Allison, James, 1872-1928

James Ashbury Allison was born in 1872 in Marcellus, Michigan. The Allison family moved to South Bend, Indiana in 1874 and eventually settled in Indianapolis in 1880. James Allison's father Noah operated the Allison Coupon Company, printing coupon books for coal mine company stores. James took over the business when his father died in 1890. Allison's rise to fortune started with his partnership with Carl Fisher and Percy Avery. They began manufacturing carbide gas-based headlights and their Prest-O-Lite company grew quickly and made its owners rich. Allison then partnered with Fisher, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler to open the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1910. James Allison married Sarah Cornelius in 1907 and soon after they began planning a grand estate called Riverdale near the White River. This was the era of landscape architecture and Allison hired Jens Jensen to create a beautiful landscape for Riverdale. Allison and Sarah divorced in 1928 and Allison died later that year shorty after entering into a second marriage. Allison's mother inherited the estate and lived their until her death. In 1937, the Sisters of St. Francis bought the estate and transformed it into Marian College.