Delphi

Anita L. Werling, Bonnie J. Maxwell, Delphi Preservation Society, Inc.

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9780738584379
• eBook ISBN: 9781439625927
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

Named for the Grecian city with its famed oracle, Delphi was envisioned by early residents as a center of culture for the surrounding area. Delphi is nestled in the picturesque valley formed by the Wabash River and Deer Creek. Three courthouses have graced the central square in Delphi--the "seat of justice" in Carroll County since platted in 1828 by Gen. Samuel Milroy. When the Wabash and Erie Canal cut through the area in the 1840s, Delphi became a center for industry and commerce. Handsome three-story brick buildings appeared in the 1850s and surrounded the square by the 1880s. Area residents traveled to Delphi for trade, business, and entertainment. Delphi's opera houses drew traveling acts from Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and other cultural centers. Visitors today enjoy the architectural gems downtown and in nearby residential districts plus six parks with miles of groomed hiking and biking trails. The canal era is alive in Delphi at the Wabash and Erie Canal Interpretive Center where a replica boat takes visitors on a restored section of the historic waterway.

Three

EAST OF THE SQUARE

The 1860 photograph shows the Buford House (left) and Joseph Assion’s grocery, bakery, and saloon in Northwestern Hall as well as John Brookbank’s shoe shop. All buildings are already brick south of the alley. William Bolles’ general store, William Bradshaw Jewelry, and C. and G. Moore’s general store are in the 1851 Bolles-Stewart block. Wise and Sons Dry Goods, W. L. Carnahan Boots, and Spears and Case Bank occupy the 1855 Spears and Case block.

By 1865, the only frame building remaining is at left. The three-story, three-bay Assion-Ruffing City Hall replaced Northwestern Hall. The square of bricks in the street will become the Brookbank building. South of the alley, Bolles and Gasaway general store and Palmer and Denniston Hardware had arrived. The Spears and Case façade was completely redone in 1865, mirroring the 1863 Moore block diagonally opposite.

In 1875, the corner building, erected by John Ruffing in 1870, was occupied by M. W. Edmonds Drugs, Wineman clothing store had the north bay, and Lathrope’s Bakery had the south part of the Assion-Ruffing building. A. G. Wolf is in the Brookbank building on the alley, completed in 1867. South of the alley is Henry Gros Jeweler and William Bradshaw Insurance. Jakes and Lytle Drugs, W. H. Stansel Hardware, and the First National Bank are in the Spears and Case block.

Wagons and horses line the hitching rail on the east side of the square while owners conduct business in the courthouse, buy provisions at the stores, get a meal at a lunchroom, do banking, or perhaps buy a new wagon. In this view from the late 1870s, a uniform awning now covers the fronts of the commercial buildings. Edward Brown runs a clothing store in the Ruffing building (left). Next to Lathrope is Harley and Carll’s Grocery with a pig rooting in the dirt. The four-story hotel building was known by various names, including Greenup, European, and Crosby. Gros remains next to Bradshaw Insurance Company, which has been in continuous operation from 1851 to the present. On the corner of South Washington and East Main Streets is the Pigman building, and beyond it the Occidental Hotel, built in the mid-1860s, can be seen. The latter was also known as the Clifton, Iona, and Sabin, later becoming the Masonic Temple.

The Assion-Ruffing City Hall (left) is a commanding Italianate building placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Completed in 1865, the third-floor grand hall first opened with a dance for returning soldiers. In 1882, John Lathrope Jr. remodeled the third floor into the Lathrope and Ruffing Opera House. It was the center of entertainment in Delphi for many years, but closed by the fire marshal in 1914 for lack of a second exit. Today the building is home to the Delphi Preservation Society, which is working to restore the building and its third-floor auditorium as a performing arts venue, museum, and cultural center.

This photograph shows the cement coat resembling cut stone that was applied before 1906 to many buildings on the square. Sharp’s Ice Cream is on the far corner followed by newcomers C. O. Julius Clothing, Crosby Hotel, Broadlick Five and Ten, and Citizens National Bank on the right.

By the 1930s, the City Hall building had modern retail fronts and prismatic-glass tile transoms, replacing the cast-iron archways. Its merchants include Ruffing Music, McFarland Grocery, and C. O. Julius Clothing. Davies Tire and Battery Service on the corner was one of many new automotive stores. Margowski Drugs and Wallpaper is next. On the alley are the hotel and café and beyond is Goff’s Five and Ten.

A fish fry brought this crowd to the square in the mid-1950s. Margowski Drugs anchors the corner with its traditional soda fountain and Gambles is next. The City Hall building has the A&P grocery, Public Service Company, and Rexall Drugs and soda fountain, owned by Frank Fitch. Beesley’s department store is on the alley. South of the alley are Goff’s and t...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• One - THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE
• Two - NORTH OF THE SQUARE
• Three - EAST OF THE SQUARE
• Four - SOUTH OF THE SQUARE
• Five - WEST OF THE SQUARE
• Six - INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS
• Seven - ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE
• Eight - INDUSTRY IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
• Nine - A HERITAGE OF TRANSPORTATION
• BIBLIOGRAPHY