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| FRANKLIN
COUNTY CULTURE |
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| J. Otis
Adams - The scenic landscapes of the Whitewater River
valley is where J. Otis Adams painted around 1900. In 1898
J. Otis Adams and T. C. Steele purchase a house for ajoint
studio in Brookville, and call it "The Hermitage".
The impressionist painters created a body
of works that are both testament to time, and bridges to a
lost Indiana culture, when rural meant wild and urban meant
petticoats, carriages and steam locomotives. Many works of
these artists are shown regularly at the Indiana State Museum.
On October 1, 1898, Adams married Winifred
Brady and brought her to Brookville on their honeymoon. A
talented artist in still-life paintings, Mrs. Adams had studied
at the Drexel Institute in Philadelphia as well as in New
York at the Art Students League under William Merritt Chase.
She also was a student of Mr. Adams.
T. C. Steele and his family lived at the
Hermitage for only a short time, due to the death of his wife
in 1899. He sold out to the Adams in 1907. Mr. Steele remarried
and built a home near Nashville, Indiana that they named The
House of the Singing Winds.
In 1910, Adams opened a small art school
at the Hermitage and continued for four years.
In 1913, a terrible flood hit the River
Valley destroying a major portion of the Hermitage. The Adam's
decided to stay and rebuild; the Hermitage was their home.
It was a place for his friends, among them Otto Stark, William
Forsyth, L. H. Meakin, T. C. Steele, and George Jo Mess, to
gather and a spot where he could putter as well as paint. |
| Lew Wallace
- The famous Lew Wallace author of Ben Hur, poetry,
three other books, and of course, his autobiography, was born
in Brookville, Indiana at the home of his grandfather, John
Test His paternal grandfather, Andrew Wallace, ran the Brookville
Hotel for years on the site of the present Valley House across
from the Courthouse. David Wallace, the father of Lew Wallace,
was admitted to the Bar in Franklin County in 1830 and argued
cases at the Franklin County Courthouse. |
John
Herron - Allthough John Herron was not an artist himself,
he was a man who impacted the visual arts in the State of Indiana
more so than any other man. In 1839 John Herrons parents settled
on a one hundred sixty acre farm in Franklin County, near Mount
Carmel, Indiana. On that farm, which now belongs to the Art
Association of Indianapolis, there stands a well—built,
handsome brick house and a barn, the plan of which was designed
by John Herron’s father. Mr. Herron lived here for many
years, remaining single until he was fifty two years old. On
December 23, 1869, he married Electa D. Turrell and remained
on the Franklin County farm.
After the death of his family, Mr. Herron accumulated considerable
wealth, having no care but the investment of his funds. Even
with the wealth he was still a frugal man. In 1895, John Herron
bequeathed most of his fortune to Art Association of Indianapolis.
In 1902 Herron School of Art sprang to life. Its buildings were
officially dedicated in 1906. Herron's Main building, designed
by Paul Philip Cret in 1929, was the second facility in the
nation designed expressly for art education. Herron's first
wave of faculty included painters T.C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams,
William Forsyth, Otto Stark, Richard Gruelle and sculptor Rudolph
Schwarz. Herron's art collection
formed the nucleus of what would become the Indianapolis Museum
of Art, which split off from the school in 1970. |
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This
picture appeared on a cigar box. It can also be found in the
book: Through Our Years, The Story of Brookville, 1808-1958
by Virgil Davis. "Picti" refers to "Scotus
Gaul Picti" a secret organization much like the Masons,
Red Men, and Odd Fellows. Scotus Gaul Picti had as its main
purpose promotion of Brookville as the "greatest place
on earth". The society was active in civic activities
and included many prominent businessmen of the day including
the photographer Ben Winans.
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| Historical Sites |
| Historical
Places in Franklin County:
Old Franklin United Methodist Church
Jct. of Franklin Church Rd. and IN 101, .5 mi. N of Fox Run
Rd., Brookeville
The Hermitage
Also known as Adams, John Ottis and Winifred Brady, Home and
Studio
650 E. 8th St., Brookville
Little Cedar Grove Baptist Church
US 52 at Little Cedar Rd., Brookville
Metamora Historic District
Also known Whitewater Canal Historic District
Roughly bounded by US 52, Columbia St., the Whitewater Canal,
Duck Cr., Mount St. and Main St., Metamora
Oldenburg Historic District
Bounded roughly by Sycamore, church land woods, Indiana, and
Water Streets., and Gehring Farm, Oldenburg
Joseph Shafer Farm
Also known as Maple Lawn Farm
NE of Brookville on Flinn Road, Brookville
Snow Hill Covered Bridge
Also known as Johnson Fork Covered Bridge
Snow Hill Rd. over Johnson Fork, Rockdale
Stockheughter Covered Bridge
Also known as Enochsburg Covered Bridge
27046 Enochsburg Rd., Batesville
Whitewater Canal Historic District
Also known as Whitewater Canal; Whitewater Canal State Museum
From Laurel Feeder Dam to Brookville, Metamora |
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| Music |
| Franklin
County Music through the years
In 1810 Solomon Manwarring built and the
Manwarring Tavern in New Trenton. The tavern was often the
scene of dancing, drinking, and saloon music on Saturday;
then the meeting house for church hymns on Sunday.
The 1830's bring the first German and Irish
immigrants. The Irish sing their work songs as they help build
the Whitewater Canal, and are famous for their "fiddle"
playing.
In the 1840's a wind band is formed in Brookville,
and a glee club is organized. The Barnum Circus comes to Brookville
on a regular basis with Tom Thumb as the chief attraction.
Social activities of the day center around the church. Religious
music activities include plays, skits, and all day singing
and preaching.
The Brookville College Commencement of 1856
features local musicians: Mrs. Mary E. Moore, Jenny McCarty,
and Miss Hitt. Their selections include: "Hail Columbia",
"Fairy Bells", and "Requette Polka".
By 1860, 67,000 German immigrants have settled
in the State of Indiana. These hardy and frugal folk bring
the music of Wagner, Schubert, Beethoven, and Brahms to the
hills of Franklin County. One German community, Oldenburg,
forms the Liedertafel (song table). This group not only sings
for their own entertainment, but plays and sings German classical
music for public performances.
1888 a review by the Harrison News of a recital presented
at the Brookville Town Hall:
"The Reverand Edward Frommel is one of the most charming
violinist of this country, his musical education being thorough,
while the piano playing of Professor Carl Kohl was perfectly
entrancing and was received with hearty encores."
In 1892, a very influencial group is formed
called the Scotus Gaul Picti. It promotes music and theater
events and includes a very popular vocal quartet, the Picti
Quartet.
Music groups from the 1890's include: the
Brookville Orchestra, the Wagner Male Quartet, the Lucky Thirteen
Club (a drama group) in Fairfield, the Mandolin Club in Metamora,
and various singing groups. Wind bands are also very popular
during this time.
In 1896, an Academy of Music is formed.
The organization presents twelve recitals per year, and forms
a chorus of sixty-five voices that is described as: "the
highlight of the winter season".
In 1897, The Academy of Music presents
an operetta, "The Merry Milkmaids". The Brookville
newspaper gives the production rave reviews:
. . . . the time for rehearsal was necessarilly short
and a number of the best voices were in sad condition with
tonsilitis, but the energy and executive ability of the director
Professor Oscar J. Ehrgott readily circumvented all obstacles
and made a complete success of "The Merry Milk Maids".
Dancing picnics were very popular during the turn of the Century,
especially at James Park (near Klemme's Corner) and Bruns
Grove. A local singer, Florence Armstrong, with a beautiful
contralto voice, studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of
Music, and performs with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York. |
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