446 East Shore Drive - Culver Homestead

1835

James F. D. Lanier of Jefferson county, Indiana on 30 June 1837 was issued Certificate #7338 for the North west quarter of section fifteen and the East half of the South East Quarter of Section Seventeen in township thirty two containing 240 acres. William Thompson was from Fayette county, Indiana and on 10 August 1837 he was issued Certificate #6822 for the East fractional part of Section Fifteen containing 344 96/100 acres. Which borders Lake Maxinkuckee. Note he also had 2 other land certificates for land in Section 10 for 240 acres and 160 acres

William Thompson By Daniel McDaniel in "An Early History of Lake Maxinkuckee" (1908):

The Only one of the caravan who settled on the lake was Eleazer Thompson who built a log cabin a year or two later where the residence of Mrs. H. H. Culver is now located on the northeast shore. The old cabin still stands just north of the Culver residence, but has been remodeled, losing thereby some of its primitive beauty. Mr. Thompson was, therefore, the first white settler to take up permenant residence on the banks of the lake. He died a few years later, and the property has changed hands many times since then. The elder Adam Mow lived there in the early forties, rearing a large family of boys and girls who are well remembered by the surviviors of that early period in the history of the lake.

Section 15: 500.90A (North shore town and academy) Section 15: Lot 1 - 41.75A Section 15 Lot 2 - 32.25A Section 15 Lot 3 - 57.88A. Section 15 Lot 4 - 47.30A

1872 Plat Map A. T. Benedict - 160A J. Hissong - 91A G. Peeples - 10 A C. Filer - 40 A T Houghton - 40A W. Densmore - 80A E. Parker 80A

1876 Plat Map J. Wylie G. Peeples - 37 a

1880 Plat Map A. t. Bendedict 89A, 44,75A, 38.25A J. Hissong 92.40A G. Peeples/Peoples 16.90A F Parker 80A W. Dinsomre 80A F. Overmyer 40A T Houghton 40A

From the Logansport Daily Journal page 3 dated Aug. 27, 1882:

All the preliminaries for the extension of the Logansport branch of the Vandalia railway to Lake Michigan have been satisfactorily adjusted, and upon compliiance with a few easy conditions the contact will be closed, and the work will be commenced and pushed to completion.

Readers of the Journal are familiar with the route of this line to Marmont (Maxinkuckee), and will have no difficulty in following it to South Bend and the lake...
With these advantages before them, our citizens are asked to consider one of the conditions above named, which condition is that the right of way shall be furnished free to the new line thorugh our county. The estimated cost of this right of way is from $7,000 to $10,000 and it is proposed to raise the amount by subscription. A consideraable portion of this subscription has already been secured, and a committee appointed for that purpose will make an effort to raise the remainder during the present week...

1883 - Oct 6 - The.Vandaiia railroad company commenced laying iron at Marmount a day or two ago, and-withln a short time the tract will be completed from Maxinkuckee lake to the Nickle Plate railroad, a distance of about three miles,- Logansport Pharos Tribune

1883 - Henry Harrison Culver

Henry H. Culver came to Culver in 1883 and retired to the 'Founder's Home' and also refered to as the 'Founder's cabin they remodeled it andcalled it the 'Farmhouse' and began buying property of the northeast side of the lake; first buying 98 acres [the Hissong farm] in the spring of 1883 [another source says 90 acres] and then 208 (Aubbeenaubbee Bay Farm] in 1884. By 1886 he owned more than 300 acres, had constructed a handsome home - which they had named "Homestead".

1886 Jun 12 - The frame of Mr. Culver 's cottage is up, and eight men are pushing the work rapidly - Logansport Pharos Tribune

From a later account of the "Homestead" it is told:
He built a home near the "Founders cabin" of Mr. Thompson - this cabin was moved in 1886 just a little was north of the resent residence so it co uld be built and called it "Homestead". Some have claimed that H. H. Culver built the farmhouse in 1860 but this is impossible as he did not purchase land in this area until 1883 and 1884.

The mound in the front yard of the Culver home was known as Pare Mound. For along time it was to believed to be the burial grounds for Cheif Aubbeenaubbee. It is said to have been a pilot mound and was used by the Indians who were canoeing on Lake Maxinkuckee to navigate by.

The Farm house was used by the superintendents as their residence before World War II.

During the war it was used as a Tea Room and afterwards and currently it is used as a guest house for the academies

From the 15th Annual Report to the Governor, 1886 Maxkinkuckee, W. H. Thompson and S. E. Lee E.

On the north-east shore, Mr. A. [H.] H. Culver has two wells, each seventy two feet deep, bored at points eighteen feet above the surface of the lake

The bores show the following strata:


Soil and yellow clay	8 ft.
Sand	ft.
Blue clay	38 ft.
Sand and gravel	12 ft.
Total	72 ft.



These wells will flow to a height of thirty-one feet above the surface of the lake.

In the Culver Assembly Bulletin of July 1889 the Culver Farm and residence was described:

In 1883 H. H. Culver bought an old farm and home on the east side, and began to improve it. Then the road ran alongside the lake and the house was on the bluff above the lake shore. He removed it a few feet, and built a handsome cottage at a cost of $8,000, on the site. The road was chaged to its present ine back of the cottage, and the lovely bluff site was improved until it has been made one of the prettiest parks and summer seats in Indiana...the cottage and park as seen from the middle of the lake.

A heavy stone wall has been constructed along the shore to retain the bank, and a romatic "lover's walk" follows the lake line. On the knoll above the boat pier is the spot where it is supposed, by old settlers, the Great and beloved Indian Chief Aubinaubee is buried. Mr. Culver 's farm is well improved. He has now about 300 acres. On the farm in some very fine stock - thorough bred cattle, sheep, hogs and horses. Culver Park adjoins, and was part of it until set apart for park purposes....

The Whale's Jaw Bones.
... At the boat peir in front of Mr. H. H. Culver 's cottage on the east side is erected the real jawbones of an Atlantice whale,...

Those bones were discovered in New Hampshire, by W. W. Culver , a few years ago as he was driving through a village on the Atlantic coas. They had been taken from the head of an immense whale, that was cast upon the shore by the tide, dead; and had been buried for several months, that they might be handled; after which they were kept in salt water nearly a year. The young man who preserved them had many offers for his prize, on from the Smithsonian Institute. Several museums also tried to buy them.

Knowng what a rare curiosity they would be in the west, Mr. Culver made an offer for them with a view of placing them at Maxinkuckee.

After considerable correspondence, and at great cost, they were secured by H. H. Culver , and placed in theri present position. They weigh more than a ton, and were difficult to handle. The freight and expense of removal was enormous, but nothing compared to the original cost.

They are rare and valuable specimens of the jaw bones of great fish of the ocean. At the base there bones are three and one-half feet in circumference. As they stand over the boat entrance ther are fifteen feet and eight inches in height...

At some point, the jawbones were moved to the Woodcraft Camp, where they adorned the area outside the camp museum cabin for some years. They were still there into the 1940s, though the removal of chips of bone here and there as camp souvenirs through the years finally led to the demise of the old relics, which are believed to have fallen into such ruin that they were discarded sometime in the 1950s.

1896 Historical notations map

1898 Plat Map Culver Military Academy 16.52A H. H. Culver 76.46A H. H. Culver 39.35A H. H. Culver 35.27A, 57.66A F. Overmyer 40A Wn. Dinsmore 80A B. Mc Keen H. H. Culver C. Peoples R O Venneouwt (Vonneut) G. Peeples 11.90A

1900

The water wheel, obtained from the of the old Academy Homestead continues to run as it has for years, making it was moved down the road to the Bigley / Riossa store (1352 E Shore)

1908 Plat Map Culver Military Academy H. H. Culver Est. Ira Marriz 40A Thos Houghton 40A Mary J Hissong Est. F. M. Parker 20A D. W. Marks 20A Jenny Marks 40A

1909 - October - Emily J. (Hand) Culver [Mrs. Henry Harrison] m. Horace Bell- and for time was refered to as Culver-Bell or Bell-Culver Cottage

Also known as Aubbeenaubee Park

1922

1931/2 - ownership was transfered from the Culver family to the newly created Culver Educational Foundation

Below are pictures of the Homestead - yet another has stated the originial Culver farm house was moved to 301 North Shore Lane. Yet the original farmhouse AKA "Homestead still stands in its original loation here on East Shore Drive.

1908 - What would be the "Culver Farm and Farmhouse" the barn burned in the 1970's and the house remained.



There is a campus map that refers/labels the "Farmhouse" places it on the east side of East Shore Dr (St. Rd. 117) next to the barn that burned in the 1970's) which sat at just south of the CMA golf course dr.

Here are views view of the Culver Homestead property on the East Shore. They show views from the lake; looking over the lake, that view is looking North from the cottage to now what is the boat ramp area of the academy grounds and main campus.



A very early photo as it looked from standing on the Golf course area the back side of the barn that was located on the edge of the golf course and also the wagon trail the would be assumed between the Homestead and the Culver Military campus area.



Below are some of the Culver family at the homstead and on the lake.



Below is the Little Nicholas Baseball team of St. Louis in 1895 at the lake front of the cottage and other entertaining and family photos.

Library

This is the lake front strip of the J. Hissong property H. H. Culver bought it contains 18A and this includes the Culver Boat House. - N 1169.5FT S 1549.5 FT LOT 3 & R W RD

1931/2- present - Culver Educational Foundation

1958 Lake Directory - 480 Culver-Bell Cottage