Women of historic Irvington

The first Girl Scout troop in Indianapolis. The first African American woman to graduate from an Indiana college. A suffragist who became a top leader of women's groups in the state. And the founders of the first Black sorority at a predominantly white college in the country. All of those women and girls had a deep connection to Irvington, the historic neighborhood on the eastside of Indianapolis. As Hoosier History Live salutes Women's History Month, they are among the women whom we will spotlight when Nelson is joined by Sampson Levingston, founder of Through 2 Eyes, a history storyteller who does popular "walk and talk'' tours through diverse Indianapolis neighborhoods, including Irvington. Sampson has researched the historic women and girls whom we will describe, including Indianapolis Girl Scout Troop 1. The first Girl Scout troop in Marion County was formed in 1917, just five years after the organization had been founded nationally. The local scouts initially got together in private homes. They eventually began meeting regularly at Irvington Presbyterian Church, where an Indiana historical marker commemorates the trail-blazing troop.