Billy Sunday Home facts for kids
The building at its original location in 2016
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| Location | 1111 Sunday Lane, Winona Lake, Indiana |
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The Billy Sunday Home was the house where William A. (Billy) Sunday, his wife Helen (Ma) Sunday, their four children, and a live-in housekeeper lived. It is located in the Winona Lake Historic District in Kosciusko County, Indiana. This home is a great example of a bungalow built in the Arts and Crafts architectural style.
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Who Was Billy Sunday?
Billy Sunday was a very famous American evangelist in the early 1900s. An evangelist is someone who travels and preaches about Christianity. Before he became a preacher, Billy Sunday was a professional baseball player! He was known for his energetic sermons and became one of the most influential religious figures of his time.
The Sunday Family's Special Home
The Sunday family loved spending their summers in Winona Lake, Indiana. For several years before 1911, they stayed in a house called "The Illinois." This house was on a hill overlooking MacDonald Island and the lake.
In 1911, the family decided to move to Winona Lake permanently. They moved "The Illinois" house across the street. Then, a brand new bungalow was built in its place. The Sundays named their new home Mount Hood. They also owned land in Oregon near Mount Hood, which was probably where they got the idea for the name.
Inside the Arts and Crafts Home
Many parts of the Billy Sunday Home show the special style of the Arts and Crafts Movement. This style was popular around the time the house was built. Some cool features include:
- Beautiful wooden details inside the house.
- Walls covered with a special material called burlap.
- Unique light fixtures.
- Sleeping porches, which are outdoor areas where people could sleep on warm nights.
- Exposed wooden beams and rafter tails, which are parts of the roof structure that you can see.
It is believed that Helen Sunday, Billy's wife, was very involved in designing the inside of their home. One of her favorite spots was the Inglenook. This was a cozy seating area built right around the fireplace, perfect for relaxing.
Helen Sunday and the Home's Legacy
Helen Sunday lived longer than her husband and all four of her children. By the 1950s, when she lived in the house alone, many people admired Billy Sunday and wanted to see where he had lived. So, Helen started giving informal tours of her home to these visitors.
In 1957, the year Helen passed away, a recording was made of her describing the house. This recording and its written version have helped confirm that the home's interior looks much like it did when she lived there, with only a few changes.
Helen Sunday left her home and everything inside it to the Winona Christian Assembly. Later, in 1968, Grace College and Theological Seminary bought the assembly grounds. This meant that Mount Hood became part of Grace Schools. Many of the important papers and documents from the home were collected by the Grace College and Seminary library. These became the Billy Sunday Papers, which are now kept in the Morgan Library Archives.
The Museum's Journey
Before 1998, the Billy Sunday Home had never been officially organized as a museum. However, with the creation of the Village at Winona and the renewal of the Winona Lake Historic District, things changed. A professional curator was hired to help restore the home.
A new Billy Sunday museum and visitor's center was built near the Sunday property and opened in 2000. This center taught visitors about Billy Sunday's historical importance. Volunteers also led tours through the actual home. Even though there were efforts to make it a state-run historical site, it never happened. When the main person funding the museum stopped providing money, the museum and visitor's center closed in 2010.
Today, the home is looked after by the Winona History Center at Grace College. They continue to offer tours of this historic house.
