Flanner Guild Settlement House

In 1898, the Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis established the Flanner Guild, a social service center dedicated to aiding Indianapolis’ African American population. The Guild originated as a center for black youth in the western part of Indianapolis as an attempt to create separate spaces for African American and white children. The guild was named after Frank W. Flanner, a white mortician from Indianapolis who offered the use of his land and cottage on Rhode Island Street to establish the “Negro Service Center" [1]. In Indianapolis specifically, racial prejudice and discrimination led to an absence of economic opportunity for the black community. The Flanner Guild’s solutions to the rise of unemployment and a lack of health care focused on “self-help” training and “the promotion of social, spiritual, moral and physical welfare of African Americans" [2]. The Flanner Guild social service program started in 1908, but lack of funding limited the abilities of the program. In the early 20th century, the Flanner Guild offered domestic training classes in millinery, sewing, and cooking [3]. Despite lack of funds, the Flanner Guild managed to care for unmarried mothers and their children in the Flanner Guild Rescue Home that opened in 1908 [4]. In 1909, the services of the Flanner Guild began to be recognized by the general public, and with the increase of donations, the Flanner Guild began to flourish. New programs emphaized children, including programs to prevent juvenile crime, boys’ and girls’ clubs, a day care nursery, and a Child Development Center [5].

Financial worry was further quelled in 1912, when Flanner Guild became affiliated with the Christian Women’s Board of Missions (CWBM). In the same year, Frank Flanner passed away, and the CWBM changed the name of the organization to Flanner House [6]. In 1918, Flanner House relocated to a series of buildings on north West Street, which allowed the organization to expand its services to help the Indianapolis black community in new ways [7]. Some of the new services included a settlement house for training domestic servants and providing more self-help training, as well as health programs and a tuberculosis clinic [8]. The clinic was especially helpful to the black community because diseases like tuberculosis were rampant in poor neighborhoods and African Americans were not welcome in white hospitals [9].

In 1935, Flanner House was rebranded as a non-profit organization by the newly appointed director, Cleo W. Blackburn [10]. Under the leadership of Blackburn, Flanner House managed to target key issues that were facing the black community at large. By 1944, the once small organization offered a large assortment of programs including social services, vocational aids, self-help services, and garden cultivation [11]. Flanner House did its best to fulfill any possible need the black community had. In 1950, Blackburn created Flanner House Homes, Inc., a housing project that provided low-cost homes to African American families. To make the houses affordable, men built their future homes with their own hands, all while keeping a full-time job. Ultimately, 181 houses were built as part of the Flanner Homes, Inc. project [12].

Today, Flanner House is located on Martin Luther King Jr. Street, where it was moved in 1979. The cluster of buildings include a child development center, a senior center, and the Flanner House Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library [13]. In the 1990s, the Flanner House Homes district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significant contribution to Indianapolis’ African American history [14].

[1] Flanner House History in Highlights: 1898 to 1976. Manuscript. From Indiana Historical Society, Flanner House of Indianapolis. https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/dc018/id/3772 (accessed January 27, 2021.
[2] Flanner House Records: ca. 1906-1979. Manuscript. From Indiana Historical Society, Flanner House of Indianapolis. https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/flanner-house-records.pdf.
[3] Flanner House Records: ca. 1906-1979.
[4] Flanner House History in Highlights: 1898 to 1976.
[5] Flanner House Records: ca. 1906-1979.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Britanny D. Kropf, “Flanner House,” Discover Indiana, Public History IUPUI, April 2, 2019, https://publichistory.iupui.edu/items/show/16.
[8] “Flanner House Homes,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, October 1990. https://secure.in.gov/apps/dnr/shaard/r/235c6/N/Flanner_House_Homes_Marion_CO_Nom.pdf.
[9] Flanner House Records: ca. 1906-1979.
[10] “Flanner House Homes,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, October 1990.
[11] Flanner House Records: ca. 1906-1979.
[12] “Flanner House Homes,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, October 1990.
[13] Britanny D. Kropf, “Flanner House,” Discover Indiana, Public History IUPUI.
[14] “Flanner House Homes,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, October 1990.

Student Authors: Gwyneth Harris and Phillip Brooks
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey

PHOTO & VIDEO:
Flanner House Guild Tea, Indianapolis Recorder Collection, Indiana Historical Society.
https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/dc018/id/2659/