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Chapter Thirteen
City annexes village
Annexation of the town of Broad Ripple to the city of Indianapolis was a strongly controversial subject in the early 1900's. January 20, 1906, some Ripple citizens applied for annexation, and even though the Indianapolis City Council voted "yes" on the matter, the mayor, Charles A. Bookwalter (1906-1910), vetoed it. In 1909, the pro-annexationists, again put in their plea; this time both the mayor and city council assented. Many of the Broad Ripple residents, however, were strongly against annexation; for they felt that as a result, taxes would be raised. They, therefore, obtained an injunction to prevent the bill for annexation from reaching the Marion County Circuit Court. Fifteen different petitions both for and against annexation were filed in 1913. The idea failed again, largely due to red tape and conflicting interests. After a long period of attempts and failures, annexation finally went through in June 1922, and Broad Ripple became a part of the city of Indianapolis. The move, however, was not without complications, for the high school and park were not included. The situation was corrected the following year by a special ordinance, and both the park and Broad Ripple High School became a part of Indianapolis. As a result of annexation, the Broad Ripple Fire Department received a hook and ladder unit to complement the pumper and crew of eight firemen. Broad Ripple also received many new responsibilities, and as a result, the Broad Ripple Chamber of Commerce was established. The first officers of the new organization were C. H. Buddenbaum, president; Robert A. Glaubke, vice-president; J. F. Kassebaum, treasurer; and Joseph Moore, secretary. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored a weekly paper that gave rise to two independent weekly papers, the Ripple Visitor and the Spectator. In 1922 Phoebe Hudley founded the highly successful North Side Topics.
After annexation, Broad Ripple began to lose its distinction as an exciting amusement town. The once highly commercialized amusement park became an Indianapolis city park, and the hotels and jail became a part of the past. The interurban and streetcar became extinct and the tracks they used were covered over by pavement. However, annexation brought the community many advancements. As the Broad Ripple area has become more thickly populated, the city has made various additions to the area. In 1929 School No. 80 was moved from Broad Ripple High School into its own building at the corner of 62nd Street and Guilford Avenue. Broad Ripple High School has been enlarged five times since becoming an Indianapolis Public High School. The Broad Ripple Post Office Station was built in 1940, and the Indianapolis Public Library built a branch in the suburb in 1948.
The modern village of Broad Ripple has come a long way in its 130 years since the early pioneers forded White River at its shallowest and widest point, at the broad ripple.
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