It was originally developed during the 1880s and 1890s, coinciding with the growth of Indiana Avenue as the central commercial district for Indianapolis's Black population at that time.

[3] The best-known resident of this area was Freeman Ransom, a lawyer, businessman, and civil rights activist who also worked with Madame C. J. Walker as her legal counsel and the general manager of her company.

[6] By the 1950s, when the Indiana Avenue community began to decline as other opportunities drew Black residents away, the area became a target for razing by the city of Indianapolis.

Due to community worry about the possibility of continued growth of IUPUI, residents Lathan Frayser, Addie Jones, Wilma Bailey, Mary Frisby, Jean Spears, and Teresa Crawford-Cottingham formed the Ransom Place Neighborhood Association (RPNA) in August 1991.

After gaining recognition on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, the neighborhood experienced a revitalization effort throughout the rest of the decade.