INDIANA MAGAZINE of HISTORY Volume LII SEPTEMBER,1956 Number 3

INDIANA MAGAZINE OF HISTORY Volume LII SEPTEMBER,1956 Number 3 Cultural History of Indianapolis : Literature, 1875-1890 Eva Draegert* The last thirty years of the nineteenth century formed a distinct period of literary growth in the United States. Both quality and quantity advanced. Every section and nearly every state produced a novelist of power, but greatest activity was evident in the South and West. In Indiana and parti- cularly in Indianapolis, literature was a popular avenue of expression. It was the fashion to write, perhaps a novel, poetry, essay, or editorial, or if not to write, then certainly to maintain a lively interest in and appreciation of all things literary. Perhaps the democratic spirit and the triumph of individual initiative furnish the explanation sought by his- torians and psychologists for the zest with which the average Hoosier engaged in literary pursuits. No school lighted his path; he was a pioneer. Though some were properly trained in the art, many followed it with a spontaneity that matched their enthusiasm. Before the Civil War the spoken word was much more prominent in Hoosier literature than the written word. Addresses by preachers, lawyers, or politicians on holidays or special occasions were the characteristic literary expression? Though here and there a poet saw his verses printed in some newspaper or periodical, the publishing of books was not common at that time in Indiana. Although Indiana’s principal claim to literary virtue is through the novel,2 Indianapolis writers after the Civil War *Eva Drae ert is instructor in social studies at Woodruff High School, Peoria, Iylilinois. 1Logan Esarey, A History of Zndianu (3d ed.; 2 vols., Fort Wayne, 1924), 11, 1109-1113. 2R. E. Banta (ed.) Indiana Authors and their Books, 1816-1916 (Crawfordsville, Indiana, 1949), x. 222 Indiana Magazine of History did not at once find this medium. The earliest important literary work of this period is The Soldier of Indiana in the War for the Union (Indianapolis, 1866), by Catharine Mer- rill. Except for the writings of James Whitcomb Riley, the literature which has made Indianapolis famous was largely produced after the turn of the century; the last quarter of the nineteenth century, literarily speaking, was one of de- velopment. Factors which greatly influenced this develop- ment were the presence of enterprising booksellers ; a publishing house which grew out of the bookselling business of Samuel Merrill and others (dating back to 1838), which still retains Merrill in the firm name; and sympathetic newspaper editors who encouraged the fledgling writers, chief of whom was George C. Harding, author of editorials and of a volume of Miscellaneous Writings (1882) .3 A decade after the Civil War Indianapolis literary- minded folk were reading a wide variety of books and magazines. According to the book review columns of the news- papers, such magazines as Scribner’s, Lippincott’s, Godey’s Lady’s Book, The Magazine of American History, Sunday Afternoon, and Wide Awake were pop~ilar.~Readers were urged to subscribe for such British periodicals as the Edin- burgh Review, London Quarterly Review, Westminster Re view, British Quarterly Review, and Bluckwood‘s Edinburgh Magazine, which were being reprinted by a New York firm for sale in this country.6 Books advertised ranged from scientific and religious works to tales of adventure, biog- raphy, historical novels, and the Alger stories. There were John Bigelow’s Life of Franklin, Charles Nordhoff‘s Politics for Young Americans, John W. Draper’s History of the Con- flict Between Religion and Science, and Sir Samuel Baker’s, African Adventures to name a few of those listed.e Religion and the State by Stanhope T. Speer and Life of Israel Putnam by Increase N. Tarbox were among those deemed worthy of reviews.? One of the few midwestern writers mentioned, though not a Hoosier, was Mark Twain, whose Gilded Age was announced.s Esarey, Hktory of Indiana, 11, 1130-1131. 4Zndianapolis News, February 22, 1878. 6 Zbid., January 30, 1875. elbid., January 27, 1875. Zbid., February 16, 1877. elbid., January 31, 1874. History of Indiumpolis: Literature, 1875-1 890 223 Literary activities in Indianapolis, in much the same manner as those in music, were sponsored and encouraged by clubs. The churches, schools, and colleges generally main- tained literary societies or clubs which met regularly to listen to papers, discussions, or debates on important literary figures, on prominent political or moral topics of the day, or to study the works of leading writers. The two most out- standing literary clubs were not sponsored by a church or school, but each was an independent group which sought to encourage creative literary activity in the form of original papers presented to the club by various members: the Indi- anapolis Woman’s Club, founded in 1875, and the Indianapo- lis Literary Club (for men), organized in 1877. Earlier than either of these was the College Corner Club established in 1872. Including both men and women in its membership, it was probably the first mixed literary club in the ~tate.~In 1874 a new literary association was formed in the northern part of the city with only men admitted to membership.1° In 1877 the Hawthorne Literary Club was holding meetings,ll and in 1878 the Plymouth Literary Club secured lecturers who appeared at Plymouth Church.’* During the latter year the Union Literary Society, colored, sponsored by the Second Baptist Church, held several meetings at which topics of special interest to Negroes were debated. These debates were usually preceded by some form of entertainment which often included vocal and instrumental music.18 In the absence of the numerous and varied forms of entertainment familiar to folk of the mid-twentieth century, these clubs performed a social as well as a cultural and educational service. The College Corner Club, organized in the old Butler University neighborhood east of College Ave- nue and north of Forest Home Avenue (now 13th Street), included in its membership all sorts of professional people judges, lawyers, ministers, physicians, and teachers, as well as housewives. Mary Colgan and Mary E. Nicholson, both teachers, took the lead in its organization. Its meetings were notable for “free discussion, literary flavor and social 0 Grace Gates Courtney (comp.), Histoly of Indiana Federation of Clubs (Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1939), 25. ~OZndkmpolisNews, March 14, 1874. “Zbid., October 6, 1877. 12Zbid., March 6 and April 22, 1878. XsZbid., May 14 and November 11, 1878; May 8, 1879. 224 Indiana Magazine of History charm.” Original literary effort was encouraged, for David Starr Jordan took “his first flight as a poet when a member of this club.”14 This neighborly group helped open the way for organization of the Indianapolis Woman’s Club in 1875.15 On February 18, eight ladies met at the home of Martha Nichol- son McKay “for the purpose of organizing a Woman’s Club.”16 A literary or cultural objective was not at once evident, for the first few programs were decidedly domestic in character. Mrs. McKay stated in her papers: “Lest our little craft should sink in an unchartered sea, the first programs were designed to quiet the fears of the anxi~us.”~~ On the club’s tenth anniversary she stated: “I know that from a sincere desire to help women into a recognition of the possibility of reconciling intellectual and domestic work, this club was formed.”18 Years earlier she had put the club’s purpose differently. When a distinguished rabbi upon hear- ing about the club had said disapprovingly, “Sarah’s place is in her tent,” Mrs. McKay quickly replied, “Oh yes, we know that. We only want her to have a window in it.’”@ But during the first years, its programs gradually became less domestic and by 1885 had changed completely to the varied character of its current programs, some of which are ex- tremely intellectual.20 One of the original members of the Woman’s Club was Mrs. Edwin Thompson, later Mrs. Theodore L. Sewall, whose name and organizing influence were found in the beginnings of many cultural movements in Indianapolis. She was the only one of the founders of the Woman’s Club who was a university graduate, having been granted a bachelor’s degree by Northwestern University in 1866, and in 1871, a master’s degree from the same institution. “Few young women at that time could claim such a distinction.”21 She was also a member of the College Corner Club. Mrs. Thompson came 14 Courtney, History of Indiana Federation of Clubs, 25. 16 Indianapolis Woman’s Club, 1875-1 940 (Greenfield, Indiana, 1944) 17. 16 Ibid., 24. 17 Ibid., 30. 18 Ibid., 41. 10 Ibid. 20 Ibid., 40. 21 Ibid., 32, History of Indianapolis: Literature, 1875-1890 225 to Indianapolis in 1873 with her husband from Franklin, Indiana, and soon after that both of them were teaching in the high She was a member of the committee appointed to draft articles for the club constitution and was chosen vice-president at the first meeting. During the sum- mer of 1875 Mrs. Thompson went with her husband to Asheville, North Carolina, for the benefit of his failing health, but the journey was in vain, for he died the following year of tuber~ulosis.2~ A list of Woman’s Club members during those first years speaks “eloquently that the town, as well as the club, was in the making, because they are the same names that are in the annals of many initial efforts toward improved social conditions and better cultural advantages for Indianapolis of that time.’’24 The club had broad cultural aims, and though literary study and endeavor have played an important part in its programs, the members have, through the years, partici- pated in many other forms of cultural activities.

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