Historical Tour with a Bunch of Young'uns

We have spent the past two weeks in northern Indiana with our son and his family.  Somebody forgot to tell this area that spring had sprung.

It was quite chilly most of the time, and I didn't actually go prepared for this drastic weather change.

However, I was able to spend a couple mornings on the screened-in back porch enjoying this beautiful scenery.

 Our HS Junior granddaughter signed us up to chaperone a field trip for one her classes.  Wasn't that sweet?  So, on Friday, we loaded onto a school bus along with about fifty of her contemporaries and headed into South Bend.

The tours were of the Oliver Mansion, History and Studebaker Museums.

Each of the adults were responsible for a group of ten students and Dick chose Savannah's group.  Go figure!

 

 This beautiful mansion tour was so interesting.  One of the amazing things about this particular home is that it is one of the most in-tact mansions in America.  The furnishings on all three floors are original, giving visitors a glimpse of how the mansion appeared during the 72 years the Oliver family lived there.

The Joseph D. Oliver House, also known as Copshaholm was built for the Oliver family, founders of the Oliver Chilled Plow Works in 1895-96.  Copshaholm is a 38-room Romanesque Queen Anne house.

Oak, cherry and mahogany woodwork are found throughout. Leaded glass windows and 14 unique fireplaces add to the beauty of the house.

Surrounding Copshaholm are 2.5 acres of landscaped gardens, including a garden tea house, formal Italianate garden, rose garden, pergola, tennis lawn, and fountain.

You might enjoy watching this video of the home.  It is very interesting.

I especially enjoyed the Studebaker Museum because our family owned one of the most popular Studebaker cars - The 1950 “Bullet Nose” Land Cruiser.

My sister and I (on left) are standing with a neighbor friend by our new car.  Little did we know then it would one day be a collectors item.

 And 66 years later.

This museum was very interesting because it records the history of the Studebaker products dating back to the covered wagons of the late 1800's.

And this, the final horse-drawn buggy to be produced in 1919.

This was the final car to role off the assembly line in 1963.

 It is interesting that Studebaker played such an important role in the war efforts with water wagons, trucks and tanks.

I took a picture of my group in this classic Bullet Nose model and Hubby took this one of Savannah.  Today is her 17th birthday, incidentally.
Happy Birthday Savannah!

 

 Following this tour, we boarded the buses and went down the street to the Richardsonian Romanesque home of the Studebaker founder, Clement Studebaker (March 12, 1831 – November 27, 1901) for lunch.  He was an American wagon and carriage manufacturer. With his brother Henry, he co-founded the H & C Studebaker Company in South Bend, precursor of the Studebaker Corporation.

Tippecanoe Place was built in 1889, and Studebaker lived in the house from 1889 until his death in 1901.  The house remained in his family for many years.  His son George lived there until 1933 when he lost it due to bankruptcy.  It stood vacant for several years before being purchased and given to the city as a school for handicapped children.  During World War II, however, it served as Red Cross headquarters.  In 1973, the  mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the house is the location of the  Tippecanoe Place Restaurant.

It was such a fun time and we were thrilled to have spent it with our Savannah.  But, our time with this darling was only beginning.

We'll talk about that on tomorrow's blog.