Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy Culver, Marshall, Indiana

Vonnegut Family Holdings Lake Maxinkuckee  



Peeples Farm or Hollyhock

Plat maps of around Lake Maxinkuckee show the land holdings of the Vonnegut family.

This one produced by Sarah Handyside for her book "Renovating Veonnegut" shows the properties with the dates of acquistion.


1876 - G. Peoples 37A


1880 - G. Peoples 35.5A & 16.96A


1898 - G. Peeples - Lake Lot, ?35.5A & 11.90 and 2 lake lots as C. Peeples and G. Peeples


And an enlarged area of the "Hollyhock" farm area shows the location of the house while it was still under the ownership of George Peeples on the 1908 plat map.


1910 March 17 - the 140 acre farm belonging to D. W. Marks, east of the lake, was sold last week to Clemence Vongegut of indianapolis for $13,000

NOTE: The 1908 plat map lists it as D. W. Marks 40 acres and Jennie L Marks 2 sections 40 acres each for a total of 120 acres/


1919, Apr. 26 - Clemens Vonnegut Jr Deed Bk 80 "Hollyhock"
    Sarah M. & Albert Pefley, Mary & Henry M. Speyer, Edna & Harry A. Dillon - heirs of George Peoples



1919, Apr 30 - The heirs of George Peoples have sold the 35- acre farm to Mr. and Mrs. Clemens Vonnegut who have begun improving it by sinking another well, installing a water service to be operated by a hydraulic ram, repainting.

1919, May 21 - The Peeples farm which was recently purchased by Clemens Vonnegut. has been named "The Hollyhocks". The wealth of there noble flowers on the place which always attracts the attention of the passeby makes the name very appropriate one.

The 1908 D. W. Marks and Jennie L. Marks property of 120 acres by the 1922 plat map was in Walter Vonneguts name at 60 & 66 acres


Emma Vonnegut purchased the Peeples farm of 28.10 and 11.90 acres before 1922 by the plat map; - her obit of 1939 states 10 years ago which would be 1929 - but is in error.Also visible in her name is a lot and lake front lot.


And this also shows the Vonnegut-Muellers properties with names more visible in the area during 1922 and was dub "Vonnegut Row".


This shows the location of the house of "Hollyhocks"; as well as the Walter J. Vonneguts properties which were the "Vonnegut Orchard" and also the platted lake fron which was known as "Vonnegut Row"


Sometime between the 1922 plat map - the road in this following area - changed dramtically - the map found proposing it was dated 6 Oct 1927 if it is read correcly in the lower right hand corner; the news articles; pertaining to. The blue is the original road of 33' wide to the west and the red to the east is the proposed change and increasing the wideth to 40'



1927 - This shows a cropped section of only the lake front cottages and how the old road divided the properties basically in half; and a listing of the owners


This cropped area of the plat of 1936 shows a plat of about 28 acres "W. V" the land purchased from George Peeples and 51 acres a part of the Jennie L. Marks farm; "W. Vonnegot" .


The plat map of 1948 shows that Howard Oberlin had acquired the 28 acres and the Culver Military Academy had acquired the 51 acres and by 1956 the 28 acres was labled "C. H."

A 30 acre orchard was planted by the Vonnegut family and for a number of years produced a large crop of apples.

Emma Vonnegut, Walter Vonnegut - Vonnegut Orchard


The property on the east side of the lake road ( State Road 117 or East Shore Dr.) which by the 1922 map belonged to Emma Vonnegut had the Vonnegut Orchard on it. Dr. Warren Reiss owns part of this property today and is called "Kur-Cor". The original barn was, at least, still standing on the Reiss property. The Vonnegut Orchard was partly located on the northern portion of the land today owned by Dr. Warren Reiss at 921 N. East Shore rive. The orchard extended back as far as the east curve of today’s 18th Road (which runs East & West) and ran along the east edge of Queen Road (which runs North & South) it was also known as the “Vonnegut Road". This is a section out of the 1908 plat map that shows the Marks land.

cottages of Vonnegut Row: