Allendale, Indiana

Allendale
Town
Country	United States
State	Indiana
County	Vigo
Township	Honey Creek
Elevation Template:GR	554 ft (169 m)
ZIP code	47802
FIPS code	18-1054Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	430096

Allendale, Indiana, is an unincorporated town in south central Vigo County, Indiana, in Honey Creek Township.

Allendale, built into a bluff overlooking Honey Creek, is known for its winding roads, heavily wooded lots, deep ravines and large upper and upper-middle class houses. Most of the architect-designed homes date from the 1920's to 1960's and display a range of styles -- Arts & Crafts, Jacobean, Colonial Revival, Cotswold Cottage, Mission Revival, Cape Cod, Split-Level and Ranch. Allendale is adjacent to the Terre Haute Country Club; a private, non-profit, member-owned 18-hole golf course started in 1898. A Carmelite Monastery, The Carmel of St. Joseph, was founded in Allendale in 1947. The modern chapel was completed in 1970.

Allendale was once part of 1,000 acre farm by the owned by industrialist William P. Ijams and his wife, Sallie Warren Ijams. "Warren Park Farm" included a 100-horse stable. In 1889, a syndicate headed by Ijams bought Axtell, a world record setting harness racing stallion, for $105,000. It was the highest price ever paid for a horse at the time.

In 1913 the area was struck by a devastating tornado, destroying buildings, leveling forests and killing livestock. The Ijams' son, Frank Burch Ijams, commissioned New York architect Harrie T. Lindeberg, a student of Stanford White, to build a Jacobean Revival mansion in Allendale in 1929.

Another former Allendale resident was Chapman S. Root, who owned the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute. Root Glass designed the famous Coca-Cola contour bottle. Root's Allendale estate, Rocky Edge, included a party house with an indoor swimming pool, greenhouse, bar and ballroom.

Allendale was originally outside of Terre Haute, but retail expansion south of the city has encroached on the area. The population is about 250.

References

"History of Indiana from Its Exploration to 1922," by Logan Esarey and William F. Cronin, Dayton Historical Publishing Company, 1922.

Vigo County Historial Society, "Wabash Valley Profiles"