John H. Bass Mansion

Last updated
John H. Bass Mansion
John H. Bass Mansion.jpg
Front of the house
USA Indiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location2701 Spring Street
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Coordinates 41°5′15″N85°10′33″W / 41.08750°N 85.17583°W / 41.08750; -85.17583 Coordinates: 41°5′15″N85°10′33″W / 41.08750°N 85.17583°W / 41.08750; -85.17583
Arealess than one acre
Built1902
Architect Wing & Mahurin
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No. 82000056 [1]
Added to NRHPJune 2, 1982

The Bass Mansion, also known as Brookside, is an administrative building and historic structure at the University of Saint Francis located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The hand-carved, sandstone mansion was the private residence of industrialist John Henry Bass from 1902 to 1944. The Sisters of Saint Francis of Perpetual Adoration bought the home and more than 65 acres of surrounding landscape from the Bass family in 1944 and relocated their college. [2] Since 1944, the mansion served as library and residence to the college.

Contents

History

John H. Bass

John Henry Bass was born November 9, 1835, in Salem, Kentucky. His brother, Sion S. Bass came to Fort Wayne in 1848 and worked for the Ewing fur-trading business. John arrived in 1852 and worked as a grocery clerk while studying bookkeeping at night school. He became an auditor for the Wabash Railroad and engaged in land speculation along the Iowa border. The brothers started a machine works doing business as Jones, Bass and Company at the site of the present-day post office on South Clinton Street. They sold the business to the railroad and started a foundry with Samuel Hanna. Sion became a colonel with the Thirtieth Regiment and died at Shiloh in 1862. [3]

John bought out the partners and established the Bass Foundry & Machine Works along Hanna Street. The company employed over 1,000 workers. In 1869 he founded the St. Louis Car Wheel Company, and an ironworks in Chicago in 1873. He also owned iron ore mines in Alabama and Tennessee. The company was the world's leading manufacturer of railroad wheels and axles and also produced boilers, engines, and other items. [4]

John married Laura H. Lightfoot of Kentucky on October 30, 1865. He was president of the First National Bank of Fort Wayne for thirty years. [5]

The Brookside estate contained extensive gardens and a deer park. Bass bred Clydesdale horses and Galloway cattle; the farm supplied milk for much of Fort Wayne. Bass died in 1922 and is buried in Lindenwood Cemetery. A popular story says that Bass is still at Brookside, and someone is in the library, he will help them find the book they seek.

Brookside

In 1982, Brookside, also known as the Bass Mansion, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [6] In 1889, John Henry Bass (1835–1922), hired local architects Wing and Mahurin to build a Romanesque summer home named Brookside. [7] Bass's primary home was a brick mansion at Fairfield Avenue and Berry Street.

Bass improved the landscape's aesthetic value with a man-made lake outlining the north, east and south façades of the home. In 1902, a gas explosion ignited a basement fire, destroying all but a portion of the exterior masonry. By 1903, the resurrected home incorporated a combination of stone, concrete and steel which endure to this day. [8] [9]

Preserving History

After many years of constant use, restoration efforts began in 2009. By the end of 2010, the mansion had been completely restored. Along with the restoration, the university restored the name of the mansion to Brookside, as John Henry Bass originally planned. [10] The restoration of this 1903 Richardsonian Romanesque masterpiece involved historic investigation of the original decorative work. Each diversely themed room presented a unique challenge in terms of existing condition, decorative style and the lack of clues left behind to guide an accurate conservation and restoration of the original decoration. The comprehensive restoration and aggressive homecoming of original and elegant new decoration celebrates and revives the Bass Mansion's unique decorative and cultural legacy. [11] Conrad Schmitt Studios' restoration of the historic Bass Mansion includes, period conservation and replication of the ornate decorative painting and stencil work. Today, mural conservation, stenciling, tromp l'oeil, glazing and gilding adorn the hallowed halls of the restored Bass Mansion. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne, Indiana</span> City in Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Census, making it the second-most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis, and the 76th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen and Whitley counties which had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. In addition to the two core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Steuben, and Wells counties, with an estimated population of 649,105 in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Haven, Indiana</span> City in Indiana, United States

New Haven is a city in Adams, Jefferson, and St. Joseph townships, Allen County, Indiana, United States. It sits to the east of the city of Fort Wayne, the second largest city in Indiana, and is situated mostly along the southern banks of the Maumee River. The population was 14,794 as of the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne Old City Hall Building</span> United States historic place

The Fort Wayne Old City Hall Building in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana operates as a museum known as The History Center, and has served as headquarters for the Allen County–Fort Wayne Historical Society since 1980. The Richardsonian Romanesque style sandstone building was designed by the architectural firm Wing & Mahurin and built in 1893. It served as a functioning city hall for the city until 1971 when local officials moved to the City-County Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Baptiste Richardville</span> Chief of the Miami people

Jean Baptiste de Richardville, also known as Pinšiwa or Peshewa in the Miami-Illinois language or John Richardville in English, was the last akima 'civil chief' of the Miami people. He began his career in the 1790s as a fur trader who controlled an important portage connecting the Maumee River to the Little River in what became the present-day state of Indiana. Richardville emerged a principal chief in 1816 and remained a leader of the Miamis until his death in 1841. He was a signatory to the Treaty of Greenville (1795), as well as several later treaties between the U.S. government and the Miami people, most notably the Treaty of Fort Wayne (1803), the Treaty of Fort Wayne (1809), the Treaty of Saint Mary's (1818), the Treaty of Mississinewas (1826), the treaty signed at the Forks of the Wabash (1838), and the Treaty of the Wabash (1840).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Saint Francis (Indiana)</span>

The University of Saint Francis (USF) is a private Catholic university in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values. The school's 2017–18 enrollment was 2,364 undergraduate and graduate students, the majority of whom come from states in the Midwest, primarily Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reitz Home Museum</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Reitz Home Museum is a Victorian house museum located in the Riverside Historic District in downtown Evansville, Indiana. The museum offers year-round guided tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel Plate Road 765</span> Preserved NKP S-2 class 2-8-4 locomotive

Nickel Plate Road 765 is a class "S-2" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built for the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad, commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site</span> United States historic place

Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site is located in New Albany, Indiana by the Ohio River. It was the home of William Culbertson, who was once the richest man in Indiana. Built in 1867 at a cost of $120,000, this Second Empire-style mansion has 25-rooms within 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2), and was completed in November 1869. It was designed by James T. Banes, a local architect. Features within the three-story edifice include hand-painted ceilings and walls, frescoed ceilings, carved rosewood-grained staircase, marble fireplaces, wallpaper of fabric-quality, and crystal chandeliers. The original tin roof was imported from Scotland. The displays within the mansion feature the Culbertson family and the restoration of the building. The rooms on the tour are the formal parlors, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchen, and laundry room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Fort Wayne, Indiana)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church is a congregation in the Indiana District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) located at the intersection of Barr and Madison Streets in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1837, it is the second oldest Lutheran church in Indiana and the oldest in the northern part of the state. Thanks largely to its size and to the leadership of its pastors, it has long played a prominent role in Indiana Lutheranism and in the LCMS as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delamater-Bevin Mansion</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Delamater-Bevin Mansion, also known as The Bevin House, is a historic 22-room Victorian mansion on the north shore of Long Island within the Incorporated Village of Asharoken, New York. The estate is on the Eatons Neck landmass on the edge of Duck Island Harbor, an inlet of Northport Bay, off of Long Island Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Historic District (Madison, Indiana)</span> Historic district in Indiana, United States

The Madison Historic District is a historic district located in Madison, Indiana. In 2006, it was named a National Historic Landmark due to its unique Midwestern beauty and architecture scheme. Among the prominent buildings in the district are the Lanier Mansion, one of two buildings separately considered a National Historic Landmark in the district, and the Schofield House, the birthplace of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. In total, it comprises 133 blocks of Madison, Indiana, overlooking the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruthmere Mansion</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

Ruthmere, formerly the Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley Residence, is a three-story Beaux-Arts mansion that is the most prominent historic residence in Elkhart, Indiana, United States. Built in 1910, the Ruthmere Mansion is now open to the public as a museum, along with the neighboring Dr. Havilah Beardsley House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. Gunar Gruenke</span>

B. Gunar Gruenke is a stained glass artist in Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abram Gaar House and Farm</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Abram Gaar House and Farm or known as the Gaar Mansion is a wooden Second Empire-style farm home located in Richmond, Indiana, built in 1876 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. Ross Adair Federal Building and United States Courthouse</span> United States historic place

The E. Ross Adair Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is a historic post office, courthouse, and federal office building located at Fort Wayne in Allen County, Indiana. The building is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 as U.S. Post Office and Courthouse.

John Canning & Co., formerly John Canning Studios, is a historic building restoration and conservation company located in Cheshire, Connecticut, led by David Riccio and John Canning. Working with government, institutional, sacred, commercial, theater, and residential clients, the company specializes in the interior restoration of decorative finishes, ornamental and flat plaster, period, and new design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wing & Mahurin</span>

Wing & Mahurin was an architectural firm of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Its principal partners were John F. Wing (1852-1947) and Marshall S. Mahurin (1857-1939), who were partners until 1907. Together with Guy M. Mahurin (1877-1941) they worked also as Mahurin & Mahurin.

Charles R. Weatherhogg was an American architect from Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was born in Donington, England and attended the Art Institute of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. He worked for an architect in Lincolnshire before coming to the United States to see the 1893 World's Fair, lived in Chicago for a year, and settled in Fort Wayne in 1892.

Charles Winslow Miner was a well-known Fort Wayne, Indiana, photographer in the late 1890s and early 1900s. A native of Columbia City, Indiana, Miner moved to Fort Wayne around 1887 and established Miner's Studio on West Wayne Street in downtown Fort Wayne. Miner is best known for his studio portraits and commercial photographs of landmarks in Allen County, Indiana, especially the Allen County Courthouse and notable Fort Wayne businesses. His photographs were published in Fort Wayne booster books in the early 1900s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Engine House No. 3 (Fort Wayne, Indiana)</span> United States historic place

Engine House No. 3 is a historic fire station located in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was designed by the architectural firm Wing & Mahurin, with the original section built in 1893 and an addition built in 1907. It is a two-story, Romanesque Revival style red brick building. The building houses the Fort Wayne Firefighters Museum.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Brookside Heritage, Brookside Self-Guided Tour, University of Saint Francis, page 2, 2009
  3. Griswold, Bert Joseph. The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Chicago: Robert O. Law Co, 1917, p. 450
  4. Castaldi, Tom. "John Bass", Fort Wayne Monthly, November 2010, No. 72
  5. Leininger, Kevin. "The life of the Bass Foundry", Newa-Sentinel, November 28, 1981
  6. Bass, John H., Mansion, NHRP (added 1982 - Building - #82000056)
  7. Marshall J. Mahurin. Wing & Mahurin, Architects, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Wing & Mahurin.
  8. Brookside Heritage, Broodside Self-Guided Tour, University of Saint Francis, 2009
  9. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2015-07-01.Note: This includes Terence F. Sebright (June 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: John H. Bass Mansion" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-01. and Accompanying photographs
  10. Brookside Heritage, Brookside Self-Guided Tour, University of Saint Francis, page 3, 2009
  11. University of Saint Francis Press Release, ARCHIE Award, Outstanding Restoration, 2010
  12. "Bass Mansion", CSS