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Calvin Fletcher, 1798-1866

Calvin Fletcher Replacement Side OneCalvin Fletcher replacement side two

Location: Virginia Avenue and East Street, Indianapolis. (Marion County, Indiana)

Installed 2023 Indiana Historical Bureau, Fletcher Place Neighborhood Association, and Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Centers

ID#: 49.2023.7

This marker replaced damaged marker ID#: 49.2006.1 Calvin Fletcher.

Text

Calvin Fletcher (1798-1866)

Side One

Civic leader, lawyer, and diarist Calvin Fletcher moved to Indianapolis in 1821. After serving as a state senator (1826-1833), he lived here with his wife Sarah from 1839 to 1855. He purchased and farmed land, becoming one of Indianapolis’s wealthiest residents. As a State Bank leader, Fletcher helped facilitate commercial and industrial growth of the city and state.

Side Two

Fletcher cofounded the Indianapolis Benevolent Society, secured aid for widows and orphans, and lobbied for free education. Ardently opposed to slavery, he recruited men for the 28th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. Fletcher led the Indiana Freedmen’s Aid Commission, which mobilized resources and medical care for newly-emancipated Black Southerners.

Annotated Text

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Keywords

Early Settlement, Politics