704 S. Boots St Draft
Meredith Holt
IUH106
Professor Munn
22 May 2009
Every house has a story and holds some small part of history inside its walls. In the late 1800’s, when the yellow house that sits at 704 S. Boots St. was built, a small part of Marion history began. It’s a story that is still being written today. One of the early families, The Flinns, which settled in the Marion area, resided in this house for many years. It has seen many changes in structure over the years. Originally, it was a single dwelling. However, the building annexed its neighbor combining the two buildings into one address. Presently, the building is reaching out in the community more than ever, housing the Marion Inner City Outreach Inc. The house at 704 S Boots St. has seen and been apart of most of the experiences in the city of Marion, and is continuing to write its own story today.
Grant County was officially organized on April 1, 1832 (Branson).The first recorded family to reside in the house was the Flinn Family. From 1887 to 1889 was John W. Flinn and his family; wife, Sarah and sons, William S., James E., and John M. (Watson). John Flinn and his family were first recorded in the 1850 Grant County census (Telfer). At this time in history Grant County was divided into twelve Civil Townships; Center, Fairmount, Franklin, Green, Jefferson, Liberty Mill, Monroe, Pleasant, Richland, Sims, Van Buren and Washington (Branson). The homes two longest residents in the house of the Flinn family name were Donna Flinn and Eva Flinn. Donna lived in the house for seventy-three years and Eva lived there for seventy-four years. Both lived the majority of their lives in the house, and most of that time was spent living together. Donna began living in the house as a student in 1895 and lived there up until her death in 1968. Donna Flinn held a small number of jobs during that time a few being a sales person at The Goldthait Store and a MLNR at Rose St. John. Eva Flinn moved into the house in 1906 and resided there until 1980. Eva worked as a clerk in the Indiana General Service Company (Marion City Directories). Throughout the two women’s years in the house they witnessed many of Marion’s most memorable moments. One being the notorious Marion lynching on the courthouse square that occurred in 1930 (Branson). Also would have seen John F. Kennedy campaign through Marion during his run for Presidency in 1960. Eva was the last Flinn to own the 704 house. Up until 1935 there were many members of the Flinn family moving in and out of the house, but from 1935 to 1968 Donna and Eva Flinn were the two main residents of the house. Eva remained the sole resident until 1980. In the immediate years after Eva’s death (1981-1985) the house remained vacant. During these years the Marion Giants added three more State Basketball Championships to their record in ’85, ’86. and ’87. From 1986 to 1999 the home only had four different owners, but spent almost nine years of that time completely vacant. In 2001 the house became the Marion Inner City Outreach building, which it remains to the present day (Marion City Directories).
At the present time, the house is 3,088 square feet with two full bathrooms, six full bathroom fixtures, one hot water heater, and one kitchen sink. There are two basements and an upstairs walkway connecting the second house. However, when the house was first built it did not look this way at all. The house’s first documented construction was in 1925 but up until 1995 the house today was actually two houses; located at 704 S Boots St. and 706 S. Boots St. In ’95 the two houses were combined to make one large house which is there today. The 706 house no longer stand in the same place and the present address for the combined houses is 704 S. Boots St (General Parcel Information). Currently the house is in the stages of being remodeled. Renovations are being made to both the inside and outside of the house. The outside of the house is being painted and just generally fixed up. There is some foundation trouble so the ministry is looking to repair that in the future. On the inside renovations are being made to the second floor of the house. Most are just house keeping adjustments (Heth). The volunteers of the Marion Inner City Outreach ministry are presently doing the work on the house.
Currently the house is home to the Marion Inner City Outreach or MICO. MICO is a non-profit organization that was formed in 1994 for two purposes; 1) To communicate to the inner city of Marion the love, power, and hope of the Gospel and 2) To communicate to local churches in Grant County the responsibility of Christians to minister to people in the inner city. MICO has an eleven year old MICO Men ministry that meets on Tuesday nights. The purpose of the MICO Men’s ministry is to nurture, encourage, and uplift men. A weekly program is designed for fellowship, to introduce men to the Lord, establish them in the faith and assist them in becoming a part of a church. One area of ministry is the Coffee House which is open Monday’s and Wednesday’s from ten in the morning till two in the afternoon. They also offer Tutoring for kindergarten through sixth grade children on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from four to five thirty. Marion Inner City Outreach was founded by Paul and Barbara Brock, members at Brookhaven Church. The board of MICO consists of Paul and Barbara Brock, Anne Moudy, and Julie Heth. Julie Heth is a 2008 Taylor University graduate. She is the newest member on the board and has high hopes for the ministry. The best way to get involved is to get on the MICO mailing list by e-mailing reachmico@gmail.com. The Marion Inner City Outreach ministry is still in its beginning stages. (Heth) “It’s not so much about the house but more about the ministry within the house.” ~ Julie Heth
For almost as long as the city of Marion has been here, so has the 704 S. Boots St. home. Originally home to the Flinn family, now the house holds the Marion Inner City Outreach ministry. The walls of this house have seen countless generations pass and countless changes occur in the city. Today they are watching the love and hope of Jesus Christ being shared to inner city Marion. “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” ~ Isaiah 58:12
Works Cited
Branson, Ronald . "Grant County Indiana History and Pioneer Genealogy." County History Preservation Society Home Page. 14 May 2009 <http://www.countyhistory.com/grant/start.html>.
Heth, Julie. Personal Interview. 11 May 2009.
- Marion City Directories
1887-1888 1890 1895 1897 1891 1899 1901-1902 1903-1904 1906 1908-1909 1911-1912 1913-1914 1916-1917 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1935 1938 1940 1942 1948 1950 1953 1955 1957 1958 1960 1961 1962 1963 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
"Property Report Card for parcel 27-07-06-403-043.001-002." General Parcel Information. 17 May 2009 <http://grant-in.39dn.com/search/view/parcel_report_card.cfm?Num=27-07-06-403-043.001-002>.
Telfer, Beverly. "1850 Census of Grant County, IN p.269A." RootsWeb.com Home Page. 14 Nov. 2009. 17 May 2009 <http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ingrant/census/1850/269a.htm>.
Watson, Sheila . "Grant County." INGenWeb - Indiana Genealogy Online. 16 May 2009 <http://ingenweb.org/grant/index.htm>.
- Directories were taken from the Indiana Room in the Marion Public Library. Listed is the year of the book that was used as reference. Provided is a list of the residence from the 704 S. Boots St home.
