Allendale, Indiana
Encyclopedia
Allendale, Indiana, is an unincorporated town in south central Vigo County, Indiana
, in Honey Creek Township
. It is part of the Terre Haute
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Allendale, built into a bluff overlooking Honey Creek, is known for its winding roads, heavily wooded lots, deep ravines and large upper and upper-middle class houses. Most of the architect-designed homes date from the 1920s to 1960s and display a range of styles -- Prairie School
, Arts & Crafts
, Jacobean Revival
, Colonial Revival, Cotswold Cottage, Mission Revival, Cape Cod
, Split-Level and Ranch
. Allendale adjoins the Terre Haute Country Club; a private, non-profit, member-owned 18-hole golf course started in 1898. A Carmelite Monastery, The Carmel of St. Joseph, was founded in Allendale in 1947. The modern chapel was completed in 1970.
Allendale was once part of a farm owned by industrialist William P. Ijams and his wife, Sallie Warren Ijams. Warren Park Farm included a 100-horse stable. In 1889, a syndicate headed by Ijams bought Axtell, a world record setting harness racing stallion, for $105,000. It was the highest price ever paid for a horse at the time. The Ijams' son, Frank B. Ijams, commissioned New York architect H.T. Lindeberg, a student of Stanford White
, to build a Jacobean
Revival mansion in Allendale in 1929.
Another former Allendale resident was Chapman S. Root, who owned the Root Glass Company
of Terre Haute. Root Glass designed and patented the famous Coca-Cola
contour bottle. Root's Allendale estate, Rocky Edge, included a party house with an indoor swimming pool, greenhouse, bar and ballroom.
Allendale was also the home of distiller, Fred B. Smith. After establishing a successful distillery in Nebraska, Smith relocated to Terre Haute in 1895 and organized the Indiana Distilling Co. and later managed the 6-story Majestic Distillery, one of the world’s largest, with a capacity of 60,000 gallons a day. In 1898 Smith founded the Merchants Distilling Co. The gardens of Fred B. Smith's Prairie School mansion in Allendale were designed by the Danish-born landscape architect, Jens Jensen
, and included a reflection pool and 'long view' meadow. After the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, Smith closed the distillery and sold his Allendale estate, valued at $200,000, to the Indiana Knights of Columbus
for $75,000 in 1921. The Knights of Columbus established the Gibault School for Boys
on the property.
Allendale was also the location of the Allendale Lodge -- a rustic stone and wooden structure with a large fireplace and screened porch. The lodge was built by Indiana State University
with the help of the National Youth Administration
in 1939. Indiana State University paid for the cost of the building materials and college students provided the labor. Indiana State University sold the Allendale Lodge and surrounding property to the Carmelites in 1997.
Allendale was originally outside of Terre Haute
, but retail expansion south of the city has encroached on the area. The population is about 250.
Vigo County, Indiana
Vigo County is a county located along the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Terre Haute....
, in Honey Creek Township
Honey Creek Township, Vigo County, Indiana
Honey Creek Township is one of twelve townships in Vigo County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 14,280. It contains Terre Haute's main shopping district along US Route 41 and is by far the most characteristically suburban of the twelve Vigo County townships...
. It is part of the Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Allendale, built into a bluff overlooking Honey Creek, is known for its winding roads, heavily wooded lots, deep ravines and large upper and upper-middle class houses. Most of the architect-designed homes date from the 1920s to 1960s and display a range of styles -- Prairie School
Prairie School
Prairie School was a late 19th and early 20th century architectural style, most common to the Midwestern United States.The works of the Prairie School architects are usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands,...
, Arts & Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, Jacobean Revival
Jacobethan
Jacobethan is the style designation coined in 1933 by John Betjeman to describe the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance , with elements of Elizabethan and...
, Colonial Revival, Cotswold Cottage, Mission Revival, Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, Split-Level and Ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
. Allendale adjoins the Terre Haute Country Club; a private, non-profit, member-owned 18-hole golf course started in 1898. A Carmelite Monastery, The Carmel of St. Joseph, was founded in Allendale in 1947. The modern chapel was completed in 1970.
Allendale was once part of a farm owned by industrialist William P. Ijams and his wife, Sallie Warren Ijams. Warren Park Farm included a 100-horse stable. In 1889, a syndicate headed by Ijams bought Axtell, a world record setting harness racing stallion, for $105,000. It was the highest price ever paid for a horse at the time. The Ijams' son, Frank B. Ijams, commissioned New York architect H.T. Lindeberg, a student of Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
, to build a Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
Revival mansion in Allendale in 1929.
Another former Allendale resident was Chapman S. Root, who owned the Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company
The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, was one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. It was Earl R. Dean, Root Glass Company's bottle designer, who designed the famous contour Coca-Cola bottle. In the mid 1930s, Chapman J. Root, the company's president, sold the Root Glass Company to...
of Terre Haute. Root Glass designed and patented the famous Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
contour bottle. Root's Allendale estate, Rocky Edge, included a party house with an indoor swimming pool, greenhouse, bar and ballroom.
Allendale was also the home of distiller, Fred B. Smith. After establishing a successful distillery in Nebraska, Smith relocated to Terre Haute in 1895 and organized the Indiana Distilling Co. and later managed the 6-story Majestic Distillery, one of the world’s largest, with a capacity of 60,000 gallons a day. In 1898 Smith founded the Merchants Distilling Co. The gardens of Fred B. Smith's Prairie School mansion in Allendale were designed by the Danish-born landscape architect, Jens Jensen
Jens Jensen
Jens August Jensen was an Australian politician and Minister for the Navy.Jensen was born in Ballarat, Victoria and educated at Ballarat, leaving school at 11. He became a rabbit-hawker and miner at Beaconsfield, Tasmania. In July 1885 he married Elizabeth Frances Broadhurst; she died in 1894...
, and included a reflection pool and 'long view' meadow. After the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, Smith closed the distillery and sold his Allendale estate, valued at $200,000, to the Indiana Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
for $75,000 in 1921. The Knights of Columbus established the Gibault School for Boys
Gibault School for Boys
Conceived in 1909 by the Indiana Knights of Columbus, and named for Fr. Pierre Gibault, the Gibault School for Boys was dedicated on October 9, 1921. The first director of the school was Rev. Michael Gorman....
on the property.
Allendale was also the location of the Allendale Lodge -- a rustic stone and wooden structure with a large fireplace and screened porch. The lodge was built by Indiana State University
Indiana State University
Indiana State University is a public university located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States.The Princeton Review has named Indiana State as one of the "Best in the Midwest" seven years running, and the College of Education's Graduate Program was recently named as a 'Top 100' by U.S...
with the help of the National Youth Administration
National Youth Administration
The National Youth Administration was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 24. It operated from 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration . Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of...
in 1939. Indiana State University paid for the cost of the building materials and college students provided the labor. Indiana State University sold the Allendale Lodge and surrounding property to the Carmelites in 1997.
Allendale was originally outside of Terre Haute
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, but retail expansion south of the city has encroached on the area. The population is about 250.