Arthur Jordan

(Sept. 1, 1855-Sept. 3, 1934). Businessman and philanthropist, Arthur Jordan was born in Madison, Indiana. He and his family moved to Indianapolis where he finished school. Jordan married Rose-Alba Burke in 1875. They had two daughters, Esther (Iles) and Alma (Kittle), and a son, Robert, who died at age six.

In 1876, Jordan purchased a small butter-and-egg wholesaler; he added poultry products in 1882. He expanded by packing perishable foods in ice, later pioneering the use of refrigerated railroad cars to open the eastern market to midwestern poultry producers. By 1894, the Arthur Jordan Company had over 50 packing and cold-storage plants in Indiana and Illinois, the largest business of its kind in the U.S. Jordan founded other businesses including City Ice Company, the Keyless Lock Company to supply post offices, and Meridian Life and Trust Company.

Jordan had lifelong interests in the arts and higher education. In 1926, he donated $1 million to build Arthur Jordan Memorial Hall, one of the original buildings on Butler University’s northside campus. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. He went on to serve as a trustee of Butler University and as a board member of Franklin College.

Also in the 1920s, Jordan consolidated the city’s music conservatories into the Arthur Jordan Conservatory of Music and moved to a campus between the 1100 and 1200 blocks of North Delaware Street. In 1928, he established the Arthur Jordan Foundation with a $2 million endowment. The foundation purchased the President Benjamin Harrison Home from his widow and operated it as the conservatory’s dormitory.

Jordan’s philanthropy is evident today. He contributed land to the local Ymca and YWCA; an Indianapolis YMCA in Nora on the northside bears his name. The music conservatory became Butler University’s Jordan College of Fine Arts in 1951 (today named Jordan College Of The Arts). The music conservatory building was demolished, and the dormitory was restored to become the Benjamin Harrison home museum. The Arthur Jordan Foundation supports Indianapolis-area organizations in the fields of arts, higher education, and community service. Since 1928, the foundation has award grants valued at over $25 million, in addition to supporting the Benjamin Harrison Home.

In 1932, Jordan and his second wife, Alice Boyer, moved to New York, and he took over management of the Postal Life Insurance Company in New York City. He remained in New York until his death two years later.

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