Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service, Indianapolis (Howard Petty)
Encyclopedia
Plaque Commemorating First Formal Religious Service (Indianapolis, IN), is a public artwork by American
artist Howard Petty, located on the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis
, Indiana
, USA. It was created in 1923 and set in the Indiana statehouse in 1924. It commemorates the first religious services held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1819 and the first organized church in 1821. The plaque is made of bronze
and depicts a walnut tree in the foreground with a log cabin in the background. It is approximately 22 inches wide by 35.5 inches high and has a depth of .75 inches.
Methodist Episcopal Church Formerly Wesley Chapel" is inscribed. It is signed Howard Petty, 1923 in the very bottom proper left corner.
, Chairman of the Committee on the Commemoration of the Indiana Society of Pioneers, and the founder of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. She wanted a memorial marker to be designed specifically for the Indiana statehouse.
A contest was held and a prize of one hundred dollars was given to the winner, Howard Petty. Petty was a Clinton County
resident who studied at the Herron School of Art
. The plaque was placed on the west side of the north wall in the rotunda on December 14, 1924. Senator Albert J. Beveridge made the key speech, but Charles E. Coffin (president of the Meridian Street United Methodist's board of trustees and president of Indianapolis' board of Public Works), Mrs Carey and Dr Virgil E. Rover (Pastor of the church). The latter ended his speech as follows: "We of this generation give this memorial to our posterity to be a valued record preserving in concise and imperishable form an account of the glorious service rendered our Christianity and our country by these pioneer preachers and heroic people. 'Though the pathfinders die, the paths remain open'". Music for the dedication ceremony was provided by the church quartet, who sang "By the Rivers of Babylon" and the church organist, who played "Pomp and Circumstance"
The imagery in the plaque directly references the history of the United Methodists history in Indianapolis, Indiana. The first formal religious service was held outside under a walnut tree. the tree was located at the south end of the current statehouse. The first church was established in the log cabin of Isaac Wilson, who was one of the original settlers of Indianapolis and owned the local sawmill. This church was known as Wesley Chapel and was torn down in 1846 to build another chapel on that same site.
The Reverend Cravens came to Indianapolis in 1821, the year the city was founded. As stated in the Indiana United Methodist Historical Society Newsletter, "On October 9th, the first sermon was preached by Reverend Cravens...and the following day lots were made available for sale. The timing was identical. Methodism was here when the city was born." He came from Virginia and was well known for his dislike of slavery and drinking. Cravens was described as, "a man of respectable talents [who] possessed a world of wit, good common sense, and was one of the most undaunted men that ever lived." Cravens sermons were written specifically to make parishioners feel uneasy. For example, he described those who rented their slaves to others (instead of utilizing the labor for their own land) as, "bloodstained hypocrites who were worse than actual slave holders, who treated their slaves kindly." Reverend Craven remained in Indianapolis for four years. As Meridian Street United Methodist historian, Daniel F. Evans noted, "Considering Cravens' aversion to drinking spirits, the plaque seems appropriately placed, since next to it is another which commemorates an 1879 meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist Howard Petty, located on the Indiana Statehouse, which is in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, USA. It was created in 1923 and set in the Indiana statehouse in 1924. It commemorates the first religious services held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1819 and the first organized church in 1821. The plaque is made of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and depicts a walnut tree in the foreground with a log cabin in the background. It is approximately 22 inches wide by 35.5 inches high and has a depth of .75 inches.
Description
The bronze plaque is approximately 22 inches wide by 35.5 inches high and has a depth of .75 inches. The plaque is divided into three parts: text, image, text. At the top of the plaque is a raised inscription in all caps, "The First Formal Religious Service Indianapolis Was Held On These Grounds" A raised line divides this text from the top of a walnut tree. The tree's leaves cover the entire width of the plaque and are one third of the image. Directly under the tree, in the background, is the lower half of a log cabin. Three adults with three children are entering the log cabin from the proper left. On the proper right of the cabin, also in the background, is a row of trees. The trunk of the walnut tree goes directly down the center of the plaque, dividing two pieces of text (in similar font as the first). On the proper right of the tree trunk is written, "1819 Resin Hammond A Methodist Conducted the First Religious Service Under a Walnut Tree". On the proper left of the tree trunk is written, "1821 First Church Organized in the Isaac Wilson Log Cabin by Reverend William Cravens" There is another raised line dividing the plaque and "Presented 1924 by Members of the Meridian StreetMeridian Street (Indianapolis)
Meridian Street is the primary north-south street in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.Meridian Street was formerly aligned with US 31 for much of its length in the city of Indianapolis, before being re-routed to a segment of Interstate 465. The street delineates east addresses from west...
Methodist Episcopal Church Formerly Wesley Chapel" is inscribed. It is signed Howard Petty, 1923 in the very bottom proper left corner.
Historical Information
The plaque was suggested by Mrs. John N Carey, a member of the Meridian Street United Methodist ChurchUnited Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, Chairman of the Committee on the Commemoration of the Indiana Society of Pioneers, and the founder of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. She wanted a memorial marker to be designed specifically for the Indiana statehouse.
A contest was held and a prize of one hundred dollars was given to the winner, Howard Petty. Petty was a Clinton County
Clinton County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,866 people, 12,545 households, and 9,057 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 13,267 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
resident who studied at the Herron School of Art
Herron School of Art
Herron School of Art and Design, a school of Indiana University, was ranked 45th overall by U.S. News and World Report among graduate schools of fine arts in 2008....
. The plaque was placed on the west side of the north wall in the rotunda on December 14, 1924. Senator Albert J. Beveridge made the key speech, but Charles E. Coffin (president of the Meridian Street United Methodist's board of trustees and president of Indianapolis' board of Public Works), Mrs Carey and Dr Virgil E. Rover (Pastor of the church). The latter ended his speech as follows: "We of this generation give this memorial to our posterity to be a valued record preserving in concise and imperishable form an account of the glorious service rendered our Christianity and our country by these pioneer preachers and heroic people. 'Though the pathfinders die, the paths remain open'". Music for the dedication ceremony was provided by the church quartet, who sang "By the Rivers of Babylon" and the church organist, who played "Pomp and Circumstance"
The imagery in the plaque directly references the history of the United Methodists history in Indianapolis, Indiana. The first formal religious service was held outside under a walnut tree. the tree was located at the south end of the current statehouse. The first church was established in the log cabin of Isaac Wilson, who was one of the original settlers of Indianapolis and owned the local sawmill. This church was known as Wesley Chapel and was torn down in 1846 to build another chapel on that same site.
The Reverend Cravens came to Indianapolis in 1821, the year the city was founded. As stated in the Indiana United Methodist Historical Society Newsletter, "On October 9th, the first sermon was preached by Reverend Cravens...and the following day lots were made available for sale. The timing was identical. Methodism was here when the city was born." He came from Virginia and was well known for his dislike of slavery and drinking. Cravens was described as, "a man of respectable talents [who] possessed a world of wit, good common sense, and was one of the most undaunted men that ever lived." Cravens sermons were written specifically to make parishioners feel uneasy. For example, he described those who rented their slaves to others (instead of utilizing the labor for their own land) as, "bloodstained hypocrites who were worse than actual slave holders, who treated their slaves kindly." Reverend Craven remained in Indianapolis for four years. As Meridian Street United Methodist historian, Daniel F. Evans noted, "Considering Cravens' aversion to drinking spirits, the plaque seems appropriately placed, since next to it is another which commemorates an 1879 meeting of the Women's Christian Temperance Union".