Ruthmere Mansion
Encyclopedia
The Ruthmere Mansion is a three-story Beaux Arts mansion
that is the most prominent historic residence in Elkhart, Indiana
. Built in 1910 and refurbished in the early 1970s, the Ruthmere Mansion is now open to the public as a museum
.
Ruthmere is located along the St. Joseph River
in Elkhart, Indiana. The architect for this home was Enoch Hill Turnock
, commissioned by Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley in 1908 to design the home, which the Beardsleys named this home in memory of their only child, Ruth, who died at seven month. ("Mere" reflects the Latin
root maris and refers to the home's proximity to water). The mansion was a place of business, family, political and social gatherings until the deaths of the Beardsleys in 1924. Robert Beardsley of The Beardsley Foundation purchased the mansion in 1967 with the main goal of restoring it to its original beauty in order to create a museum for the community. Restoration took place between 1969 and 1973 when the mansion was made available to the public. The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978. The Beardsley Avenue Historic District was established several years later.
accents. The buff colored Belden brick used on the exterior came from Ohio and the limestone was from Bedford, Indiana
. The many carved quoin
s on the outside of the mansion were in the shape of pomegranates, which showed signs of wealth and prosperity. The covered entrance is supported by square brick pillars crested with the letter “B” etched in the stone to represent the Beardsley family.
When entering the mansion, visitors are greeted with heat blowing from vents located along each step of the main stairwell to provide warmth. French doors open up to the balustrade marble piazza and a protective cover greet guests as they arrive. This main hallway area was used for music and entertainment, with the key point of interest being the Choralcelo, which is a combination piano player and organ. When it is playing, the piano can be heard in the foyer but the organ is heard in the library. The organ pipes were installed in the basement and played through ducts located in the library. While the organ is playing in the library, the piano is set to play in the foyer. The sound resonates throughout the hallway and plays music of the era in which the Beardsleys lived.
On the main level are the French drawing room, the library and the dining room with an adjacent butler’s pantry. The drawing room was a formal room where guests were greeted. There is a hand-painted mural, Aurora Greets the Dawn, on the ceiling by Albert Stoyer of Detroit. Above the fireplace is a large mahogany pomegranate and book-matched Cuban mahogany is featured above the mantel.
The library is a less formal room but has the largest pomegranate above the marble fireplace which burned wood instead of gas, like all the other fireplaces in the home. Due to the wood-burning fireplace, this was the only room that had a sprinkler system (which was removed in 1967 when the fireplace became disabled). The ceiling is decorated with the initials of the four generations of the Beardsley men: Albert, Arthur, Walter and Robert.
The dining room also has a fireplace and a Louis Comfort Tiffany
"Oriental Poppies" chandelier over the dining table. The room has a full width pocket sliding door with a glass window to allow privacy for the diners which allowed servants in the hallway to keep an eye on the progress of the meal and be prepared to serve the next course or clear off the previous course. A floor buzzer was also available for the hosts to use in summoning servants for assistance during meals. There are original pieces of silverware and china that belonged to the family on display in the built-in china cabinet. They were all pieces that matched the décor of the home and established the family's elegant style. Off to the side of the dining room was the butler’s pantry which was used to prepare the meals and to keep them warm in the cabinets that had heating vents. This room was between the dining room and the actual kitchen and has a metal door to help prevent fire from spreading into the dining room. A 12-inch masonry wall was also built into the home between the dining room and the butler's pantry to prevent fire from spreading into the formal part of the home.
In the basement is a game room, which is currently used to hold small weddings. The game room was used for entertainment purposes where guests played poker and pinochle. In looking at pictures of how the room was originally set up, there were several tables with seating for four where these games were played. The stained glass windows that line the top of the east wall are replications of postcards from Italy, a place the Beardsleys visited on many occasions. The windows provided natural light for the game room. The top halves of the walls in the room are covered in original red velvet while the bottom halves are covered in materials that looked like leather. Along the walls are glass light sconce
s that light the room. The entire home was wired for electricity, which was rare in those days. For music, the game room had organ music piped into it through a grille that played from the Choralcelo upstairs in the foyer along with a baby piano that stood in the corner.
The basement was connected to the rest of the mansion by a sophisticated call button service that allowed the family to summon their servants as needed. There is a hallway leading out of the game room that leads outside into the conservatory where Elizabeth was an enthusiastic gardener. The hallway has painted murals along the sides that have been preserved and not replaced over the years.
The second level of the mansion is where the bedrooms are located. On the stairwell leading from the main floor to this level are three windows in the Prairie School Design which did not follow the pattern of the rest of the home. In the hallway are a doll collection, a grandfather clock and art hanging on the walls and stairwell, including The Lost Profile by William Morris Hunt, a portrait of the painters' wife and a self-portrait by Samuel F. B. Morse. An important original limestone sculpture by Rodin
, The Fallen Caryatid, as well as a bronze, stand in the stairhall. Elizabeth's closet is also off the hallway and it still contains clothing and shoes from that era. The ceiling has an elaborate stained glass skylight. This window provided natural light as there was another glass window above it on the third floor. The second floor was equipped with a central vacuum system for the housekeeping staff to use and had a trunk elevator that came up from the main floor.
As was the custom during that generation, husband and wife kept separate bedrooms. The north bedroom was Albert's room. This room has gold silk wall coverings, hand stenciled ceilings and an elaborate fireplace with a grate above it which aided in the air/heat circulation within the room. The closet has automatic lighting which turns on when the door is opened and a wall safe. In between Albert’s and Elizabeth’s room is a shared bathroom which was designed specifically for their use with a tub and shower facilities. The shower is a needle and shower bath, which is multi-directional and has a semicircular metal rib cage inside of it that had little holes throughout the bars allowing the bather to have water showering on them at all times. There is a marble ledge around the room that had hand-stenciled paintings on it.
On the other south is Elizabeth’s room which is decorated in pink, her favorite color. This room was designed with a Victorian look with silk wall coverings. There is a delicate hand-painted design on the ceiling and the pink marble fireplace has very elaborate trim work. Along with the closet in the hallway, Elizabeth also had a narrow walk-in closet in the bedroom for easier access.
Across the hall from the Beardsley bedrooms are the third bedroom and the morning room. The third bedroom is the guest room and although it did not have a fireplace, there is one in the attached private bathroom. There is a window in this room which is used to add symmetry to the exterior of the home. The bedroom featured a twining rose design painted on the ceiling and a private closet. The morning room was used to plan the events of the day while having coffee or tea. This room had a plain white ceiling as the elaborate chandelier is sufficient as decoration. It has its own fireplace and a beautiful view of the St. Joseph River. Hanging on the wall in this room is a portrait of Ruth Beardsley, the daughter of Albert and Elizabeth, who died at seven months of age due to complications with water on the brain. The picture has a black frame surrounding it which indicates that it is a mourning piece.
There is a third level to the house which was mainly used for sitting purposes as the narrow room has a very low ceiling. This room was never used as a ballroom. Very rarely did guests and visitors enter the third floor.
Facts
The family moved into the home in 1910 and lived there until 1924 when Albert and Elizabeth died within a few months of each other. The second inhabitants, nephew Arthur L. Beardsley, lived in the home with his family from 1924 to 1944, and the S.S. Deputy family were the last occupants from 1945 until 1967 when The Beardsley Foundation purchased it and restoration began to make it a museum.
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
that is the most prominent historic residence in Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
. Built in 1910 and refurbished in the early 1970s, the Ruthmere Mansion is now open to the public as a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
Ruthmere is located along the St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...
in Elkhart, Indiana. The architect for this home was Enoch Hill Turnock
Enoch Hill Turnock
-Family background:Enock was born on February 27, 1857, in London, England to Richard and Elizabeth Turnock. His father made several trips to America and in 1871 moved his family here. The family voyaged on the Cuba and after several weeks at sea they landed in New York City. After visiting with...
, commissioned by Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley in 1908 to design the home, which the Beardsleys named this home in memory of their only child, Ruth, who died at seven month. ("Mere" reflects the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
root maris and refers to the home's proximity to water). The mansion was a place of business, family, political and social gatherings until the deaths of the Beardsleys in 1924. Robert Beardsley of The Beardsley Foundation purchased the mansion in 1967 with the main goal of restoring it to its original beauty in order to create a museum for the community. Restoration took place between 1969 and 1973 when the mansion was made available to the public. The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1978. The Beardsley Avenue Historic District was established several years later.
Architectural design and decor
Turnock designed this home in the Beaux Arts architectural style with Prairie SchoolPrairie 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,...
accents. The buff colored Belden brick used on the exterior came from Ohio and the limestone was from Bedford, Indiana
Bedford, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,768 people, 6,054 households, and 3,644 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,157.1 people per square mile . There were 6,618 housing units at an average density of 556.2 per square mile...
. The many carved quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
s on the outside of the mansion were in the shape of pomegranates, which showed signs of wealth and prosperity. The covered entrance is supported by square brick pillars crested with the letter “B” etched in the stone to represent the Beardsley family.
When entering the mansion, visitors are greeted with heat blowing from vents located along each step of the main stairwell to provide warmth. French doors open up to the balustrade marble piazza and a protective cover greet guests as they arrive. This main hallway area was used for music and entertainment, with the key point of interest being the Choralcelo, which is a combination piano player and organ. When it is playing, the piano can be heard in the foyer but the organ is heard in the library. The organ pipes were installed in the basement and played through ducts located in the library. While the organ is playing in the library, the piano is set to play in the foyer. The sound resonates throughout the hallway and plays music of the era in which the Beardsleys lived.
On the main level are the French drawing room, the library and the dining room with an adjacent butler’s pantry. The drawing room was a formal room where guests were greeted. There is a hand-painted mural, Aurora Greets the Dawn, on the ceiling by Albert Stoyer of Detroit. Above the fireplace is a large mahogany pomegranate and book-matched Cuban mahogany is featured above the mantel.
The library is a less formal room but has the largest pomegranate above the marble fireplace which burned wood instead of gas, like all the other fireplaces in the home. Due to the wood-burning fireplace, this was the only room that had a sprinkler system (which was removed in 1967 when the fireplace became disabled). The ceiling is decorated with the initials of the four generations of the Beardsley men: Albert, Arthur, Walter and Robert.
The dining room also has a fireplace and a Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
"Oriental Poppies" chandelier over the dining table. The room has a full width pocket sliding door with a glass window to allow privacy for the diners which allowed servants in the hallway to keep an eye on the progress of the meal and be prepared to serve the next course or clear off the previous course. A floor buzzer was also available for the hosts to use in summoning servants for assistance during meals. There are original pieces of silverware and china that belonged to the family on display in the built-in china cabinet. They were all pieces that matched the décor of the home and established the family's elegant style. Off to the side of the dining room was the butler’s pantry which was used to prepare the meals and to keep them warm in the cabinets that had heating vents. This room was between the dining room and the actual kitchen and has a metal door to help prevent fire from spreading into the dining room. A 12-inch masonry wall was also built into the home between the dining room and the butler's pantry to prevent fire from spreading into the formal part of the home.
In the basement is a game room, which is currently used to hold small weddings. The game room was used for entertainment purposes where guests played poker and pinochle. In looking at pictures of how the room was originally set up, there were several tables with seating for four where these games were played. The stained glass windows that line the top of the east wall are replications of postcards from Italy, a place the Beardsleys visited on many occasions. The windows provided natural light for the game room. The top halves of the walls in the room are covered in original red velvet while the bottom halves are covered in materials that looked like leather. Along the walls are glass light sconce
Sconce
Sconce may refer to any of the following:* Sconce , a military fortification* Sconce * Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink* SCoNCe, , University of California, Irvine...
s that light the room. The entire home was wired for electricity, which was rare in those days. For music, the game room had organ music piped into it through a grille that played from the Choralcelo upstairs in the foyer along with a baby piano that stood in the corner.
The basement was connected to the rest of the mansion by a sophisticated call button service that allowed the family to summon their servants as needed. There is a hallway leading out of the game room that leads outside into the conservatory where Elizabeth was an enthusiastic gardener. The hallway has painted murals along the sides that have been preserved and not replaced over the years.
The second level of the mansion is where the bedrooms are located. On the stairwell leading from the main floor to this level are three windows in the Prairie School Design which did not follow the pattern of the rest of the home. In the hallway are a doll collection, a grandfather clock and art hanging on the walls and stairwell, including The Lost Profile by William Morris Hunt, a portrait of the painters' wife and a self-portrait by Samuel F. B. Morse. An important original limestone sculpture by Rodin
Rodin
- People :* Auguste Rodin , French sculptor, for whom is named:** The Musée Rodin in Paris, France** The Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA** The Rodin Gallery in Seoul, South Korea** Rodin , a crater on the Moon...
, The Fallen Caryatid, as well as a bronze, stand in the stairhall. Elizabeth's closet is also off the hallway and it still contains clothing and shoes from that era. The ceiling has an elaborate stained glass skylight. This window provided natural light as there was another glass window above it on the third floor. The second floor was equipped with a central vacuum system for the housekeeping staff to use and had a trunk elevator that came up from the main floor.
As was the custom during that generation, husband and wife kept separate bedrooms. The north bedroom was Albert's room. This room has gold silk wall coverings, hand stenciled ceilings and an elaborate fireplace with a grate above it which aided in the air/heat circulation within the room. The closet has automatic lighting which turns on when the door is opened and a wall safe. In between Albert’s and Elizabeth’s room is a shared bathroom which was designed specifically for their use with a tub and shower facilities. The shower is a needle and shower bath, which is multi-directional and has a semicircular metal rib cage inside of it that had little holes throughout the bars allowing the bather to have water showering on them at all times. There is a marble ledge around the room that had hand-stenciled paintings on it.
On the other south is Elizabeth’s room which is decorated in pink, her favorite color. This room was designed with a Victorian look with silk wall coverings. There is a delicate hand-painted design on the ceiling and the pink marble fireplace has very elaborate trim work. Along with the closet in the hallway, Elizabeth also had a narrow walk-in closet in the bedroom for easier access.
Across the hall from the Beardsley bedrooms are the third bedroom and the morning room. The third bedroom is the guest room and although it did not have a fireplace, there is one in the attached private bathroom. There is a window in this room which is used to add symmetry to the exterior of the home. The bedroom featured a twining rose design painted on the ceiling and a private closet. The morning room was used to plan the events of the day while having coffee or tea. This room had a plain white ceiling as the elaborate chandelier is sufficient as decoration. It has its own fireplace and a beautiful view of the St. Joseph River. Hanging on the wall in this room is a portrait of Ruth Beardsley, the daughter of Albert and Elizabeth, who died at seven months of age due to complications with water on the brain. The picture has a black frame surrounding it which indicates that it is a mourning piece.
There is a third level to the house which was mainly used for sitting purposes as the narrow room has a very low ceiling. This room was never used as a ballroom. Very rarely did guests and visitors enter the third floor.
Exterior design
Outside the house is the courtyard and garage. The garage holds three cars of the era and originally housed the chauffeur upstairs. The upstairs is now a non-circulating library containing 1,800 volumes and periodicals on American domestic and landscape architecture and 19th and 20th century decorative arts. On the floor of the garage was a circular platform, or a turntable, that allowed the chauffeur to pull the car in, and turn it around using the platform so that it was ready to drive out.Facts
The family moved into the home in 1910 and lived there until 1924 when Albert and Elizabeth died within a few months of each other. The second inhabitants, nephew Arthur L. Beardsley, lived in the home with his family from 1924 to 1944, and the S.S. Deputy family were the last occupants from 1945 until 1967 when The Beardsley Foundation purchased it and restoration began to make it a museum.
External links
- Ruthmere - official site