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History of Broad Ripple, Indiana
The town of Broad Ripple (image on right) was platted by Jacob Coil (or Coyle) in April, 1837, on land he purchased from Jacob McKay and John Colip. It was located north of the Central Canal which had just started to be constructed.
South of the canal the town of Wellington (image below) was platted in May, 1837, by James and Adam Nelson.
The rivaling towns joined together in 1884 with the establishment of one post office, called Broad Ripple, and located south of the canal. Broad Ripple Village was annexed to the city of Indianapolis in 1922.
The Broad Ripple plat, north of the canal, is bounded by the current streets of Westfield, 64th Street, Carrollton, and the Sugar Bob Lane alley. The area of Wellington shown on the plat maps is bounded by the current streets of Westfield, Winthrop, Broad Ripple Avenue, and Guilford.
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The Indiana Digital Archives has been named a "Best State Website" by Family Tree Magazine for the second consecutive year. America's #1 family history publication will release the list of honorees in its December 2011 issue and is currently available at http://familytreemagazine.com/article/2011-best-state-websites.
The "Best State Website" list honors America's leading genealogy research websites. The seventy-five sites listed represent the go-to bookmarks for browsing America's past, state by state. The Indiana Digital Archives joined Indiana State Library: Genealogy Collection as one of only two honorees from the State of Indiana. Family Tree Magazine also named the Digital Archives a "Best Website of 2011," which encompasses genealogy and history-related sites from all sources public or private, subscription or free.
"This recognition by Family Tree Magazine is another great honor for the Indiana State Archives and is especially rewarding for State Archives staff and the dozens of volunteers whose years of hard work have made the Indiana Digital Archives a success," said Jim Corridan, Director of the Commission on Public Records and State Archivist. "The Digital Archives has become increasingly popular among researchers due to its ability to instantly connect them to valuable historical records and other holdings within the Indiana State Archives."
Friends of the Indiana State Archives volunteers have spent the last 16 years creating indexes for many of the state's records that are now available within the Digital Archives. Researchers can browse these indexes to many of the most popular Indiana State Archives collections, including death, institution, military and naturalization records, among others.
Under Director and State Archivist Jim Corridan, the Indiana Commission on Public Records (ICPR) assists State and local governments in the cost-effective, efficient and secure management of governmental records.