762 E. Shore Dr.

House of A Thousand Candles

A very small portion of the property sits in Section 15; Section 15 History 1835-1922 and the majority of it in Section 22; Section 22 History 1835-1922

1838 - William & Nancy Thompson HW deeded to Eleazor Thompson
1840 - 6 Apr. Eleazor Thompson to Joshua Canaday
1843 3 Aug. - Former deed revoked & reverted to Eleazor Thompson & HW

Eleazor and HW Mary Thompson to Huldah Canaday
Eleazor and HW Mary Thompson to Any Canaday

1848 - 1 Feb. - Any Canada & Eli Barbara & Huldah Canaday Barnard to Samuel Jones
1855 - 13 Jun. - Samuel Jones and Rebecca Jones to David La Rue
1865 - 29 May - Heirs of David and Frances La Rue to George Peoples

Frances La Rue married Peter Cohoe - 8 Dec. 1864

1865 - 10 Jun - Frances Jane La Rue Cohoe dc Peter Cohoe to George Peeples
1865 - 29 May - George Peoples to Squier Owens-Administrator?????

1881 - The house was built by Franklin Vonnegut

1952 - AUGUST 20, Services were held in Indianapolis on Saturday for Franklin Vonnegut, 95, former summer resident here.

Older residents will recall that it was this man; who built one of the first of the more permanent homes along the East Shore Road. He erected his summer home in the 1880's and, it was the first to have plastered walls.



He sold the cottage about the turn of the century to Alfred Potts.

1884 - 27 Oct. - William Now [Mow?] & Catherine HW to George Peoples Grantee of David La Rue
1887 - 15 Sep. - George Peoples & HW Catherine to Sarah P VonHake and Pauline O. (VonHake) Vonnegut , wife of Franklin Deed Bk 39
1888 - Jul 23 - Property split between the 2 sisters

Deed Bk. 40 - Sarah P Von Hake & Pauline O. (Von Hake) Vonnegut split the property for a short period of time till Oct. 1, 1899 when Sarah P. Von Hake sold her half back to Pauline O. (Von Hake) and Franklin Vonnegut.

1889 - 1 Oct. - Sarah P. Von Hake & Carl HH to Pauline O. Vonnegut & Franklin HH (south half of property)

1889 - 23 Dec. - George Peeples & Catherine HW to Pauline Vonnegut

1902 - 17 Dec. - (Heirs of Pauline Vonnegut deceased: HH Franklin & sons Theodore F., Felix and Arthur) Heirs of Pauline Vonnegut to May Potts


1911 - 13 Jul. 1911 - George Peeples and Catherine Peeples to May Potts
1910 - Apr 14 - M. R. Cline is building a two-story addition, 20X28, the the A. F. Potts cottage of the East side. The basement will contain the furnace, the first floor will be one room, forming an extension the present dinning room, and the second story will be divided into two bedrooms

1926 - 10 Feb. - May B. Potts & Alfred F. Potts HH to Maude Fowler Wolfe

Maude was husband to Henry Preston Wolfe. Found is:
1916 - Oct 26 - Walter R, Beebe to Harry Preston Wolfe, Indiana cottage on Lake Maxinkuckee, $4200.

1941 - 9 Jun. - Maude Fowler Wolfe & Harry HH to Charles E. Hughes and Fern D. HW

1941-197_ - Charles E & Fern D Hughes

1958 Lake Directory - Charles E. Hughes - , Destin, Fla

1971 - 3 Mar 1983 Harold Dale and Collette (Scully) Long

Historical Society Presents Award to "House of a Thousand Candles"
The Marshall County Historical Society presented an award this week commemorating an important historical site on Lake Maxinkuckee. "The House of a Thousand Candles," located at 762 East Shore Drive, Culver, is presently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harold (Dale) Long.

The house was built in 1881 and it is one of five built by the Vonnegut families at about that time. Two additions to the house were made since that time.

The first was the addition of a living room area, and the second was a dining room. The dining room addition was added while the house was owned by the Wolfe family, and the person who ordered the work to be done was Jane Culver . She is reported (though not verified) to have asked that the dining room be "the largest on Lake Maxinkuckee," and (it) probably was for many years.

The House is named after the book, "The House of a Thousand Candles," which was written by Merideth Nicholson in 1905. Mr. Nicholson was a friend of the Vonnegut family and it is believed that the book was written while Nicholson stayed at the house during the winter of 1904-05. The book is a novel, set in a place based on Lake Maxinkuckee.

The Longs purchased the house from Charles Evans Hughes, the nephew of the former Supreme Court Justice by the same name, in 1971. They considered tearing down the building at that time and starting over, because the house had been empty for several years and was in severe disrepair. In the end, they decided to repair the home, and remodeled the house along the original plan and the house looks much the same today as it did 75 years ago. The only major changes to the structure are a modern kitchen and a new back porch, which offers a breath taking view of Lake Maxinkuckee. The copper kettle at the right in the above picture was used by the Vonnegut's in the making of apple butter. They owned a large orchard in the east shore and held an "Apple Festival" at the end of each season, complete with a band, which performed on the deck which still overlooks the lake next door to the Long's home. --The Culver Citizen, May 23, 1984

Some history of the cottage as told by Robert (Bob) Kyle, it must be Lakewater.

Sep. 1987 - Jun 1992 - Thomas C. & Jean G. Barnes

Jun 1992 - Nov. 1995 - Craighton & Linda Hippenhammer

Craighton "Craig " has spent several years researched the history of the house and Nicholson's use of it in his novel "The House of a Thousand Candles" written by Meredith Nicholson and published in 1906. The article appeared in the Summer, 2007 edition of "Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History" , the quarterly magazine of the Indiana Historical Society entitled: "The house of a Thousand Candles: The Lake Maxinkuckee Link". 19:3, Summer 2007, 40-47. (PDF file)

He is a professor at Olivet Nazarene University Library Information Technology Department Benner Library and Resource Center; Associate Professor of Library Science; B.A., 1968, California State University; M.L.S., 1974 University of Oregon; M.F.A., 1994, Columbia College. And an elder in the Reformed Church of America. Craighton and his wife Linda have two daughters. and have estabished the The Craighton T. and Linda G. Hippenhammer Faculty Scholarship at Olivet.

Linda G, MD - Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and graduated in 1983; and a radiologist.

Jeffery P. Kenny wrote an intresting article on them "Culver’s Hippenhammers serve at home and around the world".

Nov. 1995 - 2024 - Craighton & Linda Hippenhammer, Trustees Trust Agreement

Craighton Hippenhammer researched and wrote the article entitled "The House of a Thousand Candles: The Lake Maxinkuckee Link"

Additon was add to the house in 2001-2 86 AUDITOR DESC: MEAN COR BETW SEC 15 & 22 SHR LK MAX