Welcome to the Morningside Indiana Homepage, where you can read our history, check our demographics, see us from the air, or even use satallite photos to zoom in to see the block and house where you live at.

My family has lived in Morningside since the early 1930's, when it was an isolated rural unincorporated community built during the 1920's on recently drained swampy farm lands where wildlife flourished, but alot has changed since then.



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Some Morningside Area History

These lands that we now call Morningside were first home to various prehistoric Paleo-Indian and Woodland Indian era peoples, who left behind evidence of their presence in arrowheads, stone axe heads, grain grinding stones, and other artifacts found in nearby farm fields, along the Muncie Creek and several home sites where basements were built.


7,500 B.C. :
The Oldest known 'confirmed' Paleo-Indian stone artifacts found in and adjacent to Morningside have been dated at Ball State University at around 7,500 B.C.



650 A.D. :
Later arrivals migrated southward from the Canadian vicinity, who are known today as Algonquin Indians, whom Archeologists say began arriving in large groups hunting these lands around 650 A.D. and who later arrivals are suspected to have been responsible for the sudden disappearance of the Mound Builder earthen engineering Indians by around 1250 A.D., the last Mound Builders



1650 A.D. :
From the Algonquin Tribes, several lived in our vicinity, of which the Miami Indians became the dominate peoples around 1650 A.D.



1670 A.D. :
The earliest known European arrivals were French Trappers.



1760 A.D. :
By an arrangement with the Miami's, the (Lenni Lenape) Delaware Tribe migrated back westward into our area from the eastern United States, to become the dominate people by 1760 A.D.



1770 A.D. :
With the westward arrival of European Pioneers, came unprovoked attacks against Indians living here in Delaware County and elsewhere, to get their lands. The Indian Fronteer was the present-day Indiana-Ohio state line. The Ohio Army Forts and mercenary Pioneers eager to drive the Indians from these lands increased the unprovoked genocide attacks in the 1770's.
NOTE : One of these Indians to visit our area was the great warrior Chief Tecumseh who was widely known for his opposition to any surrender of Native American lands, and was known to have stayed occationally at the Delaware Indian Village located a couple miles south of Morningside, close to the statue known locally as "Chief Muncie", and accompnied warriors along the old Indian Trail (now North Broadway, bordering the west edge of Morningside), to battles at Pioneer settelments, Forts and with the Army of General St. Clair's at Fort Recovery in the largest Indian battle in history ! Chief Tecumseh died as a British Army Brig. General





1820 A.D. :
Following the Battle of Tippecanoe in November of 1811 a Peace Treaty was signed by many Chiefs and the Indians agreed to leave Indiana by 1820 but Chief Tecumseh refused to sign and instead led his warriors into Canada where he joined the Brittish Army in their fight against the Americans who were taking his peoples native lands. Following the Treaty the Indian lands were then taken by the new American government, who then opened our Delaware County and the rest of Indiana for settlement, and sold huge sections of land to Pioneer farmers and land tycoons promoting how nice these Indian lands were, so they could attract Pioneers hurridly arriving from Ohio seeking to buy the best 'grass rich' Indian lands they heard about.



1825 A.D. :
By the mid-1820's a Trading Post along the White River was operated by a land baron named Goldsmith Gilbert who agressively stimulated pioners in Ohio to move here, onto his lands. Mr. Gilbert then helped start the community we now know as Muncie, selling needed merchandise.



1827 A.D. :
Delaware County was organized by Oliver Hampton Smith 1/26/1827.



1829 A.D. :
Our lands here in Morningside were first privately purchased from the government in 1829 by Mr. Joseph Bennett.



1836 A.D. :
The lands were then sold in 1836 to Jacob Powers.



1845 A.D. :
"Munseetown" name was changed to "Muncie".



1850 A.D. :
In 1850 our 'Morningside' land was sold to William Current.



1853 A.D. :
The lands were then sold to Bruce Powers in 1853.



1861 A.D. :
Civil War begins (1861 - 1865)



1881 A.D. :
The first Muncie High School was built, giving birth to Muncie Central



1886 A.D. :
Natural gas discovered nearby, attracted industries & people.



1895 A.D. :
See Delaware County Map from 1895 : HERE



1898 A.D. :
Lands we know as "Morningside" were sold to John Powers.



1910 A.D. :
2nd Industrial boom brings people seeking land to build homes and some buy land in a recently drained swamp, 'now' known as Morningside.



1929 A.D. :
One hundred years after these lands were taken from the Indians and first sold by the government, they were then sold to a land developer named "N. P. Dodge", who sectioned off, then sold in 1929 individual property lots, later provided with field tile drainage, and then officially named it "The Morningside Addition" on June 29th 1929.
The N.P. Dodge Corporation of Omaha, Nebraska has since become one of the largest land developers in the U.S., developing neighborhoods in cities from Maine to Florida, Texas to Wyoming. Today the Company is engaged in real estate, land development, manager of 7,500 Apartments, has 1,200,00 sq. ft. of Warehouse space, sells Insurance, and in 1998 had annual sales of $460,000,000.00



1930 A.D. :
Horrable flooding occured on a regular basis in Morningside with every heavy rain storm, which threatened the flooding of homes built in the flood plain, so during the early 1930's the drainage ditch that serves as the only flood relief, which flows from the N-E to S-W through the center of Morningside was dug wider and straighter for the first time, by unemployed men who enlisted in the WPA Public Works Program to do community services in exchange for food for their families.



1936 A.D. :
Morningside had fewer than twenty homes. It was common to see a neighbor galloping past your home on horseback or a deer peeking into your home in the morning.



1937 A.D. :
In January a retired Methodist Minister, Rev. Charles W. Shoemaker, saw the many children in Morningside and learning they had no Church, he built a small house and started holding Church services in August 1937 on the N-E corner of Harvard & Miami (then Orchard) Avenues. Rev. Shoemaker also established the Morningside Methodist Church.



1940 A.D. :
Morningside experianced its worst disaster in the early 1940's when Mr. Lonnie Stag and three of his five children died in a tragic house fire on the S-E corner of Bellaire & Yale Avenues.
Morningside had people arriving from all walks of life seeking jobs, arriving from all over Indiana and from other distant states wanting affordable property to build homes on. Most of those families who moved into Morningside were good decent hard working people, who watched out for one another, and who frequently shared with their neighbors, who became an extended family.
During the 'War Years', of World War Two, an affordable housing shortage existed so nearly everyone who had a garage rented it to young couples looking for affordable housing. As time passed, those "Garage Homes" were remodeled from garage shells into interior walled mini-homes. Sixty years later some 'Garage Homes' still exist as rental homes and as recently as during the 1990's one more garage was transformed into another rental home.

Morningside developer N.P. Dodge died in the 1940's and land was left to build a Morningside Park in the entire woods on the N-E corner acreage of McGalliard & Bellaire, but County officials sold the land.
It would be over fourty years later, after great effort,that Morningside kids would see any Park of their own.



1950 A.D. :
Morningside kids attended the old Royerton School.
During the 1950's the City of Muncie made unsuccessful attempts
to annex Morningside into its higher tax base.



1960 A.D. :
By 1960 almost twenty percent of the Home Owners had fled, leaving behind rental homes, where commonly the Land Lords only concern was receiving rent payments and not WHO or the type of people they rented to, which resulted in an increase in crime attributed to some of those Renters.



1963 A.D. :
Morningside Creek was dredged again in a 2nd attempt to reduce the the threats of severity of reoccuring flooding.



1970 A.D. :
By 1970 twenty-five percent of the Home Owners had fled.



1973 A.D. :
I hand carried a petition to every house in Morningside,McCormick and T.J. Bailey Addition for Sanatation Sewers to be installed, as we had NO sewers, and since the ground would not 'perk', so the overflow from septic tanks were simply hooked into field tiles which hauled household sewage septic tank overflows into Morningside Creek, where the raw sewage mess was smelled for decades, while our open sewer Creek flowed south into Muncie, where local government didn't seem to care. Then County Officials lost the petition for the sanatation sewer, so I repeated the process, door to door for several weeks again, but that time I retained the original and hand delivered copies to each official in the County and City related to the matter. The last phase of Sewers were finally installed 11 years later, in 1984.



1977 A.D. :
Morningside was annexed into the City of Muncie. BUT the successful 1977 annexation (the transition into the City government) also lost Morningside what few benefits were formerly dependably being provided by the Delaware County government. Following that annexation Morningside was treated like an unwanted bastard step-child by the City of Muncie, . . . which resulted in far worse social and infrastructure problems to contend with.
Our historic "Morningside" reputation seemed to be an embarassment for public officials, and after our school age children were transfered from Royerton to Muncie City Schools our children had always faced anti-Morningside riddicule from classmates and Teachers.



1978 A.D. :
Some Morningsiders respond to first Blizzard in Muncie history.



1980 A.D. :
By 1980 thirty percent of the Home Owners had fled and crime also had increased and in response Morningside Crime Watch was in its forming stages. Residents were tired of crime and the widely feared several decade reputation of Mornmingside, being one of two highest crime neighborhoods in Muncie / Delaware Co., and the resulting adverse criticism of our residency and their siblings.



1981 A.D. :
Morningside Neighborhood Association was created.
Morningside Crime Watch was created by me as a seperate enitity.
My wife and myself took a Petition door to door requesting a neighborhood Park be built in Morningside. Months of more meetings followed with City Officials. In January 1981 we got a new Muncie Mayor, who following a fact finding tour of Morningside with me, assigned a Community Developement Grant Writer to help Morningside, and assigned a C.D. Grant Writer employee to help the needs of all Muncie neighborhoods (and he made sure they did just that), which resulted in Mayor Alan K. Wilson becoming the most helpful public official in Morningside's (then) fifty year history,...and in the twenty-two years since then !
Most of the infrastructure creation in Morningside, McCormick and T.J. Bailey Addition by 2003 is still owed to the very Honorable former Mayor of Muncie : Alan K. Wilson (1981-1984).



1982 A.D. :
City Bus service was extended into Morningside after years of requests followed by Morningside Neighborhood Association and Crime Watch petition.
Muncie tried to force $2,000./ lot payment for unwanted curbs & sidewalks !
Crime Watch starts coordinating Summer employment program for youth by providing a free service of listing available paying jobs in our neighborhood and then finding youth willing to do the work.
In 1982 the Muncie Police Department refused to establish a satellite Police station in Morningside in return for free use of a home with two car garage that was located on newly acquired Morningside Park land, but it was refused by MPD.



1983 A.D. :
Morningside Crime Watch led a drive for Street Lights and our very FIRST Street Light was installed after 54 years of desire and over two years of desperate petitions and meetings begging for them and their increased security. So we got a total of 67 Lights, only half the minimum number advised by I & M Light Company, but the City promised to install the other 50% in a couple years, although by 2003 (20 years later) NO more lights yet installed !
Harvard ditch redone, new bridges to homes installed.
In February 1983 a Petition signed by 754 Morningside residents asking for a regulated Traffic Signal Light at Dartmouth & Broadway or at Princeton & Broadway. The light was approved but was not installed untill Princeton Extension was finished at the Mall, 11 Years later, in 1994.
In a closed door meeting City Officials had voted to close Leland Avenue to vehicle traffic, even afterwards we protested that Leland is a major artery. So following several heated meetings, and with the final help of Congressman Phil Sharp, we managed to save Laland Avenue and saw that it was immediately re-paved, before such 'sneekie officials' took it away again.
After years of requests and attending meetings, our Street Name Signs were finally installed on every intersection, for the first time in our history, to aid emergency response vehicles.
Morningside & McCormick Neighborhood Assn. paid for, manufactured (by Terry May) and then passed out free House Number Signs to every home, to aid public safety emergency vehicles.
Morningside Park established, after petitions, meetings and 40 Years of promises from County and City Officials, and my petitions of 1981.
In November 1983 City Council approved funding for five Bus Shelters in Morningside, but only one was provided at Broadway & Dartmouth, and by 2003 (20 years later) we still ask and wait for the others. UPDATE : In 2001 City Councilman Bruce Wemier promised to see that one shelter would be installed if we could secure permission to place it on someones private property but no one wanted the hassel. We asked that it be placed on city owned Park property at Yale Bridge but the city Bus Company objected due to the bus route direction making passengers cross the road to enter the bus.
I tried to get the City to do a study of our infrastructure and other needs but was told by the Director of Community Development that would cost around $10,000.00 and be cost prohibitive, so I managed to get BSU Post Graduate City Planner students to do a twenty (20) year projection of our infrastructure needs, to get Federal Grant support via Community Development.
Walking bridge across Creek was erected on Cornell for safety of children entering Morningside Park from the eastside of the creek.



1984 A.D. :
The last (third) phase of the Sanitation Sewer was installed, which began with my petition eleven years earlier, in 1973.
City gave Morningside Park playground equipment to another park (Westside) after my family donated a $36,000.00 labor agreement with a C.D. Grant to buy it !
After great effort, Miami Avenue was extended, from Yale to Depauw.
We got every Morningside street paved for the first time in history.
Basketball court in our Park installed, following many months of requests.
North Broadway had become a 'Sex Strip' bordering the western edge of Morningside, with drugs, pornographic Adult Book Stores, Massage / Prostitution enterprises, with sexually stimulated customers entering our neighborhood seeking sexual favors from neighborhood infants playing in their family yards to teens and adults walking along our roadways, so our Morningside Crime Watch established a campaign to help legally resolve such problem locations, which expanded to include solutions for all surrounding counties, while Feds, ISP and Grand Jurys in Kokomo, Anderson & Muncie addressed corruption, then our Morningside families were finially made safer again !



1985 A.D. :
Thanks to Grant funding from previous Mayor Alan Wilson, our Morningside recieved its FIRST Water Hydrants east of the Creek.
Mr. Orda Smith died, forever closeing the popular 40+ year "Smitty's" Food Market.



1986 A.D. :
Basic Disaster Readiness upgraded by a private cooperative residents plan, following rejections of assistance from public officials.



1987 A.D. :
This page is still Under Construction.



1988 A.D. :
This page is still Under Construction.



1989 A.D. :
This page is still Under Construction.



1990 A.D. :
By 1990 forty percent of our Home Owners had fled, leaving an ever growing Renter population.



1991 A.D. :
This page is still Under Construction.



1992 A.D. :
This page is still Under Construction.



1993 A.D. :
Following thirteen years of our requests, the Muncie Police Department opened Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P.)Shops in 9 neighborhoods, but NOT any in Morningside, even after we offered MPD a FREE Morningside home in 1982 to establish the first one ever in Muncie....., but MPD refused in 1982 and overlooked Morningside in 1993 when 9 other neighborhoods recieved C.O.P. Shops.



1994 A.D. :
After being approved eleven years previously, Morningside's first Regulated Traffic Signal Light was installed at Broadway & Princeton.
G & G Oil Co. donated a 2 year building lease at Dartmouth & Broadway for Muncie's 10th COP Shop. Morningside Crime Watch provided the free NON-paid volunteer staff to run it and MPD Patrolman Jeff Leist was assigned. G & G Oil Co. paid ALL remodeling and up-keep costs !



1995 A.D. :
Creek dredging failed to reach us, stopping at Marehoefers.
Morningsider starts Concerned Citizens League.



1996 A.D. :
Newly elected Mayor Dan Canan removed Police from C.O.P. Shops, stopped Gang alternative youth activity programs, then crime excellerated.
Morningside COP Shop moved to 1420 E. McGalliard in another rent-free building provided by 'N.W. Wrecker Co.'
Patrolmen Jeff Leist & Thom Delaney briefly assigned to Community Policing, tending to ten (10) seperate C.O.P. Shops and twenty-eight (28) neighborhoods.



1997 A.D. :
Morningside Crime Watch Block Captains awarded for 210 'man years' total accumulated service.



1998 A.D. :
Creek dredged for 3rd time.



1999 A.D. :
Big Santa's Party.
Electric Outlet installed in Morningside Park.
Crime rates elsewhere in Muncie, Indiana were recorded at 59% higher than the national average.



2000 A.D. :
Water Fountain, asked for since 1983, installed in our Park, 17 Years later, and just prior to Easter Egg Hunt.
After 4 YEARS of requests, street sign was replaced at Leland & Muncie Creek Blvd. but within a month it was down again.
FnG Car Club is established in Morningside and helps deliver Crime Watch Holliday Food Baskets during Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
Half-court made into a Full Basketball Court, as requested since 1984.
FIRST Gospel Sing and first Basketball game with Policemen ever held in our Morningside Park.
Santa's Party in its second year.
By the year 2000 over fifty percent of our Home Owners had fled Morningside.



2001 A.D. :
Annual Easter Egg Hunt continues.
Basketball with Kids & Kops continue.
Bleachers installed in Morningside Park.
"National Night Out" has been conducted for seven years by Morningside Crime Watch but this was the first time the local '4 year city-wide event' became our turn to be held in Morningside Park.
Santa's Party was shifted from Crime Watch to Jeff Hurst this year and reportidly going well untill a few days prior to the scheduled event when it was canceled.
FnG Car Club again helps deliver Crime Watch Holliday Food Baskets.



2002 A.D. :
Easter Egg Hunt continued as a great annual event in our Morningside Park.
FIRST Basketball game between Kids and Muncie Firemen was played on the 6th of April 2002 in our Morningside Park. The Fire Department brought a Fire Truck, we had free snacks and refreshments and it was a good time had by all.
Basketball with Kids & Kops continued this year on the 4th of May 2002 but due to no remaining overtime funding for Policemen we have been notified by MPD that these Community Oriented Policing events with our youth will slack off.
The Flood of May 12th 2002 was the worst in recent years. Some of the worst hit areas were along the Muncie Creek, near Indiana & Elgin Avenues, and near Leland & Harvard Avenues.
Other youth oriented activities continue this summer in Morningside Park under the leadership / coordination of patient volunteer Mrs. Frances Garrett and her wonderful coordination with Scouts, Churchs, Library, and such.
Church services in Morningside Park being considered.
Another Gospel Sing is being considered for this summer.
July 4th was loud and enjoyed in Morningside Park, where our residents conducted our Morningside annual fireworks activities.
Gravel Parking lot in Morningside Park was paved in July and Speed Hump installed to slow vehicles leaving the Park.
The old Play Station with slide and bridge and climbing area (installed in the 1980's) has been removed in July and waits for a newer Play Station to be installed in Morningside Park.
Water Hydrants were painted a bright Yellow in July 2002. (For some twenty years they were an unpopular white with blue trim.)
Our Streets still need resurfacing. Some patching has been occationally done.
"National Night Out" sees its eigth year.
Our Crime Watch Block Captain Recognition and Awards Night was a huge success, with several hundred dollars worth of donated food and refreshments. The most awards ever in our organizations history were presented.
FnG Car Club again helps with donations and delivery of Crime Watch Holliday Food Baskets.



2003 A.D. :

Annual Easter Egg Hunt continues.
Gospel Sing continues in Morningside Park.
Mrs. Frances Garett has launched and/or coordinated several youth oriented projects centered at Morningside Park.
The weekly youth oriented "Morningside Missionary Club" was created last year by Mrs. Frances Garett and continues this year.
First year for "Line Dancing", which was held in Morningside Park.
The nearby "Union Chapel" has sponsored the "Backyard Bible Club" the past two years in Morningside Park.
First year for "Morningside Park Open House".
After years of requests for Street Paving and then in late September 2003 several block lengths on some streets were paved. Some patching was previously done.
The paving of Miami Avenue in October eliminated the several year complaints about the horrable street situation on the hill next to Morningside United Methodist Church, our worst many year street situation in Morningside.
Residents living on Indiana, Gavin and Wabash Avenues were upset that heavy loaded Contractor trucks were breaking down those streets while doing private paid construction at the adjacent Union Chaple expansion, immeadiatly north of McCormick Neighborhood, where a Superfund Contamination Hazard Site was being capped and asphalted over with a parking lot. So, thanks to assistance from Mayor Canan (who attends Union Chaple) the Church will pay for the paving of those sections of roadway later in 2003 or early in 2004.
Santa's Day being considered.
FnG Car Club again plans to help with donations and delivering Crime Watch Holliday Food Baskets.







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NOTE : Alot of my many years of materials and time creating my many web pages was lost when HOTBOT closed its free Web Pages, so due to so many of my lost WebSite pages being located on HOTBOT it may require several more months or years of my labor to rebuild the more desireable ones to be linkable once again. So if you encountered any link difficulties, check back later.





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View our Demographics HERE

Stop by Morningside C.O.P. Shop

Visit our Morningside Crime Watch

Read the MorningsideCrime Watch Manual

A few Morningsiders responded to the "1978 Blizzard of the Century"

Please send any Morningside family Geneology or Historical information HERE

Largest Internet Directory available devoted to Muncie, and East-Central Indiana



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Send any comments about this page to : Ervin Davis

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