Millen House

Last updated
Millen House
Millen House from southeast.jpg
Front and eastern side of the house
USA Indiana location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location112 N. Bryan Ave., Bloomington, Indiana
Coordinates 39°10′2″N86°30′28″W / 39.16722°N 86.50778°W / 39.16722; -86.50778
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1845
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP reference No. 04001104 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 29, 2004

The Millen House (also known as "Raintree House" [1] ) is a historic residence on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built by an early farmer, it is one of Bloomington's oldest houses, and it has been named a historic landmark.

Contents

The Raintree House is a Greek Revival style brick house. The house gets its name from two large raintrees ( Koelreuteria paniculata ), which once stood on the property. Built by William Moffett Millen c. 1845, it is an example of the Georgian house plan favored by well-to-do farmers in southern Indiana and the Upland South in the mid-nineteenth century. [2] [ better source needed ] [3] :1

Millen family

Street view Millen House, Bloomington.jpg
Street view

Born in 1801 in Chester District, South Carolina, William Moffett Millen married the former Eleanor McGill, a native of Xenia, Ohio, and moved to Bloomington circa 1833. He was one of many Scotch-Irish South Carolinians who moved to the Bloomington region around this time; [3] :4 these individuals fled north because of their opposition to the slavery system prevalent in South Carolina at the time. Most of these people, including Millen, were members of small Presbyterian denominations: the Associate, Associate Reformed, and Reformed Presbyterian Churches. These three denominations were very similar to each other: the Reformed and Associate churches left the Church of Scotland due to what they believed to be that denomination's departure from biblical teachings; [3] :5 and the Associate Reformed Church was formed by a partial merger of the other two denominations in 1782, from which some members of both sides remained separate and reorganized their denominations as they were before the merger. [4] :74 Because of their shared heritage, the members of the three denominations were culturally very similar and maintained social ties across their religious differences. [3] :5 When the Reformed Presbyterian Church's governing body banned slavery in 1800, its members complied with the decision almost unanimously, becoming fervent abolitionists; although the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the South never spoke officially on the subject, [4] :79–80 many of its members were in agreement with the Reformed Presbyterians. As the economy of upland South Carolina faltered in the 1820s, many members of these churches began to sell their small farms and move to free states. [3] :5

An abolitionist Associate Reformed Presbyterian, Millen chose to move to the recently founded town of Bloomington, which had been started fifteen years earlier as the home of the Indiana State Seminary. Although isolated from transportation routes such as the Ohio River, the town was growing as a center of education and as the commercial and political hub of Monroe County. [3] :5 When Millen and his family settled in Bloomington, they found a population of approximately seven hundred residents. Millen purchased one quarter section of land between the Nashville and Columbus Roads. Here, he and his wife and three children built a log cabin; on their farm, the family grew such crops as corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes; among their livestock were thirty-five cattle, a number significantly greater than the typical small farmer of the period could own. Besides farming, the Millens operated a kiln, which they used to manufacture bricks for multiple significant buildings in the city. As the years passed, the farm was expanded; by 1860, the farm had grown to 320 acres (130 ha), twice its original size. [3] :6

Construction and architecture

First-floor hallway Millen House hallway.jpg
First-floor hallway

As his prosperity grew, William Millen erected a far larger house in 1845. Replacing the original log cabin was a sizeable Georgian residence with Greek Revival influences, built primarily of bricks from his own kiln. Such a house demonstrates the prosperity of its builder: [3] :6 the first houses in the city were much simpler structures in vernacular forms such as the hall and parlor and the I-house, [5] :xiii and styles such as the Georgian and Greek Revival represented the increasing influence of Eastern sophistication. [3] :6 Located on N. Bryan Avenue, the house is a two-story building constructed of hand-pressed bricks; it rests on a limestone foundation and features significant amounts of framing made of tuliptree wood. The load-bearing walls of the interior, also built of brick, range from 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) in thickness; some wooden frame, including a central beam 1.5 feet (0.46 m) thick, also supports the house. [3] :1

Millen's house is a rectangular building planned in a highly symmetrical fashion. All of its twenty-seven windows (each the same size as all of the others) are arranged in a regular fashion around the entrances on the five-bay northern and southern fronts of the house and on both of its three-bay ends. [3] :2 Two chimneys are located on each of the two ends, with one on either side of the peak of the roof. [3] :1 Regularity of design is also evidenced on the inside, in which each floor is divided into four rooms with a central hallway; each room features a fireplace and entrances to the hallway and to the adjacent room. Few ornate architectural details are present in the house; the most prominent of those that exist are the four Doric pillars of the small front porch and a simple cornice at the base of the porch roof. [3] :2 Throughout the interior, elements such as the fireplaces, woodworking, window glass, and molding are original to the house, although all of the fireplaces have been modified to prevent their use as fireplaces. [3] :3

After construction

Although a member of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Millen was closely associated with leading members of the Bloomington Reformed Presbyterian Church, [3] :7 which was founded twelve years before his arrival in Monroe County. [5] :124 Due to their fiercely abolitionist position, Reformed Presbyterian leaders such as Thomas Smith and James Faris, the congregation's first minister, were active participants in the local Underground Railroad movement. Because these men, like Millen, lived on farms east of town, it is possible that he collaborated with them. Local tradition has regarded the Millen House as an active station on the Underground Railroad; while no proof has been found for such a position, the close distance between these three farms makes such a situation more likely. [3] :7

Typical houses on the former Millen farm Bryan Avenue in Bloomington.jpg
Typical houses on the former Millen farm

William Millen sold his house and farm to another local farmer, James Clark, in 1880. From this point, the family's history is divided and somewhat obscure: both Millen sons moved to the Great Plains, William and his daughter Eliza remained in Monroe County, where they are buried, and Eleanor's date of death, place of death, and place of burial are all shrouded in mystery. Clark owned the land for just two years, selling it to a farming family named Rogers, which remained on the property until 1900. In that year, the farm was purchased at auction by Henry and Minnie Lee for slightly less than $4,000 — substantially less than the $8,500 for which Millen had sold it or the $12,000 for which the Rogers had bought it. As Bloomington began to grow eastward, the Lees' land rose in value; they sold the land to another couple in 1923, who platted and sold most of the farm for residential purposes, and who quickly sold the house itself for $7,500 (~$93,746 in 2021) to Indiana University professor Agnes Wells. [3] :7 For most of her time as owner, Wells rented the house to university students. Another couple bought the house in 1944 but sold it to the university two years later. At that time, the G.I. Bill led to vastly increased enrollment; therefore, the university used the residence to house faculty and staff, and the surrounding neighborhood was purchased for student housing. The last private owner, Ann Stallknecht, bought the property in 1950; in 1969, she sold the property back to the university, which has owned it since that time. [3] :8

Shortly after the property reverted to university ownership, history professor Thomas D. Clark became the executive secretary of the Organization of American Historians. Working with university president Herman B Wells, Clark arranged for the organization's headquarters to be moved into the Millen House in 1970, where they have remained to the present day. [3] :8 Today, the organization primarily refers to it as the "Raintree House," [6] a name derived from two large raintrees that were formerly located on the grounds. [3] :1

Recognition

Only three other Georgian houses from the early and middle nineteenth century survive in Bloomington and the surrounding area; two of them have been modified greatly, and the third is collapsing, making the Millen House one of Monroe County's earliest and best preserved residences. [3] :7 Between 1999 and 2001, historic preservation officials working with the city of Bloomington surveyed the entire city and identified over two thousand buildings that were deemed to be historic to one extent or another. [5] :vi The house is referred to as the Millen-Stallknecht House, #105-055-80021 in City of Bloomington Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. [2]

Because of its well-preserved historic architecture and its place in the settlement of the region, the Millen House was given the rating of "Outstanding"; [5] :140 the highest of the ratings given by the survey, it was accorded to less than three percent of the city's historic buildings. Key to the criteria for an Outstanding rating was that a property be likely to pass the criteria for addition to the National Register of Historic Places. [7] In recognition of this status, more extensive research into the house's history was performed in the early 2000s, [5] :xix and the Millen House was listed on the National Register on September 29, 2004. It is one of forty properties and historic districts in Monroe County with this distinction. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, United States. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Monroe County History Center, Bloomington is known as the "Gateway to Scenic Southern Indiana". The city was established in 1818 by a group of settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Virginia who were so impressed with "a haven of blooms" that they called it Bloomington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church</span> Protestant denomination

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate Presbytery and most of the Reformed Presbytery in Philadelphia in 1782. The northern Synods eventually merged with the forebears of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Because of its 1782 date of origin, it is one of the oldest of the United States' theologically and socially conservative denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Presbyterian Church</span> Church in D.C., United States

The National Presbyterian Church is a Christian congregation of approximately 1,500 members of all ages from the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C., area. The mission statement of the church is "Leading People to Become Faithful Followers of Jesus Christ Together in God's World"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford Reformed Presbyterian Church</span> Historic church in Kansas, United States

The Stafford Reformed Presbyterian Church, also known as Covenanter Church, is a historic church in Stafford, Kansas, United States. Constructed in 1913, the building is a small-sized example of Gothic Revival architecture. It replaced an older church built on the same site, which was demolished because it had fallen into poor condition. The church itself existed as a part of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) from 1911 to 1961. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 8, 2005 for its architectural significance. Today, the church is owned by a local company, Henderson House Inn and Retreat Center, which uses it as part of its conference center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Brick Church (Fairfield County, South Carolina)</span> Historic church in South Carolina, United States

Old Brick Church, which is also known as Ebenezer Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) Church or First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is a church built in 1788 about 4 mi (6 km) north of Jenkinsville on SC 213 in Fairfield County, South Carolina. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1971. It is one of the few 18th-century churches surviving in the South Carolina midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America</span>

The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) is a Presbyterian church with congregations and missions throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, and Chile. Its beliefs—held in common with other members of the Reformed Presbyterian Global Alliance—place it in the conservative wing of the Reformed family of Protestant churches. Below the Bible—which is held as divinely inspired and without error—the church is committed to several "subordinate standards," together considered with its constitution: the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms, along with its Testimony, Directory for Church Government, the Book of Discipline, and Directory for Worship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakin-Coleman Farm</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Dakin-Coleman Farm is located on Coleman Station Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States. Its large wooden farmhouse was built shortly before the Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legg House (Bloomington, Indiana)</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Legg House is a historic former farmhouse in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in the middle of the nineteenth century, it has experienced a range of uses, culminating in its present status as an Indiana University office building. After a period of deterioration, it was restored to its original condition, and it has been designated a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Abel House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Elias Abel House is a historic building in western Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in the Greek Revival style in 1845, it was once the grand home of one of Bloomington's leading citizens. After many years of use, it fell into disrepair and was endangered by the possibility of destruction, but restoration has led to its designation as a historic site due to its authentic period architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair–Dunning House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Blair–Dunning House is a historic house on the west side of Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in the 1820s as a farmhouse, it now lies at the heart of one of the city's neighborhoods, and it is one of Bloomington's most prominent houses. Once the home of the Governor of Indiana, it has been designated a historic site.

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

The Steele Dunning Historic District is a neighborhood and historic district in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Composed of small, single- or double-family houses, the district includes houses built from the late nineteenth century through the middle of the twentieth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Mitchell House</span> Historic building in Indiana, USA

The Joseph Mitchell House is a historic residence in southern Monroe County, Indiana, United States. Located on Ketcham Road west of the community of Smithville, it is one of the oldest houses in Monroe County, and it has been designated a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John L. Nichols House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The John L. Nichols House is a historic former residence in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in a late variety of the Victorian style of architecture, it was constructed in 1900. Once the home of Bloomington's leading architect, it is no longer a residence, but it has been designated a historic site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethel A.M.E. Church (Indianapolis, Indiana)</span> Historic church in Indiana, United States

The Bethel A.M.E. Church, known in its early years as Indianapolis Station or the Vermont Street Church, is a historic African Methodist Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Organized in 1836, it is the city's oldest African-American congregation. The three-story church on West Vermont Street dates to 1869 and was added to the National Register in 1991. The surrounding neighborhood, once the heart of downtown Indianapolis's African American community, significantly changed with post-World War II urban development that included new hotels, apartments, office space, museums, and the Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis campus. In 2016 the congregation sold their deteriorating church, which will be used in a future commercial development. The congregation built a new worship center at 6417 Zionsville Road in Pike Township, Marion County, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millen-Chase-McCalla House</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

Millen-Chase-McCalla House, also known as the Topolgus Building, is a historic home located at Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana. The original section was built in 1844, and now forms the two-story brick rear wing. The two-story, brick main section was added in 1854, to form a two-thirds I-house. The house was remodeled in 1871 in a combination of Greek Revival and Italianate style architecture. It rests on a limestone foundation and has a side-gable roof. The interior has undergone renovation for commercial uses a number of times; in 2011 it was rehabilitated for use as a restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. C. Steele State Historic Site</span> United States historic place

The T. C. Steele State Historic Site is located in rural Brown County, Indiana, one and a half miles south of Belmont, between Bloomington and Nashville, Indiana. The property was the studio and home of Hoosier Group landscape and portrait artist Theodore Clement Steele (1847–1926) and Selma Neubacher Steele (1870–1945), the artist's second wife. Shortly before her death in 1945, Selma donated the property on 211 acres of land to the Indiana Department of Conservation to establish a state historic site in memory of her husband. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as the Theodore Clement Steele House and Studio. The Indiana State Museum operates the historic site, which is open to the public and offers guided tours of the home and studio.

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

The Propylaeum, also known as the John W. Schmidt House or as the Schmidt-Schaf House, is a historic home and carriage house located at 1410 North Delaware Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The Propylaeum was named after the Greek word "propýlaion," meaning "gateway to higher culture." The property became the headquarters for the Indianapolis Woman's Club in 1923, as well as the host for several other social and cultural organizations. It was initially built in 1890-1891 as a private residence for John William Schmidt, president of the Indianapolis Brewing Company, and his family. Joseph C. Schaf, president of the American Brewing Company of Indianapolis, and his family were subsequent owners of the home.

The American Home Missionary Society was a Protestant missionary society in the United States founded in 1826. It was founded as a merger of the United Domestic Missionary Society with state missionary societies from New England. The society was formed by members of the Presbyterian, Congregational, Associate Reformed, and Dutch Reformed churches with the objective "to assist congregations that are unable to support the gospel ministry, and to send the gospel to the destitute within the United States." In 1893, the Society became exclusively associated with the National Council of Congregational Churches and was renamed the Congregational Home Missionary Society.

Benjamin Deyerle (1806–1883) was an architect, artist and brickmaker in Roanoke County, Virginia. Many of the historic homes, churches and public buildings in Roanoke were designed and built under his and his family's direction. He is credited with building 23 of them, and perhaps more. Some of these homes and buildings are currently listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Flushing</span> Building in Queens in New York, New York

The Protestant Reformed Dutch Church of Flushing is a historic house of worship located at Roosevelt Avenue and Bowne Street near the center of Flushing, Queens, New York City. Built in the Romanesque Revival style, it is notable for a tall corner bell tower, extensive use of decorative brickwork, and its opalescent glass windows. The denomination has roots in the founding of New Netherland, and many other Reformed congregations were established during the 19th century in the former Dutch settlements along the Hudson River.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Katherine Roberts, Description and History of Indiana University's Raintree House for Nomination of the Property to the National Register of Historic Places, March, 2003, p 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-05-01.Note: This includes Katherine Roberts; John Dichtl & Matthew Reckard (February 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Millen House" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-05-01. and Accompanying photographs.
  4. 1 2 Glasgow, W. Melancthon. A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America Archived 2010-11-28 at the Wayback Machine . Baltimore: Hill and Harvey, 1888.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Indiana Historic Sites and Structures Inventory. City of Bloomington Interim Report. Bloomington: City of Bloomington, 2004-04.
  6. Raintree House, Organization of American Historians, 2009-10-27. Accessed 2011-01-12.
  7. Explanations and Classifications Archived 2010-12-27 at the Wayback Machine . City of Bloomington: Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission, n.d. Accessed 2011-01-06.