Prairie House (Terre Haute House)

Description:	Drawing of the The Prairie House by Juliet A Peddle, Terre Haute Artist and Architect. The Prairie House, the Forerunner of the Terre Haute House. Drawing by Juliet A Peddle, Terre Haute Artist and Architect.The Terre Haute House has always been located where it now stands at the corner of Seventh Street and Wabash avenue. When it was first built, however, it was not the busy corner it is today-in fact, people thought Mr. Rose was rather optimistic to think any business would come to a hotel located way out on the prairie. As it turned out his judgment was entirely vindicated in later years. Chauncey Rose built the hotel in 1837, opening it in 1838. He called it appropriately The Prairie House and engaged a very competent manager Mr. Theron Barnum, who gave excellent service to the guests of the hotel. But the time was not yet ripe for a hotel at this location and Mr. Rose finally decided to pack the furnishings and close the hotel for a few years until conditions were right.In 1840 he opened again under the management of T. C. Buntin who was in charge until 1852. Mr. Humaston followed him. It was in 1853 that the histories say the name of the hotel was changed still calls it the Prairie House. This change may have been made while the map was in the process to Terre Haute House though the map of 1854 of being drawn.Mr. Rose owned the hotel until 1866 when it was sold to the Terre Haute Hotel Company who sold it in 1874 to H. Hawkins of Indianapolis. He in turn sold it to W. B. Tuell. In 1888, after his death, another hotel company took over, and it is the heirs of Crawford Fairbanks, who was one of the members of this company, who own the hotel today.I had hoped to illustrate the hotel from the original working drawings which were in existence only a few years ago, but since they cannot be located, I am using the most reliable picture I could find to represent it in its earlier years. This is a photograph made about 1869, which is in the possession of the hotel. This is almost identical to the illustration in the city directory of 1858, but I use it in preference because the directory shows only the south elevation and the photograph shows the southwest corner and is more comprehensive and more accurate.If I could have found them, the plans would have shown how large the building was originally, and I can only guess by the difference in window heights between the three story portions and the four story one that these wings may have been later additions. In early historical notes I find references to changes in the hotel: 1855, an extension to the Terre Haute House; 1856-considerable damage by fire; 1858-additions made; 1876-extensively improved-perhaps this is when the elaborate marquee was built on the south side of the four story portion. I find this illustrated in the Gazette of 1888. The note below it states that it will not long stay as illustrated in the picture, suggesting that alterations are about to be made. Another newspaper article in 1888 says that the floor levels of the lower parts of the building are to be raised to line with the higher ones. Other changes were made in 1896, and it was finally razed to make way for the present modern building in 1927.The early hotel was built around three sides of a large open court, which was paved. On one side was a veranda which was the scene of many social gatherings and was known for an unusual echo. The early dining room was on the Seventh street side and the parlor south of it. The kitchen was in the basement. All this is gone now but the organization continues, and I believe that this is the only hotel of our early town that continues to operate at its original location.
Origin:	01/01/2005
Contributor(s):	Peddle, Juliet, 1899-1979
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/rose/id/832
Collection:	Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Logan Library
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Terre Haute House Architectural drawings Architecture Hotels Architecture Business & Industry

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