Calvin Fletcher, first prominent civic leader in Indianapolis

<p dir="ltr">When he arrived in the brand new city of <a href= "https://www.indy.gov/"><strong>Indianapolis</strong></a> in 1821, <strong><a href= "https://www.in.gov/idoa/statehouse/notable-hoosiers-in-sculpture/calvin-fletcher/">Calvin Fletcher</a></strong> was nearly penniless. Yet he went on to become the first attorney in the new state capital city, a banker, a state legislator and a wealthy landowner. Fletcher, who was passionately anti-slavery, also became the first major civic leader in his adopted hometown.</p> <p dir="ltr">To top it off, Fletcher (1798-1866) wrote an astounding, nine-volume diary. Since its publication by the <strong><a href="https://indianahistory.org/">Indiana Historical Society</a></strong>, the extensive diary has become a trove for anyone seeking insights about daily life in early Indianapolis. In his diary, Fletcher described everything from the weather to events, large and small, in Indianapolis.</p> <p dir="ltr">A native of Vermont (Fletcher was just 17 when he left his family's home), the self-made early power broker became the patriarch of a family that was prominent in the city for many generations. As his wealth increased, Calvin Fletcher moved into various houses, but for a long period he lived at Wood Lawn, a farmhouse he built on his 269-acre farm in what's now the <strong><a href="https://fletcherplace.org/">Fletcher Place Neighborhood</a></strong> just south of downtown Indy. Fletcher also owned vast amounts of property elsewhere in the city and state, including large tracts of farmland in <strong><a href= "https://www.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/">Hamilton County</a></strong>.</p>