Tuesday, March 1, 2022
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Goshen (574) 534-2591
Vol. 49 No. 47
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
Ruthmere seeking public input on old
Carriage housE %\ 7,0 $6+/(< 6WDII :ULWHU Fate can work in mysterious ways, such as a house fire in Elkhart leading to negotiations and the eventual sale of the house to the Ruthmere Foundation. On July 9, 2020, a fire damaged a private residence on Main Street in Elkhart, just north of the Havilah Beardsley House near the intersection with Beardsley Avenue. The house was damaged enough to make it no longer livable. Although it had been a house for probably close to 100 years, it was originally a carriage house and was part of the original Havilah Beardsley farmstead, said Bill Firstenberger, executive director of Ruthmere. This made it desirable to the Ruthmere Foundation as a natural addition to its historic properties, such as the Beardsley house just next door. “The fire allowed us to have a meaningful dialog with the owner, so we approached them,” Firstenberger noted. During the summer of 2020 the owner worked with Indiana Landmarks with the help of an Efroymson Family Grant to obtain a feasibility report by Kil Architecture & Planning. “The study showed it could be saved,” he said, but it would require a lot of work. Negotiations with the homeowner eventually led to the sale of the residence to the foundation. The house was then stabilized, a new roof was put on, old mechanical equipment was removed and masonry work was done, such as tearing down some walls and then rebuilding them. “We also cleared several trees from the landscape,” Firstenberger said. It is not known for sure when the carriage house was built, but he said it would have come after 1856. In 1874 the house next door was renovated by James Rufus Beardsley and his wife, Susie, the second generation of Beardsleys. They spent $4,000 for the renovation of the house, which was built in 1848. The same materials used in the renovation were also used in the carriage house and based on
6((.,1* ,1387 ³ Bill Firstenberger, executive director of Ruthmere, stands in front of the entrance to a house originally built as a carriage house on the Beardsley farm in Elkhart. Photo by Tim Ashley. this and direct evidence found in deed records it is likely the carriage house was built in 1874, Firstenberger said. Originally it was built as an agricultural outbuilding with stables. In 1912 it was separated from the farmstead and sold as a separate property. After that, it became an automotive repair shop. “We think it was converted to a house in the 1920s or 1930s,” he said. “The features of the house fit into the late 1920s or the 1930s.” When converted into a house, Firstenberger said “they built the house inside the old shell,” so it is not known for sure where the original walls are. As such the timing of purchasing the old carriage house proved to be significant because the Ruthmere Foundation board of directors was looking at a strategic planning review. “Now what will we do with this building?” Firstenberger said. “We will wait and see after public input.”
2 / ' &$55,$*( +286( ³ Ruthmere wants public input on what to do with this old carriage house in Elkhart. Photo by Tim Ashley.
The building is now referred to as the Beardsley Carriage House. Public input is being sought on suggestions for what the building can be used for. There is also a sign in front of the building letting passersby know there is an ongoing project. Firstenberger said as of mid-February
more than 300 responses have been received. “We would like to see a thousand or even more,” he said. Ideas and comments can be emailed to him at bfirstenberger@ruthmere.org or take a survey by visiting www.ruthmere. org/beardsley-carriage-house.