Connecting Muncie Neighborhood partners and resources
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2024 AT 6:00 PM
Annual Report to the Community Muncie Action Plan (MAP) invites YOU to MAP’s Annual Report to the Community. Join us on Wednesday, January 31st at 6:00 in the Indiana Room at Minnetrista Museum and Gardens for a look back at the last year of MAP activities and learn about the exciting things to come in 2024.
Incoming MAP Board President, Heather Williams, will present updates on the 2023 MAP activities with highlights from each Task Force leader.
Photo above by Chris Flook
Have you ever wondered why a certain house in your neighborhood is built of brick and set far off the road while all of the surrounding homes are wood-sided and closer to the road? Or are there sidewalks that flow from street to street and then suddenly stop? Is there a grouping of old commercial-style buildings that don’t seem to fit into the otherwise residential vibe of the neighborhood?
Muncie was first platted in 1827, incorporated as a town in 1854, and became an incorporated city in 1865. However, the area was first settled in the 1770s by the Lenape (Delaware) people, who had been transported from their tribal land in the Mid-Atlantic region. In 1876, natural gas was discovered in Indiana, and the gas boom reached Muncie in 1886.
Muncie attracted new businesses and industries, and its population grew over the next 100 years. What would eventually become Ball State University, the Eastern Indiana Normal School opened in 1899, only to shut its doors after two years of operation. The Ball Brothers eventually bought the buildings and land and donated them to the State of Indiana, which set up operations in 1918 for the Indiana State Normal School, Eastern Division. The school was renamed Ball Teachers College in 1922, Ball State Teachers College in 1929, and Ball State University in 1965.
Muncie’s growth is tied to its industrial past, as well as to the establishment of Ball State University. You can discover more about the physical development of the city by reviewing archival Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, which were produced by the Sanborn Map Company to assist fire insurance agents in determining risk and the cost of premiums. Ball State University’s Digital Media Repository has 200 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Muncie dating from 1883 through 1911.
Additionally, many of Muncie’s neighborhoods developed covenants and restrictions as they were platted by developers. Original plats and their corresponding covenants and restrictions can be found in the Delaware County Recorders office, but several have been digitized. Many of the original subdivisions included restrictions on non-white residency, which is discussed in a Star Press article written by Bryan Preston in 2018. Several neighborhoods, including Westridge, Ludingwood, and Kenmore, have legally removed the race-based restrictions from their original covenants, language made formally illegal by the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
Learning more about the history of your neighborhood is an interesting activity, and by forming a better understanding of the past, you may be able to envision an even greater future. If you have a desire to connect with others who love local history, the Delaware County Historical Society has educational sessions, workshops, and an annual meeting of members. Consider joining!
Several great opportunities to improve your neighborhood are coming your way starting this summer! All sessions will occur at the Innovation Connector, 1208 W. White River Blvd. Tickets will be available on Eventbrite and offered through the Muncie Action Plan Facebook event page, so like and follow them for sign-up info! Food will be provided. See below for a list of what’s in store!
Monday, August 6, 2018 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
This session will cover the basic structure, offices, and activities of your city government.
Participants will understand the various responsibilities of the departments, with a special
emphasis on services.
Presented By: Bowen Center for Public Affairs, Ball State University
Monday, September 3, 2018 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
This session will cover the basic structure, offices, and activities of your county
government. Participants will understand the various responsibilities of the departments,
with a special emphasis on services.
Presented By: Bowen Center for Public Affairs, Ball State University
Monday, October 1, 2018 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
This session will cover the basic structure, offices, and activities of your state government.
Participants will understand the various responsibilities of the departments, with a special
emphasis on services.
Presented By: Bowen Center for Public Affairs, Ball State University
Monday, November 5, 2018 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
Crowdfunding platforms such as Go Fund Me, Kickstarter, and Patroncity offer unique
opportunities to raise funds for your neighborhood. In this session we will review the
basics of these platforms along with fundamental strategies for implementation.
Presented By: Mitch Isaacs (Shafer Leadership Academy), Aimee Fant (Muncie Action Plan), Heather
Williams (Building Better Neighborhoods)
Monday, January 7, 2019 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
Several local neighborhood association use “dues” to fund their efforts. Join us for this
panel discussion where panelists will share their strategies for due collection.
Presented By: panel of local associations
Monday, February 4, 2019 (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
The businesses in your neighborhood can be great assets. In this session we will discuss the
methods for making local businesses partners in your neighborhood. Business engagement
goes beyond fundraising and incorporates various strategies for including business in
decision making, planning, and implementation.
Presented by: panel of local associations
Presented in Partnership:
Funding Provided by:
Muncie-Delaware County Comprehensive Plan: TogetherDM
2009-2030 Delaware-Muncie Transportation Plan Update
City of Muncie’s 5-Year Parks & Recreation Master Plan 2014
Vision 2027 Strategic Plan
Vision 2027 is the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance’s current comprehensive five-year economic development program.
The Old West End Historic District is an area of roughly 28 city blocks located on the west edge of Muncie’s central business district. The area is largely residential with some commercial uses along State Road 32 (West Jackson Street) and Liberty Street. Structures in the district represent a range of architectural styles dating from the mid-nineteenth century to early twentieth centuries. The district contains the largest collection of late Victorian residential architecture in the city. The majority of the houses in the district were built between 1880 and 1915, during the “gas boom” era in Muncie. Muncie’s “west end” differed much from the city’s more fashionable “east end” in that many of its residents were descendants of early pioneers whose fortunes were made prior to the industrialized success of the late 1880’s. Many of the residences are large and elegant homes of frame or brick construction with extensive exterior details and embellishments. The Queen Anne style, and derivatives, are prevalent throughout the district, but the Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Foursquare, Colonial Revival and Bungalow styles are among the other late 19th- early 20th century modes represented. For more information about the history of the Old West End, please visit the Historic Muncie website at http://www.historicmuncie.org/history/.
In 2015, a Ball State University immersive learning class under the direction of history professor Ronald Morris created an interactive website to share the interesting histories of Muncie’s founding families, gas boom barons and military veterans. The project includes about 50 biographies as well as bike routes, a list of monuments and a geocaching experience. Established 1841, the cemetery which is located within the Old West End neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Old West End neighborhood association meets every 4th Tuesday of every other month (Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Dec) at 6:30 pm at the Friends Memorial Church, 418 W. Adams St., Muncie, IN 47305. All are welcome.
Website – https://sites.google.com/site/oldwestendneighborhood/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/OldWestEndNeighborhoodAssociation
Email – oldwestend@gmail.com
UPDATED: 2018 Old West End Neighborhood Action Plan
In the fall of 2013, students from Ball State University’s College of Architecture and Planning under the direction of BSU Faculty member Lisa Dunaway, worked alongside residents to create the Old West End Neighborhood Action Plan (OWENAP). The student project won several prestigious awards, including the national American Planning Association’s AICP Student Project Award in 2014 and the 2015 Hoosier Planning Award for Outstanding Student Project.
To learn more about the plan itself you may read the OWENAP narrative or watch this video created by Ball State telecommunications students.
Old West End map (pdf)