Bygone times often prompt contemplation. Sitting by the canal one late summer afternoon, I wondered if anyone would recognize our village a hundred years or more from now. Would anyone have memories of the way we know it today?

One hundred and seventy-six years ago, a man and his family traveling from Ohio stopped on the banks of White River, right here where I was standing. He may well have said, "This is perfect. This is just the right spot for me and my family to enjoy each day." In 1835 Jacob Coil was just about 45 years old. He was a farmer by trade and also businessman who burned rock from the White River in a kiln to make lime for mortar used by bricklayers. It is said that his lime was used in building the Old State House.

In 1836 the Great Canal project was funded. This stirred speculation that the area would develop and prosper as immigrants arrived to build the canal. Demand for food, shelter, and clothing during the construction years would spur a thriving community.

Coil's neighbors were Jacob McKay and John Calip. These two probably bought their 147 acres from the federal government after the capital of Indiana was founded nearby. Their land ran alongside the wide, broad section of White River that rippled over the stones in the riverbed. When the water level was low, the ripples marked an ideal place for crossing the river. Coil must have anticipated the area's prosperity because in 1836, just a year after leaving Ohio, he bought land from McKay and Calip. I wonder if he dreamed of a community where he could thrive with his family. He had eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

On April 20, 1837, Coil laid out 48 lots north of the canal route and thought to call his new place "Broad Ripple." Just four weeks after he announced his new development, James A. and Adam R. Nelson plotted 32 lots on the other side of White River. The settlement was named "Wellington" in honor of the Duke of Wellington and his great victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. So the two villages began - Broad Ripple to the north and Wellington to the south with only a canal separating them. Unfortunately, Coil died in the autumn of 1837. The first mention of Broad Ripple was in Jacob Coil's will. Ultimately Wellington became part of Broad Ripple.

Because of Coil and the Nelsons, we have a village. The optimism that seems to have defined those original settlements has persisted through the decades. True to that founding spirit, people who come to the shores of the canal tend to prosper and enjoy life. I enjoy the telling about the founding of Broad Ripple. The story is ripe with entrepreneurs and adventures. I also wonder what Jacob Coil would recognize as remnants of his day. Like our forbearers, we never know how the seeds we sow will geminate and grow nor what future they will bring. Only time will tell what we have added to the rich history of our Broad Ripple.