Beacon July 2023

July 2023 THE BEACON Page 5A
Historical Society is Preserving the past for the Future
The gardens facing the river.
A wedding dress from 1906. Black and
navy! White wasn’t a thing back then.
Continued from page 4A
Because those duties took him
far from Lawrenceburg, his
oldest son Arthur was left in
charge to tend to the homestead
and the store. Samuel
was also struggling financially
at this time, so he deeded
some of his land to Arthur to
ensure that the land was not
repossessed by a creditor. In
March of 1830 at sixty years
old, Samuel Vance passed
away. He was buried with
his wife in the old Newtown
Cemetery and was later
moved to the Greendale Cemetery
in 1940 when the levee
displaced the graves in the
Newtown Cemetery. Molly’s
burial site was never found.
Samuel’s daughter Catharine
was married to Dr.
Thomas Pinkard. Sadly, Dr.
Thomas’s medical practice
was not successful, and the
couple tried to run a boarding
house. That too did not prosper,
and financial ruin was on
the horizon. After Samuel’s
death, Thomas was named
guardian of Samuel’s young
son, Lawrence.
The added responsibility led
Samuel’s children to auction
many of his personal belongings
to raise some muchneeded
money. The Pinkards
decided to try their hand at
establishing an agricultural
college, Washington Agricultural
College, using the
family home and surrounding
farmland.
Unfortunately, this venture
only lasted a
few years. By
the 1840s all of
Vance’s children
had moved north
toward Indianapolis
where they
fared better.
A young businessman,
Omer
Tousey, bought
most of Samuel’s
property,
the home, and
the stable. Mr.
Tousey was from
the small community
of Touseytown
located
in Boone County,
Kentucky.
Omer and his
brothers started
a store on High
Street. He could
afford the former
Vance home and
held extravagant
parties and
balls. He invited
everyone from all walks of
life to his lavish gatherings
and used his wealth to help
others. Omer Tousey died in
A detailed entry greets
visitors with glamour.
1868. His widow moved north
to Indianapolis as the Vance
children did years before. She
sold the land to James Willis,
who also hit hard times just
like the Vance Family did. Mr.
Willis would go on to lose
the home and property in a
sheriff’s sale.
The property and home
eventually fell into the hands
of Warren Tebbs where it
served as apartments until
1926 when the owner of the
Lawrenceburg Roller Mill,
a grain processing operation
in Dearborn County, had the
home transformed into an office.
The Roller Mill became
a subsidiary of Joseph E.
Seagram and Sons Distillery
and was again used as an
office building. The remodeled
interior included dropped
ceilings, wood paneling, and
carpeting. Even the spiral
staircase was enclosed.
That makes my own heart
hurt.
In 1998 the Lawrenceburg
City Council rescued The
Vance-Tousey House to be
the headquarters for The
Dearborn County Historical
Retirement Checklist
Society. Today the home is
being restored to its former
glory and is now listed on the
National Register of Historic
Places.
One aspect of The Vance-
Tousey House that need not
be left out is the beauty of
its surrounding gardens. In
2013 the Southeastern Indiana
Master Gardener Association
worked with the Historical
Society to restore and replant
the home’s grounds. The
design of the landscape was
created by Purdue University
landscape students to mimic
trees, flowers, herbs, and
shrubs that would have been
prevalent in the 1800s. The
grounds are simply stunning.
I have an affinity for old
homes, so seeing the care that
has gone into preserving this
spectacular slice of history is
affirming.
When standing on the front
steps of the old brick mansion,
one can’t help but notice
that the view isn’t quite what
it once was. While a levee is
a modern necessity, I found it
hard not to yearn for the longgone
view of the river with
ferry boats floating by. The
high-rise apartment building
right next door is a stark
reminder that you can’t stop
progress and you can’t slow
time.
The spiral staircase at The
Vance-Tousey House is now
thankfully fully exposed once
again. It is rumored to be
haunted, but by whom? Is it
the spirit of Molly Lawrence
who was said to be the heart
and soul of the Vance Family?
Or is it Omer Tousey dressed
to the nines in anticipation of
his Christmas Eve gala ball?
Perhaps it is Samuel Vance
himself checking in on his beloved
home and town. If I had
to guess, I’d say Samuel is
smiling down. While change
is inevitable, some very hardworking
people are making
sure the echoes of the past
forever remain.
The Dearborn County
Historical Society is open
Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday from 1 P.M. until 4
P.M., and Saturday 10 A.M.
until 2 P.M. They are closed
on Sundays and holidays as
well as the first Saturday of
every month. An enormous
thank you to The Historical
Society for their help with
this story and their hard work
to preserve the past for future
generations.
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