Shadowwood

Shadowwood, also known as the Wharf Estate, is a historic estate located in Palmyra Township, Knox County, Indiana. The house was built on land purchased from Robert B. Patterson on what had been part of the Rose Hill Farmstead.[2] The main house was built in 1917, and is a 2 1/2-story, five bay, Colonial Revival style brick dwelling built for Col. Eugene C. Wharf. It has a side gabled tile roof. The south facade features a two-story portico with a second story sleeping porch. Also on the property are the contributing pump house (1917), carriage house (1917), and chicken house (c. 1945).[3]:5, 13

Shadowwood
Shadowwood, April 2011
Location6451 E. Wheatland Rd., east of Vincennes, Palmyra Township, Knox County, Indiana
Coordinates38°41′59″N 87°25′06″W
Area13 acres (5.3 ha)
Built1917 (1917)
ArchitectJohn W. Gaddis
Architectural styleColonial Revival
NRHP reference No.01000618[1]
Added to NRHPJune 6, 2001

During the American Civil War it was rumored that the Knights of the Golden Circle met on the hill where the house now stands as it was, at the time, a dense forest. The property became known as Rebel Hill. Colonel Wharf was a veteran of the Spanish–American War and very patriotic. He disapproved of the name and had the name Shadowwood recorded at the county court house.[4]

When Colonel Wharf died his widow, Mrs. Stella C. Wharf, conveyed the family home to Vincennes University as a memorial in 1957. The university did use the property for several years to house female students. The house was around ten miles from the university so it was impractical for its use.[2] At the suggestion of Judge Curtis Shake, president of the VU Board of Trustees, university president Dr. Isaac K. Beckes worked to transfer the property to The Grand Chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity for use as its national headquarters in August 1961. The fraternity had been founded at the university in 1897. Mrs. Wharf approved of the deal.[5][6]

The fraternity spent $11,500 in 1962 to upgrade the building's heating, plumbing, and electricity.[7] The carriage house was converted into a lodge where the fraternity's traveling consultants could live.[8] The building housed the International Headquarters of Sigma Pi Fraternity from 1963 to 2003.[3] In 2005, the fraternity sold the property to a private individual.[9]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Sigma Pi and Historic Preservation" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 86 no. 1. Winter 2000. pp. 7–10.
  3. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2015-08-01. Note: This includes Marc E. Sirotkin (July 2000). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Shadowwood" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-09-01. and Accompanying photographs.
  4. "Rose Hill" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 77 no. 2. Fall 1990. pp. 3–5.
  5. "Permanent Headquarters Dedicated" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 49 no. 3. Fall 1962. pp. 102–105.
  6. Anson, Jack; Marchesani Jr., Robert F., eds. (1990). "III NIC Member Fraternities". Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (20th ed.). Baird's Manual Foundation. pp. 133–134. ISBN 0-9637159-0-9.
  7. Shake, Curtis G. (Fall 1966). "Memorial Headquarters Committee Chairman" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 53 no. 3. pp. 381–383.
  8. I Believe. Brentwood, TN: Sigma Pi Fraternity, International, 2010. Print.
  9. Carter, Chris (Fall 2013). "A New Chapter in Sigma Pi History" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 98 no. 1. pp. 8–13.


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