Hilltop Historic District [1]
The Hilltop Historic District includes much of the area known as the Wallace Farm owned by James Wallace whose home was located at the corner of Ninth and State Streets. Most of the houses in this working class neighborhood were constructed during the early twentieth century.
The district developed during a period of urban and suburban expansion in Lafayette. The expansion of the city resulted from the building of the street railway and belt railway systems. In 1888 the street car network became the first electrified system in Indiana, and transportation further improved when the interurban lines reached Lafayette. "Streetcar suburbs", as they were called, were popular with the working classes, providing them easy access to jobs in factories and Lafayette's downtown.
The district is comprised of small bungalows and American four-square houses sited on small lots. A series of bungalows along Franklin Street and on Central Avenue typify the neighborhood. Representing period revival styles in the district are three Dutch Colonial Revival style houses on Central Avenue, and two Colonial Revival Cottages on South Tenth Street.
Also located in the district is a Sears house at 813 South Tenth Street, one of thousands of such "mail order" houses erected in this country. The home was constructed in 1936 by Jim Price who started National Homes in Lafayette in 1940.
The district, with very few modern intrusions, retains much of its historic character.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
10th Street South • 11th Street South • 12th Street South • 14th Street South • 15th Street South • 9th Street South • Adams Street • Central Avenue • Elliott Street • Franklin Street • Kossuth Street • State Street East • Virginia Street