Terre Haute - A history and a guide

This is my history and guide to my adopted home - Terre Haute, Indiana.

Old Postcards - 35

More postcards from my collection...

Club House - Rea Park

This linen postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on 12th August 1927 has the printed text...

20105
Pub. by Levin Bros., Terre Haute, Ind.
Made in U.S.A.

The back of this postcard is also interesting...

"Hello Everybody, we bad so hot we forgot to answer your enjoyable letter. The pictures are fine and a thousand times thanks. We had very very heavy rains last night accompanied by lot of wind. a streetcar was struck no one was killed.

It is real pleasant this morning which we really appreciate. Oh boy melons came to town and are we devouring our share. They haul them to other towns by truckloads from here. Will c you soon as I am planning to hit the Fort."

William S. Rea, a wholesale grocer and prominent Terre Haute citizen, was responsible for the funds used to purchase the land for the park. He left the city of Terre Haute $100,000 in trust with instructions for the purchase of a park. Rea was born in Terre Haute on Nov. 22, 1838, and died at age 80 on Feb. 2, 1919. He was married to Geraldine Rea. Mrs. Rea had the beautiful clubhouse erected, which she gave to the city in memory of her husband in 1925.

Ray Goddard directed the revitalization of Rea Park when Mayor P. Pete Chalos began a project to improve city parks. Goddard made sure the clubhouse and grounds were refurbished and he also brought with him 18 golf carts, which enabled more people to ride while providing additional income to the club.

Riverside Park

This postcard, stamped in October 1909, has the printed text...

Made expressly for S. H. Knox & Co.
Printed in Germany

Riverside Park was owned by Charles Deming and Frank Clark and situated on the West bank of the Wabash River near the bridge. It offered "a first-class cafe and bar and a lunch stand always open for boatmen, pearl hunters, shell men, fishermen, and pleasure seekers."

Rose Orphan Home

This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on 20th June 1907, and again in Watertown, Mass. on 22nd June, just has the printed text - Pub. by Bundy, Terre Haute, Ind.

Rose Orphan Home

This unposted postcard has no other printed text. The "birds" were added later to this postcard and are not part of the original.

Rose Orphan Home

This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on June 16th, 1910, has the printed text...

11
Published by I. & M. Ottenheimer, Baltimore, Md.

Rose Orphan Home

This postcard, stamped in Terre Haute on January 8th, 1910, has the printed text...

12171
Published Exclusively for S. H. Knox & Co.
Made in U.S.A.

This institution was funded by a bequest from Chauncey Rose. it was designed by Samuel Hannaford and opened in 1884 on the corner of Twenty-Fifth Street and Wabash Avenue. Later known as Chauncey Rose School the building was used from 1950 as a home for the aged. It was sold in 1965 and demolished the next year and replaced by a K-Mart food store.

This institution was conceptualized in 1873 when the Vigo County Orphan Home Board was formed, backed by Mr. Rose. When he died in 1877, before the home was actually built, the name was changed to honor him. The Rose Orphan's Home was called "one of the top 10 children's institutions in the U.S." in 1910, and was identified as "the nation's finest" in 1929. It housed up to 150 children. When the Rose Home ceased operation in 1949, its residents were transferred to the Glenn Home. The Glenn Home, which was located in the Lost Creek Township town of East Glenn, was also known as the Vigo County Home for Dependent Children. It operated from 1903 to 1979.

Fro more information on Terre Haute's orphanages see "Genealogy: Orphanages play important role in history" by Tamie Dehler and Terre Haute Indiana Children's Homes.

This page created 20th March 2008, last modified 8th May 2008