George Alig Sr. (Feb. 24, 1852-Jan. 17, 1941). Born Johann Georg Alig in Affeier, Switzerland, a small village in the eastern Alps in the Canton of Grissom (Obersaxon), Alig’s family farmed and raised… Read More »George Alig Sr.
Altenheim A group of prominent members of the Indianapolis German Community, affiliated with Zion Evangelical Church, founded the nonprofit German Home for the Aged of Indianapolis (Deutsches Altenheim von Indianapolis) in… Read More »Altenheim
Americanization and Nativism Although not recognized for its ethnic diversity, Indianapolis attracted periodic waves of foreign immigrants in the 1830s to 1850s (Germans and Irish) and the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries… Read More »Americanization and Nativism
Americanization Programs in Schools Americanization programs were aimed at socializing immigrants and their children to the norms of middle-class, native-born Americans. That Americanization was one of the early purposes of free, public education can… Read More »Americanization Programs in Schools
Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians is a National Irish Catholic organization that was founded in New York in 1836. The first Indianapolis division (chapter) formed, according to tradition, on St.… Read More »Ancient Order of Hibernians
Arab Americans Arabic-speaking people began settling in Indianapolis in the late 1800s. Coming mainly from what today are the countries of Syria and Lebanon, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire,… Read More »Arab Americans
Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center Established in 1914, the Jewish Community Center (JCC) was originally part of the Jewish Federation and housed in the Federation’s Communal Building at 17 West Morris Street. In 1926, the… Read More »Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center
Asian Indians Asian Indians are persons of Indian-subcontinent origins. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans. Indianapolis, as well as the rest of… Read More »Asian Indians
Athenaeum The Athenaeum was constructed for the Socialer Turnverein Aktien Gesellschaft (Social Gymnastic Society Stock Association), founded in 1892 to raise money to build a home for the Socialer Turnverein and… Read More »Athenaeum
Babe Denny Babe Denny is a near southside community bordered by South Street, Madison Avenue, Morris Street, and West Street. Settlement of the area began in the late 1830s and 1840s, when… Read More »Babe Denny
