By Robert Bowling, Fishers Historical Society

For Black History Month, it is time to explore the early history of African Americans in Fishers. Fishers was founded in 1872, seven years after the end of the Civil War. After the war, freed slaves migrated west. In the 1870s Hamilton County was still very much rural, with a population of 5,574. The black population in Hamilton County was 170, and 78 lived in Noblesville Township. Some townships such as Fall Creek, Wayne and White River had all-white populations. In and around Fishers, there were just a handful of black residents, but one was very notable – Willis Venable.

He was considered the oldest black resident in Hamilton County. Born into slavery in Kentucky, he gained his freedom and moved to Indiana. Because vital records were not accurately kept on slaves, he didn’t know exactly how old he was. His birth is listed as May 1825. He was married in 1864 to Sarah Agnes, who was only 14 years old, 25 years her senior. They had six children together.

Venable settled in Fishers shortly after the town was founded. He may no longer have been a slave, yet he was still the victim of racial animosity. Hampton West (later convicted of grave robbing) once had Venable and his two sons arrested for hog theft. The case was dismissed when the witness perjured himself, and the state dropped the charges. Around the same time, his new home was burned to the ground before he could move in.

Venable was active in politics, having been selected as a delegate to the National Convention for Colored Men and the state Republican Convention. He routinely wrote articles for the newspaper on issues that affected the black community. In response to civil rights violations against African Americans, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1875. Venable commented about the pending legislation: “We do not, nor never have, demanded social equality; it is not a question to be settled by legislation, but by individual members of society, in accordance with their own tastes and feelings…We have demanded nothing more than rights, absolute rights, under the law that before were denied by a large class of citizens.”

After the racial discrimination he faced in Fishers, he moved to Noblesville in the late 1870s. He was also involved in the community and a member of the AME church. He loved children and would dress up as Santa Claus during the Christmas program at the church. In 1888 he was elected justice of the peace for Noblesville, and two other black residents were elected constables. He stayed in this role for several years leading up to his death. Willis Venable died on January 9, 1901, and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Noblesville.

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