Research and Reconnaissance

The Riverside-Normal City Comprehensive Historic District Survey was completed by Professor J.P. Hall's Arch 626 Historic Preservation Research Methods course. The survey was completed to assist with the ongoing effort to list the Riverside-Normal City neighborhood as a local historic district in the City of Muncie. 

The first step in the survey project was a reconnaissance survey that the team took together, they walked by each of the structures in the neighborhood to get a feel for the area they're surveying. The neighborhood tour was led by a community partner from the Riverside-Normal City Neighborhood Association, by having a resident, the team was able to gather much more information than walking alone. 

Historic research was conducted on each of the 91 properties, through in-person document research and online research from sources like Newspapers.com and Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. Historic information found ranged from previous owners and even the families, builders, and sometimes architects that built the homes. Some of the more interesting histories include a home built by student at Muncie Central High School, a home owned by "The world's greatest xylophonist" - William “El Cota" Coates, and Fred Werts, who fought alongside Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution, Werts also started the first airport in Muncie near his fox farm.