Fountain County Landmarks: Canal Boat Gothic

We will have a guest presenter, Benjamin L. Ross.  Below is a short bio and a description of what he will be presenting.  Hope to see you there and bring a friend!

Benjamin L. Ross is a Lafayette native and has been a historic preservation specialist with RATIO Design in Indianapolis for the last 14 years. His projects include the rehabilitation of the Fowler House in Lafayette, restoration of the Shrewsbury-Windle House in Madison, and Historic Structure Reports for the homes of President Benjamin Harrison, President Warren G. Harding, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the Lew Wallace Study and the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum. Ben worked for the Wabash Valley Trust for Historic Preservation prior to joining RATIO.

Canal Boat Gothic: Pattern Book Architecture in the Wabash Valley

The opening of the Wabash & Erie Canal in the 1840s and the construction of railroads during the 1850s connected the Wabash Valley to the major cities of the east coast. Cities like Attica, Williamsport, Lafayette, and Delphi grew rapidly and fortunes were made as Hoosier agricultural products were shipped east to New York and eastern goods were shipped west for sale in Indiana. This exchange brought the latest architectural books and magazines from the east directly to fast-growing cities in the Wabash Valley. The influence of these publications can be seen in buildings in Fountain, Warren, Tippecanoe, Carroll, and Cass Counties, including several familiar landmarks. These buildings are a testament to the work of Hoosier craftspeople and give us a glimpse into the increasingly interconnected world of mid-nineteenth century America.