Exploring America State by State

Category Archives: Houses

Tippecanoe Place

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Tippecanoe Place, located in South Bend, Indiana, is a historic mansion that once belonged to Clement Studebaker, co-founder of the Studebaker automobile company. Built in 1889, this Richardsonian Romanesque style mansion is a testament to the Studebaker family’s wealth and influence in the late 19th century. The mansion features four stories, with a distinctive conical tower, and is constructed of glacial boulders and Indiana Bedford limestone. Inside, the mansion boasts 40 rooms, showcasing intricate woodwork and luxurious finishes.

Today, Tippecanoe Place operates as a restaurant and brewery, offering a unique dining experience in a historically rich setting. Visitors can enjoy a meal or a craft beer while admiring the architectural grandeur of the mansion and learning about its fascinating past. The mansion also hosts events and offers tours, making it a popular destination for history buffs and those seeking a glimpse into the opulent era of the Studebaker family.

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The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site

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The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site near Janesville in Southern Illinois, safeguards the 19th-century home of Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln, parents of President Abraham Lincoln. While Abraham Lincoln was a Springfield lawyer when his parents settled here, his legal work frequently took him to nearby Charleston and the family farm, particularly in the 1840s. He even owned a portion of the land, which he then deeded back to his parents for their use.

This 86-acre site, managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Sites, features a replica of the Lincolns’ two-room cabin. Built in 1935-36 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) on the original cabin site, the project was overseen by the National Park Service. The CCC also established Camp Shiloh within what became Lincoln Log Cabin State Park. Comprised of World War I veterans, the camp’s ten-acre northwest corner is now a National Register of Historic Places listing.

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The Allyn Mansion

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Built in 1885 for the wealthy Allyn family, the Delavan mansion served as their primary residence, surpassing even their lavish lakefront homes and winter retreat in Los Angeles. Mr. Allyn tragically passed away within its walls in 1913, leaving the estate to his wife. Upon her death in 1939, the mansion was bequeathed to her step-daughter, Esther, who utilized it sparingly for family gatherings.

Esther’s daughter, Ruth, inherited the property but, facing costly repairs, made drastic alterations, removing the tower, balcony, and porch, severely compromising the architectural integrity. Ruth then sold the mansion to the city of Delavan, which later sold it to a nursing home.
The conversion to a nursing home brought functional changes, including a fire escape and modifications for an elevator. However, stricter regulations forced its closure in 1966. Subsequent uses included a furniture store, which further altered the interior, obliterating original wallpapers and frescoes.

Purchased in 1984 by Joe Johnson and Ron Markwell, the mansion was a shell of its former glory. Years of dedicated restoration have brought the Allyn Mansion back to life, revealing its original splendor and offering a glimpse into the lives of the family who once called it home.

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The Bates-Geers House

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Located near Plato, Missouri, the Bates-Geers House is a dedaying symbol of the area’s vibrant history. Built in 1840, this two-story Greek Revival-style residence offers an intriguing look into the lives of early settlers and the development of the region.

Around 1850, James Addison Bates constructed this impressive two-story home using planks from his water-powered sawmill. It featured a large chimney at each of its three gabled ends, and the sandstone used for the house was sourced from the property itself. In a time when most homes were modest log cabins, the Bates residence must have appeared as a grand estate. Originally, it included several outbuildings, with a series of small rock foundations believed to be remnants of slave cabins, reflecting Missouri’s status as a slave state. The enslaved individuals worked at the sawmill, maneuvering logs with oxen, stacking lumber, and burning slabs.

During the Civil War, the house served as a hospital, with soldiers encamped in the surrounding area. After the war, John Geers, a former Union soldier, acquired the property. The Geers family inhabited the house for generations, further enriching its historical significance. Its ties to the Civil War era offer a unique insight into this crucial chapter of American history. There are even tales of the Jesse James gang taking refuge there while being chased by two different posses after robbing a train at Gads Hill, Missouri, in 1872.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.However, without any preservation efforts its only a matter of time until it completely colapses.  The home remains privately owned and is not accessable to the public but you can view it from the road.

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Century of Progress Homes

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Along the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Indiana Dunes National Park is a collection of five extraordinary houses. They were built for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago that was titled The Century of Progress. Millions of people came to the fair to marvel at the futuristic homes.The houses were named the Florida Tropical, Rostone, Armco-Ferro, Cypress House and the House of Tomorrow, and showcased modern construction materials and techniques.
After the fair, Developer Robert Bartlett purchased the homes. He transported four of them by rolling them onto a barge using telephone poles. The Cypress house was dismantled and shipped by truck. He moved the houses to his Beverly Shores resort community. He hoped that the homes would garner attention to his development and boost sales. Unfortunately, the Great Depression hampered the sale of his homes. In 1966, the National Park Service took over the area that included Beverly Shores, and it became part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Homeowners became lessees; with little incentive to maintain the houses, they fell into a state of disrepair. The homes were eventually leased to Indiana Landmarks, which, in turn, did long term subleases to people willing to renovate them back to their former glory.
Four of the houses have been restored with the House of Tomorrow being the final home to be completed. It is a unique octagon-shaped house with large windows. The first level was designed as an airplane hangar, thinking in the future everyone would have their own aircraft to fly for daily errands and commute to work.

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Butler Island Plantation and the Weeping Time

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Butler Island Plantation, situated along the Atlantic coast of Georgia, was once a vast rice plantation. Major Pierce Butler, a Founding Father of the United States and a proponent of slavery, acquired the property in 1790 and oversaw its operation until his death in 1822. Following his demise, the plantation passed into the hands of his grandsons, Pierce Mease Butler and his brother John. Pierce, however, had recklessly dissipated his inheritance, incurring a reported debt of $700,000.

As a result of his financial ruin, the management of Pierce Butler’s estate was entrusted to trustees. In an effort to settle his debts, the trustees auctioned off his once-grand but neglected Philadelphia mansion for $30,000. Other Butler properties were also sold, but these measures proved insufficient to satisfy creditors, let alone maintain Butler’s opulent lifestyle. Faced with this dire situation, the trustees resorted to the Georgia plantations and their “moveable” property—the enslaved people.

In 1859, over 400 enslaved individuals were sold at a public auction, a harrowing event known as the “Weeping Time,” which served as a stark reminder of the brutal reality of slavery.

During the American Civil War, the plantation was deserted by its owners, leaving the enslaved residents to fend for themselves. Many remained on the island, forming a community and continuing their rice cultivation. Following the war, these former slaves, now emancipated individuals, acquired land and established their own farms on Butler Island.

Today, Butler Island Plantation is preserved as a historical site. The brick chimney that stands near the road was part of the rice mill built decades ago.

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The House of Happy Little Trees

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Bob Ross is known for painting “happy little trees” in his landscape paintings of mountains on his television series The Joy Of Painting, which aired on PBS. What most people don’t know is that many of his paintings were created in an historic mansion in Indiana. His first season was recorded in 1983 at a PBS station in Virginia. Afterwards, he traveled the country giving classes in various cities. One of those cities was Muncie, Indiana. The local PBS station WIPB was so mesmerized by his skill and calm demeanor that they offered him the chance to record his TV show in their studio. It was not your typical studio. It was the former home of Lucius L. Ball, who came to Muncie with his brothers to produce mason jars.

The home eventually became the studio of PBS affiliate WIPB. Bob Ross lived in Florida but came up to Muncie to record his TV show. Black cloth backdrops were hung in a room on the first floor. He set up his easel and painted while a cameraman recorded it. When he cleaned his brush by dipping it in turpentine and then dried it by “beating the devil out of it” on his easel’s leg, it splattered everywhere in the small room. That is why he joked and laughed many times while cleaning his brush.

He recorded fifteen seasons in the mansion until they moved to a new state of the art studio on the campus of Ball University. Bob Ross died in 1995 from Lymphoma, but his TV show continues on in syndication and on the internet. The mansion is still used as offices for WIPB, but they have recently opened it up to visitors to see Ross’s original studio.

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The Fairbanks house

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The Fairbanks house stands in downtown Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island in the northeast corner of Florida. In 1885  attorney, newspaper editor author, and politician George Rainsford Fairbanks built this amazing Italianate style home for his wife and family. It had ten fireplaces, a 15 foot tower and was the first home in Fernandina to have an elevator. A local myth claims that upon seeing the house for the first time Susan Fairbanks was so displeased with it that it was given the unofficial name “the folly.” However, the story passed down through the Fairbanks family is that it was the decoration and furnishings is what she disapproved of, not the house itself. It is now a bed and breakfast that welcomes visitors to enjoy the Florida coast and sunshine.

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The Michigan House Built by a Broken Heart

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Henry Richardi moved to Bellaire, Michigan with his father in 1881 after moving the family business from Missouri. They made wooden utensils and the hardwood forests around the Bellaire area made for the perfect location. Henry Richardi purchased the business from his father in 1895. The successful company had over 100 employees making wooden utensils and bowls.

The same year Henry purchased the business, he fell in love with a young woman in Germany. In an attempt to get her to move to the United States and marry him, he built this ornate house just north of downtown Bellaire. His employees skilled at woodworking, created all the ornate woodwork outside and inside the house. It featured a hand-carved staircase and different types of wood adorn each room. As beautiful and grand as the home was, for reasons lost to history, the woman Henry loved did not come to this country and marry him. She stayed in Germany marrying another man. With a broken heart, he sold the house and never lived in it. Tragedy struck in 1905 when Henry’s factory burned down. He never rebuilt it and moved to California leaving behind the mansion had built. The house has changed owners several times over the years, and now operates as a Bed and Breakfast called the Grand Victorian.

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The Old Farmhouse in Door County

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I saw this old farmhouse along 42 in Wisconsin’s Door County near Egg Harbor. The stone above the door reads 1904. I really enjoyed traveling around Door County. It is a popular tourist destination in the Dairy State. Among all the gift shops, wineries and tourist spots this old house is what attracted my attention. I wonder about its history but since walls can’t talk I will probably never know.

P.S. I plan to explore more of Wisconsin this summer. I have a lot of places in the Dairy State I want to see.

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