Connecting Muncie Neighborhood partners and resources
Whitely is a neighborhood located in Zone 5.
Members of the Old West End, Thomas Park/Avondale, Whitely, and Minnetrista Neighborhood Associations partnered with the Muncie Sanitary District to help clean-up their communities. The first date of the spring clean-ups was May 2nd. Volunteers helped pick up trash and debris alongside their neighbors. Thank you to all those who helped beautify the city as part of the spring neighborhood cleanups.
According to an article posted in the Sunday, May 3rd edition of the Star Press, World Changers will be returning to Muncie this summer to do exterior repairs on a total of approximately 20 properties within the Blaine, McKinley, Gilbert, East Central and Whitely neighborhoods. World Changers’ work may include foundation or porch repair, vinyl siding, door or garage repair, house painting, wheelchair ramp/accessibility items and other miscellaneous repairs. In order to qualify for the program, homes must be home-owner occupied, be located in the target neighborhoods, be current on sewage and tax bills, and have property insurance. Owners must submit an application and provide proof of income. A PDF version of the application is available below. It is also available at the City of Muncie’s Community Development Department office,online, or at the Kennedy and Maring-Hunt libraries. Applications are due by 4 p.m. May 22 at the Community Development Office.
For more information call Community Development at (765)747-4825.
Join the Whitely Community Council as they host a series of conversations on What Kids Need to Succeed. Sponsored by BY5 and the United Way of Delaware County the sessions will immediately follow the Whitely Community Council meetings which begin at 6:00 pm at the Muncie Area Career Center. Taking place over the course of four months, the conversations are scheduled for April 13th, May 11th, June 15th and July 13th. Cash prizes will be given to a handful of attendees at each event and those who come to at least three of the four conversations will be eligible for a $500 cash prize. All are welcome to attend!
Ball State University has received some great news – they are the recipient of the 2015 Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching! The prestigious classification is awarded to institutions of higher education that have demonstrated “excellent alignment among campus mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement.”
Ball State’s collaborative partnership with the Whitely Community Council was included in the Carnegie application as a prime example of a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources. This partnership is an essential part of Ball State’s mission to “transform information into knowledge, knowledge into judgment, and judgment into action that addresses complex problems.”
Carnegie Application (pdf)
Whitely is “An Education First Community.”
The neighborhood goals are:
- Beautification
- Safety and Security
- Education and Health
- Employment and Entrepreneurs
- Pride and Events
- Resource Development
- Marketing and Public Relations
Whitely Town, Indiana was founded as its own city in the early 1890s by a wealthy man from Ohio named William Needham Whitely, who was known at the time as a great inventor and “the Reaper King.” He envisioned that this place would become one of the major centers of industry in Indiana. He chose this location during the “gas boom era” during which there were plentiful and cheap natural gas fields in east central Indiana. Drilling for wells in Delaware County was fast and furious, but there wasn’t enough infrastructure to support the numbers of incoming workers from Ohio, Kentucky, and New York.
William, along with his brothers Burt and Amos ultimately chose Muncie on the advice of new Muncie resident and friend from Ohio, George F. McCulloch. McCulloch, for whom “Woods Park” was renamed, helped orchestrate a great business offer and the Whitelys bought 1200 acres of the Wysor tract that was newly available and started to build Whitely Town. The centerpiece was the William N. Whitely Harvesting Machine Company, which was built on the grounds that are now home to East Central Recycling. Soon, a new railroad was built across the White River. Later came the Whitely Inn, White Stables, Whitely Steel Co, Whitely Gas Co, Whitely Bakery, Whitely Public School (what is now Shaffer Chapel), Whitely Iron and Casting Co, Whitely Malleable Castings, Whitely Land Co, Whitely Tin Shop, and more. (source)
BSU Immersive Learning – Historical Maps
The Whitely Neighborhood Association meets at 5:30 pm on the second Monday of every month at the Union Missionary Baptist Church. All are welcome.
Webpage – http://whitelycc.org/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/whitelycc
Twitter – @WhitelyCC
Email – whitelycc@gmail.com
In fall 2011, Students from the Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning, under the direction of BSU faculty member Lisa Dunaway, worked alongside the Whitely Community Council to develop the Whitely Neighborhood Action Plan (WNAP). Since 2011, the WNAP has guided the neighborhood towards successful implementation of many of the identified action steps.
Whitely Map (pdf)
Whitely Neighborhood Areas (pdf)
Whitely self guided tour (pdf)