An Intersection of Immortal Souls

15th and New Jersey, April 2026

Situated at the northwestern corner of 15th and New Jersey Streets, in the Old Northside neighborhood of Indianapolis, lies a structure likened to the house featured in Grant Wood's most well-known work, American Gothic, with its pointed arch windows. Though the building now serves as a traditional, private residence, it has served as a house of worship for its first hundred and twenty some odd years. 

The founding congregation to call this corner home was the Central Universalist Church. The church initially formed in 1884. Before moving to this location, the church convened at places such as Pfafflin Hall and the well-known When Block. It wasn't until 1892 that the church would receive two generous donations to the congregation to erect a permanent home. Both donations were given by none other than John and Electa Herron, the former being the benefactor to what is now the Herron School of Art & Design and the Indianapolis Museum of Art (also known as Newfields). Mr. Herron donated the lot on which the church was to be erected, and Mrs. Herron donated $1,000 (roughly $36,000 as of 2026) to help aid its construction. Mrs. Herron also served as an active member of the church. Their niece and caretaker, Anna E. Turrell, was also a longtime member. Sadly, Mrs. Herron passed away prior to the completion of the church.

Mr. and Mrs. Herron, c.1880s by Frank M. Hohenberger
Frank M. Hohenberger Photograph Collection, IU Digital Collections

In June 1893, it was announced that Waltz & Son, of Hagerstown, IN, would receive the contract work for its construction. It was dedicated in December of the same year, however the first sermon was held elsewhere due to the delay in laying of the carpet and receiving the remaining furniture. Mr. Herron had graciously offered the first sermon to be held at his modest wood-frame Italianate residence just south of 15th Street and College Avenue, a mere four blocks away from the congregation's new home. 

Herron's health declined, and he traveled westward in search of better health and passed rather unfortunately in Los Angeles in April 1895. His remains were returned to Indiana, and Central Universalist Church held his service on May 8th. Many attended his memorial service and included remarks by Rev. B. F. Foster, a close friend of Herron; Ambrose P. Stanton, Herron's executor and friend; and May Wright Sewall, a founding member of the Art Association of Indianapolis. Herron was interred at his family plot at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in southeastern Indiana. 

A parsonage was built west of the church in 1896. The lot was also gifted by John Herron, prior to his death, in memory of his sister, Ann Herron. In October 1903, "a marriage of unusual interest" took place between millionaire industrialist Edmund B. Ball of the Ball family and Miss Bertha Crosley, daughter of Rev. Marion Crosley (a former pastor of Central Universalist and officiant). A fire damaged the church in 1904 and was later renovated to its current exterior in 1915. It was rededicated in December, twenty-two years after the church's inaugural dedication. 

Indianapolis Star, October 8, 1903, pg.6/The Star Press, October 9, 1903, pg. 2

Within the first half of the 20th century, the Central Universalist congregation started to dwindle, and the church was vacated. In 1942, a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled in with a dedication to their new home on May 16, 1943. Prominent LDS leader Elder George Albert Smith attended the dedication during a tour throughout the Midwest. The LDS worshipped at this site for a little over a decade. By the mid-1950s, the church became home to the newly formed Peoples Temple led by Rev. James W. (Jim) Jones. Yes, that Jim Jones. 1502 N. New Jersey was the first home for the congregation for three years until the church grew and sought a larger space. The next home became the former Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, formerly located at the southeastern corner of 10th and Delaware Streets. 

Peoples Temple c. 1955-58,
W. H. Bass Photo Company Collection, Indiana Historical Society

Advertisement from the Indianapolis Star, April 9, 1955, pg. 20

Promotional license plate, c. 1955-8, Collection of the Indiana State Museum

After Jim and his followers moved, the church became home to the North New Jersey Church of God for a few decades. Restoration Baptist Church also called this location home from the late 2000s throughout the 2010s and would eventually be the final congregation to occupy the building. It went up for sale in the early 2020s, where it has become a residence, a first in its history. Though the house is ecclesiastical in its appearance, it echoes characteristics of its neighbors and opens a new chapter in the site's history. 

At John Herron's memorial service, a sermon on the "Immortality of the Soul" was orated, and after 131 years, Herron's soul lives on through the art school that bears his name today. Additionally, the corner of 15th and New Jersey continues to bear the legacy of both Mr. and Mrs. Herron for their invaluable contributions to the Central Universalists. The site, incidentally enough, also shares the immortality of Jim Jones and the birthplace of one of the most infamous cults in United States history. 

Sources: Indiana Historical Society Digital Collections; IU Digital Collections; Indiana State Museum Collection; Indianapolis News, "To Build a Universalist Church," September 22, 1892, pg. 2; Indianapolis Journal, "New Universalist Church," June 20, 1893, pg. 6; Indianapolis Journal, "At Mr. Herron's Church," May 7, 1895, pg3; Indianapolis Star, "Millionaire Takes Bride," October 8, 1903, pg. 6; The Star Press (Muncie), October 9, 1903, pg. 2; The Christian Leader, "A Century of Universalism in Indianapolis, Indiana," January 4, 1936, pg. 14; Indianapolis News, "Latter Day Saints to Dedicate Chapel," May 15, 1943, pg. 14