Westminster Village Neighborhood

Westminster Village header

History:

Westminster Village is a not-for-profit community serving senior adults.  It was established on the outskirts of Muncie in 1974 on land donated by Dr. Robert Cooper, former member of the Science Department at Ball State University.  The original vision was put forth by Dr. O.B. Christy who began to research the community needs of senior citizens, and Muncie veterinarian, Dr. Norman Miller who met with local community leaders and bank executives. They created a committee and developed a feasibility study for what would later become Westminster Village with the support of the Presbyterian Housing Program of Indianapolis (PHP).

It became self-sufficient and independent in 1980 due to changes within their funding organization and has since established itself as what its website describes as, “[…]an independent, full-service retirement community, governed by a local Board and staffed by local people, who are dedicated to meeting the needs of the residents who live here.”  Visit their website to read more about their history.

Neighborhood Association:

This is a special, demographic based neighborhood, and as such, does not have a traditional neighborhood association, but you can find out more about their leadership, boards, and management teams here.

On the Web:

Westminster Village website

Email: info@wvmuncie.com

Do you have information about this area that you’d like to share?  Contact Building Better Neighborhoods.  We’d love to hear about it!

Join the private social network for your neighborhood at Nextdoor.

Whitely Neighborhood

Whitely Header

Whitely is “An Education First Community.”

The neighborhood goals are:

  1. Beautification
  2. Safety and Security
  3. Education and Health
  4. Employment and Entrepreneurs
  5. Pride and Events
  6. Resource Development
  7. Marketing and Public Relations

History

Whitely Town, Indiana was founded as its own city in the early 1890s by a wealthy man from Ohio named William Needham Whitely, who was known at the time as a great inventor and “the Reaper King.”  He envisioned that this place would become one of the major centers of industry in Indiana.  He chose this location during the “gas boom era” during which there were plentiful and cheap natural gas fields in east central Indiana.  Drilling for wells in Delaware County was fast and furious, but there wasn’t enough infrastructure to support the numbers of incoming workers from Ohio, Kentucky, and New York.

William, along with his brothers Burt and Amos ultimately chose Muncie on the advice of new Muncie resident and friend from Ohio, George F. McCulloch.  McCulloch, for whom “Woods Park” was renamed, helped orchestrate a great business offer and the Whitelys bought 1200 acres of the Wysor tract that was newly available and started to build Whitely Town.  The centerpiece was the William N. Whitely Harvesting Machine Company, which was built on the grounds that are now home to East Central Recycling.  Soon, a new railroad was built across the White River.  Later came the Whitely Inn, White Stables, Whitely Steel Co, Whitely Gas Co, Whitely Bakery, Whitely Public School (what is now Shaffer Chapel), Whitely Iron and Casting Co, Whitely Malleable Castings, Whitely Land Co, Whitely Tin Shop, and more. (source)

BSU Immersive Learning – Historical Maps

Neighborhood Association Meetings

The Whitely Neighborhood Association meets at 5:30 pm on the second Monday of every month at the Union Missionary Baptist Church. All are welcome.

On the Web

Webpage – http://whitelycc.org/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/whitelycc

Twitter – @WhitelyCC

Email – whitelycc@gmail.com

Neighborhood Action Plan

In fall 2011, Students from the Ball State University College of Architecture and Planning, under the direction of BSU faculty member Lisa Dunaway, worked alongside the Whitely Community Council to develop the Whitely Neighborhood Action Plan (WNAP). Since 2011, the WNAP has guided the neighborhood towards successful implementation of many of the identified action steps.

Neighborhood Maps

Whitely Map (pdf)

Whitely Neighborhood Areas (pdf)

Whitely self guided tour (pdf)

Join the private social network for your neighborhood at Nextdoor.

University Heights Neighborhood

History

Like many other neighborhoods across the country, University Heights began when the demand for housing increased greatly at the end of the Second World War. What had been farmland west of Muncie became the site of new homes in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, as the postwar baby boom began in real earnest and returning veterans and others sought homes for their new and growing families. The response to the growth of University Heights and other similar neighborhoods included the opening of West View Elementary School in 1953 and Storer Junior High (later a middle school and now an elementary school) in 1960. The neighborhood went through a cycle of change as those young families grew and then moved off into their own neighborhoods. For some years the neighborhood has had a number of retired persons, but in recent years more young families have entered the area, starting the cycle all over again.

Neighborhood Association Meetings

A steering committee began meeting fall 2014 with their first meeting on, Thursday, April 9th of that year.

2016 Neighborhood Association meetings will be held on March 10, June 9, September 8, and December 8 at the Riverside Baptist Church, 3700 W. Riverside, from 6:30-7:30 PM. All are welcome!

2015 April 9th Meeting Flier

2015 April 9th Meeting Agenda

University Heights Bylaws These bylaws were utilized by the previous neighborhood association; they may be updated or redrafted by the currently forming group.

On the Web

Facebook

Neighborhood Map

University Heights map (pdf)

2016 IDEA Conference Poster

University-Heights-Poster-1-smaller-file   University-Heights-2-smaller-file

(click the images above to view the full posters as pdfs)

Join the private social network for your neighborhood at Nextdoor.