on the site of the historic Acton Campground. The meeting is at 6:30 PM at Pleasant Masonic Lodge, 7525 Acton Rd. The…
Read more
For several years, we’ve received periodic requests for copies of My Home Town: A History of Acton, Indiana 1852-1994. This popular book went out of print about twenty years after its original 1994 publication, and we had no copies of…
Read more
Thanks to Eric Uehlein for sharing some more classic township photos!
Today’s photo, submitted by Eric Uehlein, is a postcard showing Exchange Street in Acton around 1909. This was the business district, or “business section,” as it is labeled on the photo, around the turn of the century. The photo features some…
Read more
by president emerita Sylvia Henricks The goal of RFD (Rural Free Delivery), “Everyman’s mail to Everyman’s door,” was a new idea in the late 1800s, but one that John Wanamaker, President Benjamin Harrison’s Postmaster General fully supported. Congress did not…
Read more
This fragment of a 1905 map of Franklin Township, found online by one of our members, gives an indication of the decades-long transition from “New Bethel” to “Wanamaker” (as described in a previous post) in that it labels the town…
Read more
(This article is continued from The History of Franklin Township, Part 1.) Part 2: Acton We’ve mentioned New Bethel; the other town in Franklin Township, now known as Acton, was not laid out until 1852. In its early years, Acton…
Read more
On this date in 1890, a girl named Mary Tomlinson was born in Acton, which was then a thriving community on the rail line in the corner of Franklin Township. The daughter of minister Samuel Tomlinson, Mary wasn’t content with small-town life, and…
Read more
In today’s Collection Spotlight, we’re looking at some artifacts from the Acton State Bank. This bank was located on Exchange Street, next to the U.S. Post Office. It was robbed in 1924; the robbers, who were never caught, got away…
Read more
Once again, it’s time for the Historic Artcraft Theatre’s annual Ma & Pa Kettle film screening! This year it’s Ma & Pa Kettle At The Fair (1952), running June 27-28. Actress Marjorie Main, best known for her recurring role as…
Read more