Historical Ownership of the Land
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In 1833, Daniel Clark was deeded our quarter of the Quarter by the United States of America
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In 1835, Daniel Clark conveyed the land to William Fultz
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In 1864, William and Abigail Fultz conveyed the land to Gottlieb Wachtstetter
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In 1869, Gottlieb and Anne Wachtstetter conveyed the land to Christopher Wachtstetter
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In 1875, Christopher and Gahanete Wachtstetter conveyed the land to Andrew J. Sheets
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In 1888, after Andrew J. Sheets had passed away, his heirs William A. Sheets and John W. Sheets conveyed the land to George W. Sheets
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In 1900, George W. and Orpha Sheets conveyed the land to Walter S. Johnson
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In 1900, Walter S. Johnson, conveyed the land back to William A. Sheets
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In 1906, William A. and Mary A.Sheets conveyed the land to Myrtle Sheets
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In the 30's, an easement is given for a gas pipeline through the area. This pipeline runs under what is now the Asherwood golf course.
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It gets messy in the probate courts in the 1930's and 40's.
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Finally in 1941, the whole Sheets clan conveys the land to Elijah B. Martindale
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Martindale apparently defaulted, and the land became the property of Merchants Bank, who then sold it to Guernsey Van Riper, Jr.
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In 1960, Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. and Ruth Lilly Van Riper obtained a right of way from the pipeline corporation for the purpose of platting the land
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In 1959, The Van Ripers and Theron R. Hale establish protective covenants for Deerfield section 1
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In 1965, Deerfield Section 2 is platted
Deerfield Civic League Recorded History Begins
As of 1973, we have records of the Deerfield Civic League existing and functioning as a neighborhood association. What follows below is a year-by-year recap of the memorable events recorded in meeting minutes and other memorabilia, as well as a listing of who made up the board of directors of the DCL for the year.
The Original Concept
The land that was to become Deerfield began to be obtained in 1959 by Theron R. Hale, who purchased it from Ruth Lilly Van Riper (an heiress of Eli Lilly) and her husband Guernsey Van Riper, Jr. The original plat plan called for a large development to be built in phases, beginning with a grand entrance and circle. The idea was to create the first high-end neighborhood in the far-out suburbs of Indianapolis. If this original plan had come to fruition, Deerfield would have looked like this today:
Sections One and Two of Deerfield
The developers started in 1960 by designing and building Section I of Deerfield, shown below. Note the roads leading out from the Mall and the Circle, connecting to the future roads in the larger neighborhood. The two planned roads off the Mall are still recognizable as shared driveways. The planned roads off the circle have been absorbed into peoples' yards and can no longer be seen.
In 1965, Phase II was platted:
