Vanderburgh County Historical Society

Upcoming Program:
Angel Mounds’ Mike Linderman will make the following presentation in Willard Library’s Browning Gallery on January 28th at 6:30 PM. Enter at the South entrance.

Francis Martin was a pioneering woman in the field of archaeology, having worked with some of the greats like Dr. Glenn Black at Angel Mounds and doing much independent work in the field in our area. Along with her husband George, Francis traveled around the tri-state region documenting and preserving information on numerous archaeological sites.
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This presentation will highlight her career through her own slides, which cover a period of over 50 years. The slides were donated to Angel Mounds State Historic Site after her death in 1999 by her niece. Now digitized, they can be shown again to the public for the first time in over 25 years. Along with showing the slides, the goal is to meet people who knew Francis and help us complete the story of her life, which is somewhat lacking on the personal level.

It’s been a fairly good year after several losses in 2014.  We’ll optimistically say that preservation may be turning a corner as we head into the new year and downtown growth seems to be teeming.

WINS

Owen Block was a HUGE save for the Evansville community.  A grass-roots effort raised a substantial sum of money, and Architectural Renovators is well under way fixing up the old apartments.

Greyhound Bus was rededicated after the panels were finished and the neon light was turned on for the first time in years.  Recently it was announced that a new occupant, Bru Burger, will operate out of the old station.  The Courthouse dome lights were fixed up too.  The new system can change colors and brings a fresh look to the historic building.

LOSSES

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The once proud Turner Hall was razed this fall. The social club had declined over the years and a ministry ran out of the old brick building.

Knotty Pine, a North Main St cafe, was closed for years before being razed in March.  The building dating back to around 1894 was originally Ritter’s Confectionery.

Miller Furniture building across from Bosse Field has been “demolished” for nearly a year now.  After razing was begun in late 2014 little has been done to the old factory.  Miller built this factory along the Belt RR back in 1904

West Heights Cave Park was one of the main attractions in the early 1900s.  Located just off Harmony Way, the man-made cave has an interesting story to tell.

Andrew Koch was just a farmer who lived on Babytown Road, but his vision of building a cave in the hillside was something special.  Koch began digging his cave in the late 1880s, chiseling into the sandstone hillside in the back of his property.  After several years of work, Koch’s Grove opened to the public.  Curious people could descend down a flight of stairs and see the “rooms” carved into the large cave.

Spurred by the new street car line, the park rebranded itself in 1902 and became known as West Heights Cave Park.  The entire area once known as Babytown adopted the West Heights nickname. City residents would take a short ride to the area for an evening adventure.  It should be noted there were several pleasure parks in the area including West Heights Park, which was different.  Cave Park boasted vaudeville shows and a temperature-controlled cave for summer nights (in a pre-air conditioning era).

The park was a reputable establishment in the beginning but later got a reputation for being raucous.  The clubhouse burned down in 1919, and the park closed soon after (probably no coincidence around the same time as Prohibition).  The cave was filled in, and the area was converted into a subdivision known as “Cave’s Addition” in 1921.  The street name Cave Ave is the only trace of Koch’s grand vision or of the club that once provided such lively entertainment.

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The old Turner Hall at 720 SE 8th St was demolished last week.  For many the Central Turners was where they learned to swim or practice gymnastics.  With another iconic building now in the history books, VCHS takes a look at what this German club was all about.

Evansville Turnverein was established locally in July 1853 and was affiliated with the Berlin Turner Society.  The German translation is literally “gymnast club.”  An article in the 1980s described the club as “midway between the YMCA and a county club.”

In 1909, the German club bought the old Kingsley ME Church at the corner of 8th and Gum and remodeled it into its new quarters.  In a few short years the club opted to erect a new building.  After a couple iterations, plans were worked up by A J Capelle in summer 1913 for a new building that would occupy the same location.

In September 1913, the church was torn down, and in October ground was broken on the new Turner Hall.  It was was made of brick with stone trimming including a large stone inscription of “Central Turnverein” over the entrance (seen in picture below).  The estimated cost was about $26,000.

The first floor included a dance hall and gymnasium separated by folding doors for enlarging the space when needed.  Turner Hall also had a white enamel pool in the back.  The basement held dressing rooms as well as a rathskeller and billiards room.  A full list of activities accompanied the club’s grand opening in mid April 1914

At some point around 1950 the front was remodeled covering over some of the details of the original facade.  A dining room addition to the side was also probably added around that time.

The club prospered for years, but began to struggle with membership in the 1970s when many of its members flocked to the suburbs.  The club was on the verge of closing in 1981, but rebounded quickly looking to bring in new members.  That success was short lived though as the financially strained Turners filed for bankruptcy in March 1983.

When the club closed a handful of suitors came for the property.  In February 1984, WNIN planned to move in to the building but the bank stalled on the project.  The TV station would wind up in the old Carpenter Home a year later.  Next, Krieger-Ragsdale looked to move its printing plant and bought the property.   Retrofitting the building was not viable so the company relocated elsewhere, and the old Turner Hall was sold to Christian Fellowship Church which operated its Impact Ministries out of the facility.  That nonprofit served the Center City community for years until it closed last August 2014.

After the Turners lost their home, there was some mention of the club continuing to meet, but nothing more recent was found of the once grand German club.  As for the building, it is still listed as belonging to Christian Fellowship Church, but nothing was found to justify tearing down the 100-yr old landmark.

Lecture to Discuss Life and Times of Benjamin Bosse

On Thursday, August 13, 2015 6:30 p.m. at the Evansville Museum, Jeffrey A. Bosse will discuss the life and times of Benjamin Bosse.  The author of the book When Everybody Boosts Everybody Wins: The Untold Story of Evansville Mayor Benjamin Bosse, and the great-great nephew of Benjamin Bosse,.Jeff Bosse, will detail the life of the dynamic man who led the city from 1914-1922.  In his talk, Jeff Bosse will not only look at the successes of the Bosse administration, but also scandals and allegations during his time in office.

Benjamin Bosse enjoyed successful careers, as a businessman, a church leader, a politician, and a public servant.  Despite coming to Evansville penniless, by the time of his death he had been the president of more than 25 local businesses and a shareholder of more than 40, including the Evansville Courier, the Vendome Hotel and the world’s largest furniture manufacturing company.  During his terms as mayor, the city acquired Garvin Park, Bosse Field, the Coliseum, and the Market House.  He chaired the campaign to bring the University of Evansville to the City and he increased the city’s parks from 220 acres to more than 700 acres.  Benjamin Bosse was also responsible for bringing Evansville its first major north-south highway.

Jeff Bosse is a graduate of Bosse High School, Vanderbilt University and Northwestern Law School.  He has practiced corporate, real estate and estate planning law in Evansville since 1975 and is the president and founder of Bosse Title Company.  Jeff has been active in our community and his industry for many years.  He has been the president of the Evansville Museum, the United Way of Southwestern Indiana, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation and the Indiana Land Title Association.  He was the second person in the United States to receive the National Title Professional designation from the American Land Title Association and he is the recipient of the lifetime meritorious service award from the Indiana Land Title Association.
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This lecture is FREE and presented in partnership with the Evansville Museum.  For questions about the program or the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, please contact VCHS President Chris Cooke at 812-455-5121 or ccooke@evansville.in.gov.

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