Gene Stratton-Porter Cabin (Rome City, Indiana) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Gene Stratton Porter Cabin
|
|
Gene's Cabin at Wildflower Woods
|
|
 Location in Indiana
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Southeast of Rome City off State Road 9, near corner of County Road 850 North and Pleasant Point |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Rome City, Indiana |
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1913 |
| Architect | Gene Stratton-Porter |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| NRHP reference No. | 74000015 |
| Added to NRHP | June 27, 1974 |
The Gene Stratton-Porter Cabin, also known as the Cabin at Wildflower Woods, was the home of Gene Stratton-Porter. She was a famous Indiana author, naturalist, and nature photographer. This two-story, fourteen-room cabin was built in 1914. It's located by Sylvan Lake, near Rome City in Noble County, Indiana. Gene lived here full-time from 1914 to 1919. After that, she moved to California but still visited Wildflower Woods until she passed away in 1924. This special place was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Gene Stratton-Porter started writing books in 1900. She wrote many popular books while living at this cabin. These included novels like Michael O'Halloran (1915) and A Daughter of the Land (1918). She also wrote Homing with the Birds (1919), which was about nature, and Morning Face (1916), a children's book. Her book Her Father's Daughter (1921) came out shortly after she moved to California. In 1927, parts of a movie based on her book The Harvester (1911) were filmed right at Wildflower Woods.
Contents
The History of Wildflower Woods
Why Gene Moved to Sylvan Lake
In 1912, Gene Stratton-Porter decided to move. She was an author, naturalist, and photographer. Her old home, the Limberlost Cabin, was in Geneva, Indiana. She needed a new place for ideas because the Limberlost Swamp was being drained.
She first bought a small house on the north side of Sylvan Lake. This was near Rome City in Noble County, Indiana. It was about 85 miles (137 km) from her old cabin. This small house was a temporary home. She wanted to find land to build a year-round home by the lake. Gene hoped a lakeside home would give her more privacy. It would also be a new place to watch wildlife.
Gene first visited Sylvan Lake in the 1880s. She went to an event called the Island Park Assembly there. It was also where she met Charles D. Porter, whom she married in 1886. Gene had become very successful with her books. She used the money from her writing to buy wooded land overlooking the lake. Her property eventually grew to about 120 acres (49 hectares) of land.
Building the Cabin at Wildflower Woods
In 1913, Gene Stratton-Porter helped design and build her new home. It was a fourteen-room cabin by the lake. She called her new two-story, cedar-log cabin "Wildflower Woods." She also sometimes called it the "Limberlost Cabin." This was because it was similar to her previous home. While helping with the cabin's building, Gene also wrote her book Laddie (1913).
Gene moved into the Wildflower Woods cabin in February 1914. She lived there full-time until 1919. Her husband, Charles, stayed at their home in Geneva. He would travel to Sylvan Lake on weekends to visit her.
Life at Wildflower Woods
Gene's daily life at Wildflower Woods included writing in the mornings. She also worked with Frank Wallace, a tree expert. He later became Indiana's state expert on insects. Together, they turned her property into a private wildlife sanctuary. Gene helped plant about 90 percent of the plants there. This included over 14,000 trees, wildflowers, vines, and shrubs. She also had vegetable and flower gardens and an orchard behind the house.
The natural setting by the lake gave her the privacy she wanted. But as she became more famous, unwanted visitors came to her peaceful retreat.
Moving to California and Legacy
Gene Stratton-Porter had planned to live at Wildflower Woods forever. However, too many uninvited visitors started coming. So, she moved to California in 1919. She never lived at Wildflower Woods full-time again. Gene still owned the Indiana property. She returned for short visits until she passed away in California in 1924.
Several of Gene's books were published while she lived at Wildflower Woods. Between 1914 and 1920, she published two novels. These were Michael O'Halloran and A Daughter of the Land (1918). She also released Homing with the Birds (1919), a nature book, and Morning Face (1916), a children's book. Her Father's Daughter (1921) was published soon after she moved to California. In 1927, scenes for a movie based on her book The Harvester (1911) were filmed at Wildflower Woods.
In 1940, the Gene Stratton-Porter Association bought Wildflower Woods. They bought it from Gene's daughter, Jeannette Porter Meehan. In 1946, the association gave 13 acres (5.3 hectares) of the property to the State of Indiana. This included the cabin, its gardens, orchard, and a pond. Today, the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site is nearly 150 acres (61 hectares). About 20 acres (8.1 hectares) of this was part of Gene's original land.
The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites now takes care of the Sylvan Lake property. It has a visitor center, Gene's cabin, and the grounds. It is open to the public from April to December. The grounds are open every day from morning until evening. You can take guided tours of the first floor of the cabin for a small fee. The site also holds special events throughout the year. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In May 1999, Gene Stratton-Porter's family brought her remains back to Wildflower Woods. Her only daughter, Jeannette Porter Meehan, was also buried there. Their graves are in the woods near the cabin. Gene had wished for a tree to be planted to mark her grave. She is buried near her favorite tree.
What the Cabin Looks Like
The design of the Sylvan Lake cabin was inspired by a building Gene and her husband saw. It was the Forestry Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The Sylvan Lake cabin looks a lot like Gene's first Limberlost Cabin. The outside of this fourteen-room, two-story cabin was built with white cedar-logs from Wisconsin. It sits on a stone foundation.
The home also has an L-shaped, two-story porch. This porch looks out over the lake. Another two-story porch was built across the back of the house. The second-story porches had screens. This made them open-air sleeping rooms when the weather was warm. The property eventually included about 150 acres (61 hectares) of land. It had a beautiful flower garden, fruit orchards, and a small pond.
Inside the Cabin
The cabin's inside had living areas and workspaces for Gene's writing. The first floor includes an entrance hall, a living room, and a dining room. There's also a library, kitchen, a plant room (conservatory), and a photo darkroom. The entrance hall and dining room were covered in wild cherry-wood panels. The living room has a stone fireplace. This is one of three fireplaces on the first floor. It has carved stone Aztec Indian heads that Mr. Porter brought from Mexico.
The second floor has seven bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms. It also has sleeping rooms above the porch. The home first used gaslights. Electric lights were put in after Gene moved to California in 1919.
Visiting Today
Today, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites runs the cabin. It is a historic house museum. You can see things that belonged to Gene Stratton-Porter. This includes many pictures she colored by hand. You can also see her reference books and pottery she collected. Built-in cabinets hold her different collections.
Besides the cabin, visitors can explore the formal garden. There are also wooded paths and a nearby wetlands and prairie area. These areas are being brought back to their natural state. Gene found inspiration from the woods around her home. She used it for her nature studies, writing, and photographs. Some of her furniture and other belongings are on display. They show how she liked to live her life.
Images for kids
-
Gene's Cabin at Wildflower Woods
-
Front of the Cabin in Wildflower Woods
