USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Lafayette > Indiana State Soldiers' Home, Lafayette > Part 1
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INDIANA STATE SOLDIERS' HOME Lafayette Nineteen Thirty-Eight
Governor of Indiana HON. M. CLIFFORD TOWNSEND
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Col. Joseph R. Harrison, President Dr. Thomas J. Beasley, Vice-President Edwin Soller, Treasurer Pauline Bassett, Secretary George Huish
Commandant Col. Irvin C. Bauman
D
FLORAL FLAG
THE INDIANA STATE SOLDIERS' HOME
O N THE high banks overlooking the valley of the Wabash River from the west, Indiana has provided a State Home for its veterans of all wars and their wives and widows. A beauti- ful winding drive leads from State Road 43, five miles north of Lafayette, to the high bluffs where on a tract of land of approxi- mately two hundred and fifty acres, the home is laid out in an inner and outer circle with the houses built in a setting of shrubs and flowers. Less than four miles to the northeast is the Tippecanoe Battlefield where in the early morning of November 7, 1811, William Henry Harrison, then governor of Indiana Territory, later president of the United States, defeated the followers of Tecumseh and the Prophet in the greatest Indian battle ever fought within the boundaries of the state. There could be no more picturesque nor appropriate site for a home for the soldiers of Indiana and their dependents.
Page Five
THE SPIRAL DRIVE FROM STATE ROAD 43 TO THE BUILDINGS-185 FEET ABOVE THE WABASH RIVER
Creation of the Soldiers' Home.
The annual department encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at Indianapolis in 1886 began a movement for the creation of a state soldiers' home. The encampment of 1891 appointed a committee to promote such a home, consisting of James R. Carnahan, W. H. Tucker, D. N. Foster, C. J. Murphy, D. F. Spees, Andrew Fite, H. B. Martin, U. D. Cole, A. O. Marsh, C. M. Travis, W. S. Haggard, D. B. McConnel, J. J. Todd, and Jasper E. Lewis. On July 8, 1892, this committee accepted the offer of the citizens of Tippecanoe County of the present site of the home, then a tract of woodland of about 187 acres. The city of Lafayette added 55 acres two miles southwest of the main body of the land, Colonel R. P. Dehart gave a river frontage of nearly a half mile and in addition, $5,633 was received from the citizens of Tippecanoe County for the development of the home.
Page Seven
G
CUBA
ARTE
NES
PORTORICO
98-1902
U.S .A
ORGANIZATION FLORAL EMBLEMS
COMMANDANT'S RESIDENCE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER, 1899
THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING: OFFICES OF COMMANDANT, ADJUTANT, AND ENGINEER
The Legislative
Enactment History.
A bill was introduced in the General Assembly of 1893 for the es- tablishment by the state of this home. It was passed by the House of Representatives but for lack of time failed in the Senate. In 1895 the bill was presented on the first day for the introduction of bills, passed both branches of the General Assembly, was signed by Gov- ernor Claude Matthews, and became a law on February 23. The Grand Army of the Republic deeded the land which it had received to the state and turned over its Soldiers' Home fund for its develop- ment. Following the terms of the law, $75,000 was appropriated by the state for the necessary buildings, and the county commission- ers in each county were authorized to make appropriations for the erection of cottages for citizens of their county who became residents of the home.
Page Eleven
INNER DRIVE WITH ELECTRICALLY LIGHTED FOUNTAIN, INSTALLED IN 1927
Management by Board of Trustees.
The management of the institution was entrusted to a Board of Trustees of five members, originally soldiers or sailors of the United States in the War of the Rebellion, but in 1921 it was changed to in- clude two Civil War veterans, one Spanish War, and one World War veteran and one woman, the wife or widow of a veteran of any of these wars.
Thus came into existence the Indiana State Soldiers' Home, a home in every sense of the word, for disabled or destitute soldiers, sailors, and marines, their wives and widows.
The Home
Building Program.
The first seven buildings were erected by J. F. Alexander and Son of Lafayette on a contract awarded July 8, 1895, in the sum of $54,601.24. They were the Waterworks plant, Hospital, Old People's
Page Thirteen
CHAPEL JO
E
ASSEMBLY HALL FOR RELIGIOUS SERVICES AND ENTERTAINMENTS
MAIN DINING HALL
WIDOWS' HOME ERECTED IN 1905, CAPACITY 100
INTERIOR VIEW-FRONT HALL IN WIDOWS' HOME
THIS AIR VIEW OF THE INDIANA STATE SOLDIERS' HOME WAS TAKEN BY MEMBERS OF THE 113TH AERO SQUADRON, INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD
... .
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OLD PEOPLES TUNG
OLD PEOPLE'S BUILDING, CAPACITY 30 COUPLES
home, Dining hall, Adjutant's and Quartermaster's building, Com- missary, and Power House. These buildings were opened for occu- pancy February 1, 1896, and formally dedicated July 4 of the same year. There are now ninety buildings on the grounds, erected by the state, by various counties of Indiana, by the Grand Army of the Republic, the Woman's Relief Corps, and the Ladies of the G. A. R. The most important buildings have been erected by the state as follows: the Chapel, the Men's building, a new Main dining room and Widows' home, provided for in 1897, an addition to the hospital in 1901, a new driveway and central heating plant in 1903, a separate widows' home in 1905, a fireproof hospital in 1921, a service plant with necessary equipment and transmission lines for supplying heat, light, power, and water in 1923. A fully equipped fire engine was recently added, insuring immediate protection from fire, in addition to the help to be obtained from Lafayette, some five miles away.
Page Twenty-One
MADISON COUNTY
-
MADISON COTTAGE-MEMBERS LIVE IN HOMELIKE SURROUNDINGS. THE ABOVE HOME IS ONE OF A NUMBER BUILT BY THE VARIOUS COUNTIES OF INDIANA
The Present
Modern Equipment.
The Home has a hospital with 250 beds, a well equipped operating room, Kellykoet X-Ray Machine, Hanovia Mercury Quartz Light Machine, a Fischer Short Wave Diathermy and a Fischer High Frequency Cabinet. The patients are thus given the best medical and surgical attention and in some respects more specialized treat- ment than can be obtained elsewhere in the state.
The Cemetery and Monument.
A part of the land and possession of the home has been used as a cemetery, both for veterans and their wives who have ended their days in the home, and for others who are eligible for admission and who desire to be buried there. There are now almost 1,600 graves in the cemetery, each marked with the regulation government head- stone. The late Colonel Winfield C. Durbin, former governor of
Page Twenty-Three
HOSPITAL
HOSPITAL-MAIN ENTRANCE AND PORCH
INTERIOR VIEW-SUN PARLOR OF HOSPITAL
LIBRARY
LIBRARY BUILDING
Indiana, presented a memorial marker and monument for the ceme- tery in honor of Civil War Veterans. It was dedicated May 25, 1925, with impressive services.
The
Commandant Personnel.
The home is in the immediate charge of a Commandant, appointed by the Governor. The first Commandant was Colonel J. P. McGrew, who served for three and one-half years. Colonel Jasper Packard followed him and died while in office, after a service of only a few months. Colonel Gilbert R. Stormont then served for a period of three and one-half years. Colonel Richard M. Smock was Com- mandant for six years. W. S. Haggard, former Lieutenant-Governor, died in office, after serving for nearly two years. He was succeeded by Colonel D. B. Kehler, who had been Adjutant for thirteen years and served as Commandant for eleven years. Colonel Gilbert R. Stormont served the second period and was succeeded by Colonel W. M. Louden, Commandant from the fall of 1922 to July 1928.
Page Twenty-Seven
LIBRARY INTERIOR. 150 PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT AMERICANS PAINTED BY CAPTAIN ALEXANDER LAWRIE, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE HOME, ARE IN THE ART GALLERY
Colonel Louden was succeeded by Colonel Charles F. Zillmer, who had served as Adjutant for some four years prior to his appointment. Colonel Zillmer was succeeded by Colonel J. H. Gilpin, who served from May 1933 to December 1936, succeeded by Colonel Frank S. Clark January 1, 1937 to November 1, 1937, Colonel Irvin C. Bauman, the present Commandant.
Shows the State's Gratitude.
This simple record of the Indiana State Soldiers' Home cannot tell the most important part of the story. It only feebly represents the gratitude of the state to those who have served it and the nation in time of need. It can only suggest the relief from fear of need and destitution given to those who answered their country's call, and in- curred loss, danger, and privation. Overlooking the beautiful and historic Wabash River on one of the most beautiful spots in the state, in the company of comrades and their families, the days and the nights pass without any haunting fear of neglect.
Page Twenty-Nine
SUBJEな 番さ話1
NURSES' COTTAGE
-
PRIM-PILLSS
T
INTERIOR OF LAUNDRY
GATEWAY TO CEMETERY
Visitors are
Always Welcome.
Visitors are welcome and thousands come to share the company of their friends and relatives and to enjoy the view afforded from many parts of the grounds. The state and those in immediate charge have made it a home of comfort and pleasant associations.
Page Thirty-Three
DURBIN MEMORIAL TO CIVIL WAR VETERANS, DEDICATED MAY 25, 1925
SECTION OF GRAVEYARD ON MEMORIAL DAY
1
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