Mary Birdsall House
Mary Birdsall House | |
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| Location | 504 NW 5th Street, Richmond, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Built | 1859 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 99001155 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 23, 1999 |
The Mary Birdsall House in Richmond, Indiana was built in 1859 by Thomas and Mary Birdsall, a leading woman's suffragist in Indiana. The house is a two-story cruciform structure built in the Italianate style at the intersection of Northwest 5th Street and Richmond Avenue. The four wings of the original structure each contain one room on each level, which open into a central space that is occupied by a winding staircase. In 1927, the Whitewater Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends bought the house and built a two-story addition on the west and north sides of the building. This addition allowed the group to operate a retirement home on the property. The property is currently owned by Earlham College and serves as a guest house and retreat center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
Design
Construction on the house began in 1859 and had been completed by 1861. The house was built for Thomas and Mary Birdsall (nèe Thistlewaite) from bricks made at the Thistlewaite's kiln on the lot adjacent to the north of the house. The low-pitched roof and bracketed and dentilated cornices exemplify the house's Italianate architectural style. The house is built on a predominantly hidden stone cellar and is a cruciform structure. The four wings of the house each have a chimney and open to a common room occupied by a winding staircase. There is an entry vestibule on the east-side of the house facing Northwest 5th Street. The east and west wings of the home each feature three-sided bay windows. Original decorations in the house suggest that the front (east) room on the first floor was designed to be more formal than the rest of the house. Also, the second floor is generally less ornate than the first floor. "The design of the house was congruent with the development of the domestic science concepts promoted by the Beechers (Catherine and Harriet)" [2] with whom Mary Birdsall corresponded in her time as a social activist. In 1927, a large addition was built on the west and north sides of the house. The addition included several new bedrooms and a staircase that would serve its new function as a retirement home.[2][3]
Operation
The house was a private residence from the time of its construction until 1927. The Birdsalls owned the house until 1899 when they sold the house to Charles and Laura Moore after they had moved to Philadelphia and Mary's death in 1894. In 1927, the Whitewater Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends, with whom Mary Birdsall was affiliated with until her death, acquired the house to operate as a retirement home. The Lauramoore Retirement Home was privately incorporated in 1951 and continued to operate in a similar fashion until the company gifted the house to nearby Earlham College.[2][4] Today, the house is called the Lauramoore Guest House & Retreat Center and regularly hosts visitors to the college. The college has updated the house to include nine bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms.[4]
Significance
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a property "associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history" and one "associated with the lives of a persons significant in our past."[2] Mary Birdsall lived in the home during the peak of her political and social activist contributions. Birdsall was the women's editor for the Indiana Farmer magazine until she bought The Lily in 1855 from Amelia Bloomer, after whom is named "bloomers"—the controversial women's undergarment of the time. The Lily was a nationally published magazine that focused on women's rights, women's suffrage and temperance. In 1858, Birdsall was the secretary of the Indiana Women's Rights Convention, which was held in Richmond, and was one of the first three women to address the Indiana state legislature. The Civil War soon overtook many of the social issues that Birdsall was associated with in the 1860s, but couple continued in the temperance and suffrage movements during and after the war until Mary's death in 1894. Thomas, who was a successful business man and member of Richmond's temperance society, died in 1901.[2]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e David B. Duvall (August 17, 1999). "NHRP nomination: Mary Birdsall House" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite document}}: Unknown parameter|url=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Accompanying 24 photos, from 1996" (pdf). National Park Service.
{{cite document}}: Unknown parameter|url=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|work=ignored (help) - ^ a b "Lauramoore Guest House & Retreat Center". Earlham School of Religion. Earlham School of Religion. Retrieved 16 January 2015.