Farrington’s  Grove IN THIS ISSUE: * Mission Statement * President's Letter * FGHD Holiday Historic Home Tour * Historical Society Happenings * Times, They Have Changed * Old Time Recipe * This Year’s Display Homes * Trees, Inc. * FGHD Website is Moving * Crawford School May Close * Tell Them to “Save Crawford” * Terre Haute’s Own — Juliet Peddle * History of the Potter-Steele-Benson House * Thank You to Our Patrons, Benefactors, and Corporate Members * 2001 Board Members * Membership Application * We Thank Our Members * We Need You

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

The events of September 11, though far away in distance, touched all of us who were old enough to understand.  Here in the Grove, we showed our support as many Americans did by flying the flag.  On Monday, September 17, 2001, when WTHI-TV (Channel 10) presented a feature story on displays of patriotism, reporter Christy Brown appeared live from South Center Street in Farrington's Grove.  Our neighborhood was chosen as an example of a community where many homes displayed the American flag.  Let’s continue this tradition in the coming months and years in support of those who were personally affected by the tragedy, in support of those who are defending our freedom, and in appreciation for the freedoms we have. 
Please see the article on pages 4 and 5 of this newsletter regarding the potential closing of Crawford School.  I urge you to support the efforts to save this neighborhood resource.
On Saturday, September 22, FGHD participated in Family Learning Day located at the Vigo County Public Library.  Dozens of young people entered our “2nd Annual Architectural Scavenger Hunt” by walking around the north end of the neighborhood and finding the locations which matched a set of photos.  Thank you to Jackie Carrell for organizing this activity, and also to Mike Carrell, Craig Ketner, Brian & Jennifer Isgrigg, Chris & Richard Antonak, and Anne Lee, all of whom assisted at our booth.
I would also like to express my appreciation to Pete Engle, who served on the FGHD board for a number of years.  Pete recently resigned from our board, but continues to serve the Terre Haute community as a volunteer with Community Theater.  We wish him well!
Another group which deserves a big round of thanks is Sigma Pi fraternity, located at 1130 South Sixth Street.  In the last FGHD newsletter, I asked residents to contact us if they needed assistance in graffiti removal.  A few days later, I was contacted by the faculty advisor of the local Sigma Pi chapter, Jay Gatrell of South Center Street.  He and the fraternity members organized a graffiti cleanup day on Saturday, October 6 — distributing flyers, procuring paint, and repainting over graffiti on over 30 garages, walls, and other structures in the neighborhood.  They have also volunteered to organize other neighborhood cleanups in the future.  Many thanks to them for making the Grove a more attractive place!
Don’t forget the Holiday Home Tour on December 9.    Invite some friends or relatives to visit and show them the beauty and history of our neighborhood. 
Thank you for your support of FGHD in 2001 as we work to improve and promote our neighborhood.  If you have any ideas to make it even better, please let me know.
Hope to see you while walking around the Grove.

Thanks for caring,
Mike Misovich

Mark your calendars for the renewal of this popular local event.  Advance tickets are available from board members (see page 7), at Hillman’s Jewelry Store (Honey Creek Mall), and the Vigo County Historical Society Museum (6th & Washington).  See the article inside on page 3 for details of this year’s display homes.
 
 

A “Festival of Wreaths” is being planned again this year by the Vigo County Historical Society.  From November 13th to November 30th, unique wreaths, created by local florists and designers, will be on display at the Historical Museum.  Visitors to the Museum may place a bid on one of the unique creations they would like to have for their home or workplace.  On November 30th, the person with the highest bid on each wreath will be the winner of that particular piece.
This year’s event will end with a “wine and cheese” party to be held at the Historical Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on the evening of Friday, November 30th.  Those attending will have a chance to place a final bid on the design of their choice. 
Plan to attend and bring friends to this party and see the Museum decorated in its holiday best.  There is no charge, but reservations are appreciated so that food may be planned.  Please call 235-9717 in advance of the event.
The Historical Museum will hold its annual Open House on Sunday, December 9th, as it coincides with the Farrington’s Grove Holiday Home Tour.  Museum hours will be expanded so that visitors to the neighborhood homes may visit.

We have all been affected by what has happened on September 11th, 2001.  Our lives will never be the same!  Remember Pearl Harbor?  I was born after Pearl Harbor, but not so long after it that I didn’t hear about it, first hand from those who did experience it. 
Since WWII, patriotism has never run so high as I have experienced within the recent weeks.  I have tried in the past to explain to my children how everyone rallied together during WWII, in a huge effort to win that war.  Rationing, women working men’s jobs, patching jeans and darning socks, baking eggless cakes, buying bonds, air raid drills, blackouts — all brought Americans closer together than ever could have been imagined. 
I could only try to relate these feelings to my children.  If any good has come from thousands of people dying, it is that our children are now experiencing patriotism, first hand.  Please take this opportunity to tell stories of patriotism that you have experienced to your children/grandchildren.  Tell them what the flag means (13 stripes, 50 stars), about the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol, the White House, etc.  At this time, they just might be interested as never before. 
Attend any prayer services and have the children listen and sing along to the patriotic hymns played and sung. An interesting note to mention is that the anniversary of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner just happened to be Sept. 14, the day of our National Day of Prayer.  Do not let patriotism ever be forgotten within our hearts again.  Explain to your children how our lives will change from this moment on, just as they have with every preceding war that we have experienced. 
Times they have changed!  Times are changing again!  That’s what history and life are all about!

The following homes will be featured on the 2001 FGHD Holiday Home Tour.  We thank the owners — Dan and Kaylynn Sanders, Curt and Barbara Jones, Tim and Nicole Murphy, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, and the Vigo County Historical Society — for generously offering to open these houses for the enjoyment of FGHD members, residents, and visitors.  Thank you also to Coffee Grounds, Ketner & Sons Electric, and Boo’s Crossroads Café, who are sponsoring the refreshments, to Hillman’s Jewelry Store and Vigo County Historical Society Museum, who are handling advance ticket sales, and to High Ground Digital, who designed and produced promotional materials.

This house was designed by the architectural firm Floyd & Stone and built by E.M. Cornell at a cost of approximately $11,000 in 1894.  It is of the Queen Anne style, which was popular between 1880 and 1910.  The interior of the home features five fireplaces with different styles of mantels and an elevator/dumbwaiter.  Each room has a different fenestration layout; some rooms have curved windows and other rooms unusual bay windows.  Original brass and wrought iron chandeliers have both gas and electric outlets.  The house was built in 1894 by John W. Cruft and Mary Steele Cruft who sold it to James A. Crawford and Mary Lewis Crawford in 1908. 

The home was built in 1870 for Mary Jane Wiese, a widow from Illinois.  The house was sold in 1910 to Esther Lamb.  Mrs. Lamb raised her children in the home until 1940 when she gave the house to her son, John Lamb.  His philanthropic works are still legendary in Terre Haute.  In 1993, the house was sold to Curt Jones and the Jones family started a massive renovation project to restore the beauty of this Italianate.  It is said that the house was the first house in Terre Haute to have indoor plumbing.  It is one of only a dozen homes in the Terre Haute area to be built with limestone brick made exclusively in the United States during the Civil War. 

Built first of six in a row, this circa 1915 American Foursquare has a strong sense of character, strength, and warmth.  Earliest records indicate that the home may have been a boarding house for the first three years of its existence.  In 1918, the home was acquired by Frederick Bronnenkant, a traveling salesman for the Root Bottling Company.  Regular guests included Chapman Root, owner of the company, and Alexander Samuelson, the man who designed the famed Coke bottle for Root.  Mr. Samuelson lived next door in the yellow Foursquare just south of 1226.  From the instant charm of the Arts and Crafts style entry foyer to the coziness of the upstairs sleeping porch, it's apparent that the families who have called this house "home" have taken great care to preserve its original character.

Homer B. Talley (1877-1935) and his wife, Carrie (1873-1951) built the house in 1928.  The prominent local architectural firm of Johnson, Miller, Miller & Yeager was commissioned to design the Colonial Revival house, a popular style for the period.  The exterior of the Talley House has changed little since its construction.   Some original features of the interior that have survived (though not unscathed) include much of the wood trim, the fireplaces, built-in cabinets and shelves, and the beautiful art tile of the bathrooms. 

A large collection of historical treasures may be found in the Sage-Robison-Nagel house (1868).  This home of the Vigo County Historical Museum contains twelve rooms of history including restored Victorian rooms, a toy shop, school room, country store, late 1800's drugstore, and a dressmaker shop.

Each year since 1994, the TREES organization has planted 100 trees in an effort to rebuild the tree canopies in the neighborhoods of Terre Haute.  The replacement of missing street trees in the Farrington’s Grove area would be of tremendous benefit to the neighborhood.  TREES plants large superior quality hardwood trees which are balled and burlapped and nursery grown.  Planting day for 2002 is March 23rd and the deadline for applications is March 1, 2002.  However, since only a limited number of trees are available, people are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.  Qualified applicants will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis.  If you qualify, TREES will plant a hardwood tree worth $275 in your tree row.  You pay only a $25 “adoption fee.”  Qualifications include city residency, home ownership, and a planting area free of underground and overhead utilities. 
Additional information is available from the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service.  Please call 462-3371 to place your name on the mailing list to receive an application.

The FGHD website is moving from its current location at http://home.earthlink.net/~ammisov/fghd.htm to a new location at www.farringtonsgrove.com
FGHD has contracted with High Ground Digital to manage the site.  It is currently under construction, but take a look at the beautiful photos and images of the neighborhood that have already been installed!  This website will give our neighborhood an online presence which we expect will enhance our efforts to attract historical tourism and market the Grove to potential homebuyers relocating to the Terre Haute area. 
Don’t forget to update your bookmarks or favorites list with the new address.  If you have comments or ideas for the website, please contact Mike Misovich at 478-2314 or George Amies at 232-6697.

In recent weeks, stories of the potential closing of Crawford School have circulated, and television and newspaper reports have added to the speculation. On Thursday, November 8, Vigo County Schools Superintendent Daniel Tanoos met with a group of concerned Crawford parents and informed them that the school district is considering closing the school, either at the end of the current academic year or the following year.  He expects to make a presentation on this issue at the December 10 School Board meeting.
Anticipating this action at our November 5 meeting, the Board of Directors of FGHD had unanimously passed a resolution opposing the closing of Crawford School.  The FGHD Board is currently drafting a letter to Dr. Tanoos and the School Board in which we detail our opposition.

• This is not just an issue for parents.  It is a neighborhood issue.  Our organization’s mission to guide and promote the preservation and restoration of the Farrington’s Grove Historical District is enhanced by marketing the neighborhood to families with school age children.  The fact that we have a school inside the neighborhood, within walking distance, is an important point with many potential homebuyers. Farrington Grove School is a wonderful school — I speak from experience as my daughter attends there — but despite its name, it is NOT in the Historical District and is NOT convenient for families in the north end of the Grove who currently attend Crawford.
• Closing Crawford will increase enrollment at Farrington Grove School.  The FGHD board feels this will have a negative impact on the educational experience there.  We chose to live in this neighborhood, in part, because of the opportunity for our children to attend small neighborhood schools —as Crawford and Farrington Grove currently are.
• Crawford students and teachers give back to our community.  For example, they participate in an “Adopt a Grandparent” program where they visit Anthony Square residents.  In another school project, they developed a website on the history of Farrington’s Grove Historical District.
• Although the building is not old compared to most of the neighborhood, it has considerable historical and architectural significance since it was designed by Terre Haute architect Juliet Peddle, the first female registered architect in the state of Indiana.
• If Crawford School is closed, the FGHD Board has major concerns about potential institutional uses of the building.  As a school, it is an asset to the neighborhood, but an alternative use could bring traffic and congestion problems to a residential area.

Juliet Peddle (1899-1979) was Terre Haute’s pioneer female architect, the first female registered architect in Indiana, and at one time, one of only two registered architects in the state.  Her father, John Peddle, was a professor of Machine Design at Rose Polytechnic Institute and served as acting president of Rose from 1928 to 1930.  She studied architecture at the University of Michigan, and was licensed as a registered architect in Illinois in 1926 and in Indiana in 1939.  While living in the Chicago area, she co-founded the Chicago Women’s Architectural Forum.
After returning to Terre Haute, she worked for several local architects.  She opened her own office in 1939, and practiced until 1974.  Miss Peddle was involved in the design, remodeling, or expansion of numerous prominent local buildings.

• Crawford School
• Poplar Street Medicenter
• Emeline Fairbanks Memorial Library
• First Congregational Church
• Weldin Talley Memorial Playhouse
• Franklin School
• Rose Polytechnic (Auditorium, Templeton Administration Building, and Old Main)
• Ben Blumberg residence
• Dr. Alexander Cavins residence
• Dr. Alan Rankin residence
• Commercial Solvents Animal Research Building
• Meadows Center Social Security Building

• Terre Haute Female College (later St. Anthony’s Hospital, currently the site of Anthony Square)
• Jenckes house (6th & Crawford)
• Woodlawn (James Farrington House)
• Theodore Hulman house (824 South Sixth Street, currently the site of Terre Haute Nursing Home)

References for the article on Juliet Peddle:

• “Wabash Valley Profiles,” sponsored by Terre Haute First National Bank, date unknown, http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs/wvp/!peddlej.pdf
• “Historical Treasure,” Vigo County Historical Society,  2 March 1986, http://web.indstate.edu/community/vchs/ht/ht030286.htm
• AIA Indiana web site, http://www.aiaindiana.org/activities/AIAIN_Awards.pdf

History of the Potter-Steele-Benson House By Richard Antonak

During 2001, the following individuals and groups graciously supported Farrington’s Grove Historical District.  Thank you for your support of historic preservation and for caring about our neighborhood.

Name(s):  

Address:   

City:                                                      State:    

Zip Code:                                              Phone:    

Email Address:   

$   100.00	2001 Benefactor Membership — Includes FGHD and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana memberships and four (4) tickets for FGHD’s Holiday Home Tour
$    30.00	2001 Patron Membership — Includes FGHD and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana memberships and two (2) tickets for FGHD’s Holiday Home Tour
$    15.00	2001 Membership — Includes FGHD and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana memberships
$        .	Donation for Neighborhood Rehabilitation
$         .	Total

Thank you to all our members whose financial support supports our mission to guide and promote the preservation and restoration of the Farrington’s Grove Historical District.  If you have sent it a new membership or renewal since September 1, your membership is valid through 2002!  Other members should have a renewal letter and application contained with this newsletter.  Please consider renewing your membership for the coming year. 

Your involvement in FGHD helps us to accomplish our mission of guiding and promoting the preservation and restoration of your neighborhood.  You can help us in the following ways.

• Your membership provides the financial resources to support programs and events like Family Learning Day, this newsletter, the website, grants to neighborhood schools, and neighborhood revitalization projects. 
• Your participation in FGHD events encourages community fellowship and neighborhood awareness. 
• Your active role in the FGHD organization allows us to continue to do these things, as well as making it possible to implement new ideas for neighborhood improvement.

We currently need volunteers for the following positions.

• Newsletter editor or assistant
• Political action committee
• Public relations and publicity

Our board meets once a month, usually on the second Monday at 7:00 pm.  The location rotates, so contact a board member at the phone numbers listed on the back on this page, check the most recent newsletter, or click on “Upcoming Events” on our website.