IRVINGTON — This year the Black sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, will celebrate the centennial of its founding on Butler’s Irvington Campus. Seven young African-American teachers founded the sorority at Butler to aid women of color looking for a career in education.
Over 6,000 sorority international members are expected to attend events in Indianapolis for that celebration. One of the scheduled events will be the unveiling of a State Historical Marker on the grounds of the Bona Thompson Memorial Center, 5350 E. University Avenue in Irvington, This marker will recognize the founding of Sigma Gamma Rho on the Irvington campus.
On Tuesday, July 12, Sigma Gamma Rho will be running shuttle buses to the Bona Center, where over 600 sorority members will visit the marker and see the Bona’s new exhibit on life in 1922. Visitors will also walk in the footsteps of their founders by taking a walking tour of what Butler’s Campus was like in 1922.
Marion County Historian, and Irvington Historical Society’s Executive Director, Steve Barnett has written a booklet describing life for African Americans at the time. Copies will be available in the Bona’s bookstore. Irvington Historical Society President, William Gulde has created the exhibit and Steven and Paula Schmidt curated the storyline of the tour.
The Bona Thompson Memorial Center is the home of the Irvington Historical Society, who has been preserving and displaying the history of Indianapolis’ first planned suburb since 1964. Irvington was home to Butler’s campus from 1875 until 1928 when the school moved to its present northside location. The Bona Thompson Memorial Center is the last remaining building from Butler’s Irvington campus. In 1922, the Bona Thompson Center was Butler’s library and a campus gathering spot.
Visitors are welcome to see the exhibit, open through November 12, or follow the digital tour of the old Butler campus. Bona Thompson Memorial Center museum and bookstore is open Saturdays and Sundays, from 1p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The digital tour can be accessed at https://arcg.is/0zX58W.