Governor's House

It's hard to imagine when looking at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, that there was a home for the Governor of Indiana on this spot. There was a point when the area also served as a playground for children and grazing ground for livestock.

In 1827, the governor's mansion was built on the Circle. First lady Esther Ray Brown refused to occupy it. "Live in that house?" she cried, "No, indeed! Why we would be under the eyes of everybody. Every woman in town would take account of our washing when we hang it out on Monday morning." The house sat empty for 30 years and was razed in 1857. The site became Circle Park.

In 1887, the General Assembly passed a bill to erect a a state soldiers' and sailors' monument or memorial hall. The popular plan was for it to be a giant shaft on the Circle since it was in the geographical center of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana. The cornerstone was laid March 4, 1893, despite the fact no plan for the monument had be finalized.