Image: Hegeler-Carus Mansion (8765254143)

Description: The Hegeler-Carus Mansion in LaSalle, a national landmark (1876). Edward C. Hegeler was born in Oldenberg, Germany. After several visits to America, Hegeler's father decided that he wanted a child to be raised in the country. Hegeler was educated at the School of Mines at Freiberg, Saxony, where he met F. W. Matthiessen. Hegeler and Matthiessen immigrated to the United States in 1857 at the age of 22. Hegeler and Matthiessen first worked at a floundering zinc factory. They were able to turn it around, but the owners shut the factory down in the aftermath of the Panic of 1857. Hegeler & Matthiessen then travelled around, looking for a place to build their own factory. They settled in LaSalle, Illinois, because of a surplus of coal in the area and its proximity to the zinc mines in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Works grew to become one of the most productive smelters in the Midwest, employing over 1,000 people. In 1887, Hegeler founded the Open Court Publishing Company in his house. He intended it for the purpose of discussing religious and psychological issues in the mindset of the scientific world. He rejected dualism (good versus evil) in favor of monism. To discuss these views, he founded The Monist in 1890, a periodical that is still in publication today. Dr. Paul Carus was Hegeler's son-in-law, and held very similar views. Carus was also a German immigrant, who left Germany because he felt persecuted for his liberal views. Carus came to the attention of Hegeler in the late 1880s when he edited the German-language journal Index. Hegeler hired Carus as the managing editor of the Open Court Publishing Company. Carus was particularly interested in the philosophy of Charles Sanders Pierce, and popularized his ideas through publications. In 1893, he attended the World's Parliament of Religions, where he became enamored with Asian religions. It was there he met Soyen Shaku, a Buddhist Zen Master. Carus invited Shaku to his mansion, but he sent D. T. Suzuki instead. Suzuki became one of the first translators of Chinese, Japanese, and Sanskrit literature.
Title: Hegeler-Carus Mansion (8765254143)
Credit: Hegeler-Carus Mansion Uploaded by AlbertHerring
Author: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois
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