Oliver was an immigrant from Scotland, and arrived in Indiana after several failed attempts to provide for the family on the east coast. J.D. was an ambitious sort, and was known for doing whatever was necessary to get ahead. He once received a job offer several days journey away from home. He had just enough money to get there, and when he arrived, he found that the company he was supposed to work for had folded. Not having any money, he walked all the way home.
Eventually he landed a job in a foundry, where he learned all that he could about steel fabrication and casting iron. He soon had saved enough money to purchase a small foundry of his own, and went into the business of making plows, a highly necessary item in the rapidly expanding farming communities around South Bend. A series of experiments led J.D. to invent a cooling process that imparted immense strength to previously weak cast iron. Steel plows lasted a long time and stayed sharp, but were very expensive.
Cast iron plows were cheap, but broke easily, so his innovation was a huge breakthrough. A US patent led to the formation of the Oliver Chill Plow company. Eventually the company began manufacturing motorized farm equipment and tractors and eventually was absorbed by another equipment manufacturer.
To make a long story shorter, J.D. became very, very wealthy and in 1898, after only two years of construction, he, his wife, and their four children moved into the mansion with seventeen servants and staff and a butler, where they lived for years, and their children after that, before the estate was donated to the city of South Bend, complete with authenticated furnishing right down to the rice grains left in the containers in the kitchen. Everything in the house is documented to have been in the house, even the renovations done in the '30's have been left exactly as when the Oliver family lived there.
We took hundreds of pictures, but I'll try to post the most impressive. The grand entry and staircase, along with the main fireplace, and drawing room ceiling treatment were pretty special!
This entry door is 3 1/2 inches thick, rides on three large hinges, and moves like it was on glass:
Intricate carving in Mahogany, Oak, Cherry and Pine as well as detailed plaster reliefs are everywhere in the home and become almost overwhelming!
The furnishings include a Tiffany Grandfather clock (yes, Tiffany). The clock ceased to function some years ago, and every attempt has been made to find a repair person, to no avail. So it remains as it was in a hallway.
The Master Suite is kept exactly as it was when the last Oliver spinster daughter passed away years ago, complete with the adjacent bathroom.
I could go on, but will conclude our tour with this photo of The Black Madonna. From the twelfth century, it was in a cathedral that burned. It was the only artifact that survived, but with soot on the Madonna's face, hence the name. The Smithsonian has made several unsuccessful attempts to acquire the painting, so it's value is inestimable.
Next door to the mansion is the Studebaker National Museum, with 150 years of Studebaker history inside, from a reproduction of the first Studebaker wheelbarrow to the 1963 Avanti.
The museum contains example from all the eras of the Studebaker company, including early wagons, electric cars that were only made for a few years, and some of the most beautiful examples of early coachwork.
There are Presidential Carriages, 1950's prototype vehicles, and Studebaker/Packard hybrids, but Donna and I both thought that the 1961 Hawk was the epitome of Studebaker.
Wouldn't mind driving that little '61 Hawk home!
ReplyDelete