I’ve always been drawn to basketball and to the places where its echoes still linger. You might miss it if you blink while passing through Matthews, Indiana, but the town’s basketball story unfolded inside a modest structure at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and East 6th Street.
The Matthews gymnasium got its start as the home of the French Club, which filed articles of incorporation in 1900 to promote sociability and good fellowship in the small Grant County community1. According to local lore, the structure, was built a block east of downtown before it was moved to its current location2.
Matthews first fielded a state tournament basketball team in 19203, but basketball was played at the old French Club as early as 1902. On March 21, Matthews took on Fairmount and won 18 to 8 in what the Marion Chronicle described as an exciting matchup4. Today’s Chronicle-Tribune would not call it that today.
The town’s earliest barnstorming squad was called the Giants5. Once the high school organized an official team, however, a new nickname took hold: the Minutemen- a nod to the belief that they could put a point on the board every sixty seconds6. That pace sounds sleepy by today’s standards, but a century ago, it was more than enough to turn heads in a small-town gym.
Matthews never enjoyed much luck at the sectional level, but the Minutemen still had their moments. In 1932, they battled their way to the Grant County Tournament championship, only to fall heartbreakingly short by losing to Van Buren by a single point7. Just two years later, the story of Matthews High School basketball came to a close when it consolidated with Upland to form Jefferson Township.
The old Matthews gym remained in use by elementary students until 1973, when a modern elementary school was completed8. Today, it’s owned by the local Lions Club and is used for storage9.
Sources Cited
1 Matthews French Club (1900, August 24). The Marion Chronicle. p. 7.
2 Neddenriep, K. (2010). Historic Hoosier Gyms: discovering bygone basketball landmarks. The History Press [Charleston]. Book.
3 Yoder, B. (2025, April 18). Matthews. Hoosier Gym Journey. Web. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
4 Matthews (1902, March 24). The Marion Chronicle Tribune. p. 3.
5 Marion Will Play Champions (1902, December 2). The Marion News-Tribune. p. 3.
6 (See footnote 2).
7 (See footnote 2).
8 Miller, J. (1973, February 27). Ready in month or less. The Marion Chronicle-Tribune. p. 8.
9 (See footnote 3).
Presumably the name Minutemen was also because of the building being on Massachusetts Avenue with Massachusetts being the home of the pre-revolutionary war militias, nicknamed “Minutemen” since they were called to be ready to serve in one minute. The picture of the Minuteman statue on the building is a near rendition of the famous Minuteman statue created by Henry Hudson Kitson located on Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington MA. That statue was installed on April 19, 1900, 125 years after the original event. It is located on the town Green where the British first fired on and killed Americans on April 19, 1775. The installation date is very close to the date this gymnasium was built.
That could be as well! I hadn’t put two and two together there.
Well, I lived on Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington MA for a while, so it was a pretty easy connection for me to make. I drove by the original statue daily.