Fortune Academy - 5626 Lawton Loop East Drive

Year Built: Circa 1970s

Architecture Style: Colonial Revival

Key Features:

• Spire
• Fanlight over Door
• Small Panes in Double Hung Windows

Constructed in the 1970s to serve as a chapel on the Fort. After the Fort was decommissioned, the chapel changed hands and was purchased from Lawrence Township Schools in 2012, becoming the new permanent home of Fortune Academy.

Fortune Academy is a not-for-profit private school serving students 1st-12th grades with language learning differences such as dyslexia and ADHD. Fortune was founded in 2000, by teacher and mother Janet George, Fortune Academy's current Head of School. The school opened in 2002 in a borrowed building on 38th street with just 6 students and 2 teachers. Today, serving over 90 students from over 34 zip codes, Fortune is ranked 18th in the Nation by the Master's in Education Guide. Fortune has had families move from as far as California and Texas to attend, and currently has families traveling over an hour to attend daily.

Fortune Academy boasts a 6:1 student to teacher ratio and uses the Orton-Gillingham Approach to language instruction - considered the Gold Standard of Teaching for students struggling to read and write. Fortune offers three diploma tracks: General, Core 40, and Honors Diploma and benefits from a long-term relationship with Ivy Tech for students wishing to take dual credit courses. Due to growth Fortune Academy is currently conducting a 7MM Capital Campaign to raise funds to construct a free standing high school on the now parking lot of the campus. The free standing high school will also house an Outreach Center for community resources such as tutoring, college and career planning, diagnostic testing, teacher training, and community education.

Fort History

Long before the first settlers arrived in Lawrence, Native Americans such as the Delaware and Miami tribes lived along Fall Creek, just west of here. In the 1820s, pioneers began to migrate into the area, including the Reddick family who purchased land for farming in Lawrence in 1823.

So, that’s a snapshot of early Lawrence, what’s the story of the fort – how and when did it get here?

The fort is named for “Indianapolis’ own,” Benjamin Harrison, who, though born in Ohio, moved to Indianapolis in 1853 at age 20 and established a law practice here. Harrison had a good American pedigree, he was the grandson of the 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison, and the great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison the 5th, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the Civil War, Benjamin Harrison served in the Union Army as a colonel, and was promoted in 1865 to brevet brigadier general. Harrison returned to his Indianapolis law practice, served for a term in the U.S. Senate, and from there was elected as a Republican as the 23rd President of the United States, serving one term from 1889-1893. The Harrisons, Benjamin and W. H., are the only grandfather-grandson duo to occupy the Oval Office. Harrison died in Indianapolis in 1901.

In 1902, the federal government announced the closing of the Civil War arsenal in Indianapolis, where Arsenal Tech High School gets its name and is located today. Because of the loss of city revenue from the arsenal, Russell Harrison, Benjamin’s son, a recent Spanish-American War veteran, proposed the establishment of an infantry base in the area and worked to find a suitable location. The location selected was northeast of the city where Uncle Sam purchased land from the farmers near Lawrence, including 312 acres from the Reddick family. Towards the end of the transaction, a few of the farmers drove the price up, exceeding the budget. Local merchants stepped in to cover the difference, knowing that their shops would benefit having the fort nearby. These merchants included L.S. Ayres and Bobbs-Merrill Company. The merchants, in a sense, saved the fort. In total, 2,417 acres were purchased for $279,000.

Russell Harrison championed the naming of the new fort after his late President father to then President Teddy Roosevelt. Russell did so only to further the Indiana fortunes of the Republican Party and of Teddy Roosevelt, as he had had a falling out with his father, who left him out of his will. With the land purchase finalized in 1904, construction of the fort began in 1906. President Roosevelt did honor the former Hoosier president, naming it Fort Benjamin Harrison.

When the Base Realignment and Closure Commission closed the Fort in 1995, about 1,700 acres were conveyed to the State of Indiana for the Fort Harrison State Park and Golf Course. The Fort Harrison Reuse Authority purchased the rest of the land from the Army for $9 million. A significant portion of that land was given to the City of Lawrence for parks and recreational uses. The Reuse Authority demolished over 800,000 square feet of dilapidated buildings and prepared the land for redevelopment for residential and office use. Today there are two major housing projects, outdoor art sculptures, and property values have increased. The Fort’s development is widely recognized as a success story for the reuse and redevelopment of a vacated military installation.

To the north and directly in front of us is the 35-acre parade field or “The Loop” as it is referred to these days - this was the center of fort activities for much of its history, from physical training in the mornings, to military field exercises, pass and review ceremonies, as well as evening entertainment provided by the regimental band. We’ll talk more about life at the fort throughout the tour. We’ll start the tour by taking a trip around the parade field and Lawton Loop, named for General Lawton, a hero of the Civil War and Spanish-American War from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Many of the streets of the base were all named after victorious Spanish-American war heroes. More than 400 maple trees were planted along the sidewalks of the post when it was built.