Processed by
Emily Comstock
12 August 2005
Manuscript and Visual Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
1 box of photographs |
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COLLECTION |
ca. 1910–ca. 1920 |
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PROVENANCE: |
Jack Householder, Indianapolis, IN, August 1972 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
[Letter of Appeal Contributions Toward the New Chapter House],
Pamphlet Q Collection: HV579.I55 L4 1966; |
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ACCESSION |
1972.0803 |
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NOTES: |
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Hugh McKennan Landon was born 22 June 1867 in Muscatine, Iowa, to George Washington and Emily Alice (Reeves) Landon. He married Suzette Merrill Davis on 22 November 1892. Their children were Mrs. Robert F. Scott, Jr.; Mrs. Alice Rives Sawyer; and Mrs. Margaret McLean Delaplane. In 1911 the Landons began construction of their French chateau-style house, which was designed by Mrs. Landon’s brother Lewis Ketcham Davis, engineer and architect; the project was completed within two years. Davis designed not only the mansion but also other features of the estate, including the formal garden. Mrs. Landon died in December 1918. Hugh Landon remarried on 10 April 1920 to Jessie (Spalding) Walker. That same year, together they began to further develop Oldfields’s landscape and gardens with the help of Percival Gallagher, an associate of the famed landscape architecture firm Olmsted Brothers. Jessie Landon died 26 June 1930, not long before Landon sold their home. Mr. Landon was an active citizen in the social, political, and especially corporate worlds. He died on 2 April 1947.
The Oldfields estate was named for the farmland on which it was situated. The Lilly family (Mr. and Mrs. Josiah K. Lilly, Jr.) bought Oldfields in 1932. Josiah K. Lilly, III, donated the site to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1966. The mansion is now the Lilly Pavilion of Decorative Arts, which is also commonly known as the Lilly House and Gardens. Alterations made by the Lilly family to the Landon mansion have been changed in the museum’s effort to restore the mansion to its original design, for the property was recently designated a National Historic Landmark as a result of its symbolism of the American country place era.
Sources:
Lilly House and Gardens, Indianapolis Museum of Art <http://www.ima-art.org/>.
Who Was Who in America. Vol. II. Chicago: Marquis. E176.W64.
The collection contains nearly 60 black-and-white photographs of Oldfields, the Indianapolis home built by Hugh McKennan Landon and later owned by Josiah K. Lilly, Jr. The photographs appear to have been taken between circa 1910 and circa 1920 and are primarily of the grounds and gardens of the Michigan Road estate. The images include aerial views of the estate, interior and exterior shots of the house, details of statues and gardens, and portraits of the Landon family. These images were copied from original photographs loaned by Hugh Landon’s daughter Mrs. Margaret (Landon) Delaplane.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Landon family photographs |
Photographs, |
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Aerial views of the Landon estate |
Photographs, |
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Landon house, exterior views |
Photographs, |
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Landon house, interior views |
Photographs, |
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Gardens and landscaping |
Photographs, |
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Oldfields estate scenery |
Photographs, |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://opac.indianahistory.org/
2. Click on the "Basic Search" icon.
3. Select "Call Number" from the "Search In:" box.
4. Search for the collection by its basic call number (in this case, P 0048).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.