Lover's Lane

<googlemap lat="40.525111" lon="-85.624577" zoom="18" width="300" height="300">40.524924, -85.62475, Riverside Ave Marion, IN</googlemap>

Lover's Lane

"The Dark Secret of 1930's Marion"

Background

Lover's Lane was, for lack of better terms, the "Red Light" district of Marion. This area, located off of modern day 38th St. and next to the Mississinewa River, was known for behavior that was frowned upon by many of the adults in Marion and the surrounding towns. In his book "A Lynching in the Heartland," Dr. James Madison stated that the area was "... notorious for 'petting parties' and 'jazz parties.'"

Lynching of 1930

On August 6th, 1930, a couple, Claude Deeter and Mary Ball, were parked at Lover's Lane. According to news reports, the couple was ambushed by three black teenagers.

Mary Ball

Shortly after the shooting, Mary Ball enraged the community with the claim that she was raped. Her stories were doubted, due to what many called her "character issue." This issue is more likely to be truth due to the fact that she and Deeter were parked at Lover's Lane.

Note: This page is in process.
This page is an extension of the wikimarion lynching project.