Haughville, Indianapolis

Haughville Historic District
Houses on Warman Avenue
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Architect: Bedell, George
Architectural style: Late Victorian, Romanesque
Governing body: Local
NRHP Reference#: 92001652[1]
Added to NRHP: December 9, 1992

Haughville is a working-class neighborhood west of downtown Indianapolis. Its borders are roughly White River Parkway to the east,roughly Holt Road to the west, 10th Street to the north and Michigan Street to the south. It suffers from a high crime rate and low property values. It is considered one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city. Google Map of Area

A portion of the neighborhood, roughly bounded by 16th St., Belleview Pl., Walnut St. and Concord St., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] This area is the site of former housing projects, Concord Village. The area was first settled in the 1830s, when it became home to a number of merchants, whose small shops sprouted up near the west landing of the then brand-new Washington Street Bridge. By the 1880s, encouraged by the bridge and proximity to a number of new railroad lines, the town became home to a number of Irish, German, and later Slovene immigrants, many of whom worked in the neighborhood's two iron foundries or meat-packing plants. The area was incorporated in 1883 and annexed by Indianapolis in 1897. By 1900, almost half of the neighborhood's inhabitants were Slovene, many of whom attended St. Anthony's Catholic church. Due to tensions with the largely Irish population at St. Anthony's parish, the Slovenian community petitioned Vicar General Denis D. O'Donaghue to build their own church. Permission was received and Holy Trinity Catholic Church began in April 1906. Holy Trinity would eventually became home to a school, a number of local organizations and a Slovene community center. Indeed, the neighborhood's Slovene past is one of the reasons that Indianapolis has a sister-city relationship with Piran, Slovenia.

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Demographics

As of the census of 2005, there were an estimated 8,043 people, a slight increase since 2000. However this represents the over Near Westside Weed and Seed incorporated, which incorporates the population of a small section of other neighborhoods surrounding Haughville. The official population of HaughVille is estimated around 6,500 while the make up of Haughville (excluding Stringtown and other neighboring areas) is approximately around 92 percent African-American or Black descent. The remaining percent of the area is said to be a mixture of White (Non-Hispanic) and an increasing Hispanic population.

Of the adult population (25 and older), 40.7% do not have a high school diploma. The overall neighborhood's per capita income is $9,760 and an average household income of $17,321 making the entire neighborhood well below the average per capita and household income of Indianapolis.

Crime

Since 1992, Haughville has been a member of Indianapolis's Weed and Seed initiative, a federal program that targets high crime areas in Indianapolis and attempts to lower the amount of crime. It was the first neighborhood in Indianapolis to participate in this program.

According to The Indianapolis Star, Haughville had the most violent crime in the city of Indianapolis in the year 2005, with approximately 449 violent crimes taking place in Haughville. However this number is far below the record 2,589 violent crimes recorded in 1997 according to the IPD West District (This would average out to 1 out of 2.5 people being a victim of a violent offense) . During the 1990s, Haughville averaged 30 homicides a year, having the dubious honor of having one of the highest homicide rates in the nation for a neighborhood census of its size. Recently, crime has been on the decrease.

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