Christmas Candle-Light Tour of Historic Homes - People Engaged in ...

he was elected for a string of 5
consecutive terms to the county
council (starting in 1915), and
was serving on the council at
the time of his death. Stephen
was waked at his home, the
funeral was held at St. Paul’s
Episcopal, and he was buried
in Pine Lake Cemetery.
The hardware store
appears to have been too much
for sole surviving brother
William Lower to keep up
on his own, and within a few
years, by 1934, after 82 years
of successful operations, it
was closed. (William Lower
died Dec. 29, 1952, at age
88.)
The “James Lower’s Sons” store at its new location, 522-524 Lincolnway,
in 1916. (The building still stands today, and, while now vacant, was
very recently the home of the Salvation Army Thrift Store.) In the
photograph (left to right) are: George A.J. Miller, Stephen W. Lower,
and Mrs. Jones (a customer).
By the late 1930’s, for the first time, there appears a 1029½ Madison in city
directories. It is believed that, for economic reasons during the Depression, Lower’s widow
had the house converted to a 2 family dwelling. After Stephen’s death, Ida Belle lived for
more than a decade, dying on Nov. 10, 1942. She had been an active member of St. Paul’s
Episcopal for 60 years. Daughter Lotta Lower then inherited the house, but sold it within a
few years.
Over the next several decades, the house had a series of occupants and owners,
and remained as a 2 family dwelling. Some time during the 1960’s, the staircase was
altered, with the window at the middle landing having been converted to a door, and the
“bottom half” of the staircase removed, in order to create a private entryway for the upstairs
apartment.
In early 2000, the house was purchased by Hobert & Clara Lawrence. With their
children grown, the couple had moved out of their large house on Fail Road into a small
ranch “in town.” Clara came to question that decision, and realized that, empty nesters
notwithstanding, they needed more space. Therefore, their plan was to convert 1029
Madison back into a single family home.
Clara relates how the minute she walked in the front door of the house, she was
taken in by the open floor plan, and the fact that one could see all the way from the front
picture window to the back. The Lawrences did not know what they were going to do
right away. They could have done a “quickie” remodel, which would have taken only 6-12
months, perhaps. But with Clara’s joining PEP shortly after purchasing the house, the
support and encouragement provided some impetus to pursue a “full restoration,” instead
of making the inevitable compromises that a less satisfying “fast and furious” remodel
would involve.
It started with Hobert remodeling the bathroom, and the Lawrences’ sons dealing
with some structural issues...but the project was largely directed by Clara from that point
on. While Clara stated that it “scared her to death” with all the work that needed to be
done, she has taken it one step at a time, just simply doing everything the way she wants
it...and not focusing on the clock. (At the time of purchase there was a tenant upstairs, and
the story of Catherine piatt andrew
as James andrew’s only
daughter, Catherine andrew
is to be revered, for providing
the most elaborate first
person documentation of the
“pioneer days” in la porte
known to exist. she came
to this area with her parents
in 1832, as a child of 8, and
lived to the ripe old age of 100
(dying in 1925). to nearly
the end, she was an active
member of the la porte
County historical society,
and possessed a powerful
memory. a conversation
with Catherine andrew
provided a veritable “mine”
of information, and she
wrote movingly and stirringly
of not just the arduous 10 day horseback journey from Cincinnati
to la porte in 1832, but of so many other personal recollections
of those earliest days. these recollections truly “bring the past to
life,” and are documented in the “andrew family file” at the la porte
County historical society Museum. also, a summary is available, in
a publication entitled “recollections of Catherine piatt andrew, a la
porte pioneer.” (this riveting narrative is available for purchase, for
$1.00, at the andrew Mansion, during the tour.)
largely increased. 5
In the ensuing
years, the Andrew
brothers sold the
sawmill, which was
moved to the eastern
part of the county, and
James Andrew was
content farming his
ground. As the city
grew from “nothing,”
he and his relatives’
landholdings made them
extremely wealthy. He
is listed in the 1870
Census as a “retired
farmer” (which would
imply that he moved to
town to retire to his new
1001 Madison home),
with his son, William,
“taking over” the old
1833 homestead.
James and
Abigail Andrew had 3
children, James III (who died in childhood), Catherine, and the aforementioned William.
Abigail died in 1842 (8 days after the birth of William), and James then married Miss
Sarah Ross, of Cincinnati, in 1846. The family were active members of the nearby New
Church (Swedenborgian).
James Andrew died at his beloved 1001 Madison house at 10 AM on May 20th,
1895, aged 96...his 2nd wife having died a few years earlier. At the time of his death, his
La Porte Herald obituary puts forth that he was the oldest man in the city. He was buried
in Pine Lake Cemetery, and his grave continues to exists as a marker and testament to a
singularly important life.
A few years prior, in 1890, ownership of 1001 Madison had been transferred,
pursuant to a life estate agreement, to son William, who, after his parents’ passing, occupied
the house with his wife, Mary, until his own death on Nov. 13, 1915. William died at the
residence, and his funeral was also held in it. His obituary states that he owned nearly
1000 acres of land at his death. (Like his father, farming was his primary profession.)
Fittingly, today’s Andrew Avenue, constructed in the few years prior to William’s death,
bisects a major portion of what was William’s (and before that, his father’s) farmland. 6
5. It is interesting to note that, simultaneously, Major Isaac C. Elston was founding Michigan City,
and offered similar terms to the County Commissioners to establish the county seat at Michigan City.
However, owing to the fact of La Porte’s being more centrally located in the county, and the fact that
there was only one log cabin in Michigan City (not even completed), while La Porte had half a dozen
houses and a sawmill, the Commissioners chose La Porte.
6. The subject farmland was roughly bounded by today’s State Road 39, I Street, 10th Street, and 18th
Street.
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