About "Glenn Home" ~ Established in 1903, the former Vigo County Home for Dependent Children, better known as Glenn Home, was located on a hill overlooking U.S. 40, about 5 miles east of Terre Haute in the small community of Glenn. The Home ceased operation in 1979. Currently, the fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha of Rose Hulman Institute of Technology resides in the main building and keep up the grounds.
The Main house and Boiler House still stand as well as three cottages, the African-American Children's home, and a gymnasium built between 1926 and 1949. The Main house and Boiler House were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
In September 2007, A memorial stone was placed for Glenn Home and the Home cemetery which is on the former grounds. This newsletter outlined the progress and plans for this memorial, as well as welcomes input from former residents, staff, and other individuals formerly associated with the Home. This project had been in the idea stage since approximately 2005 and finally was completed (2007). Subscribing to this newsletter will send you updates automatically.
Lots of construction going on all over what was once the original Glenn Home property. We'll start with the razing of the African-American Home building and developement of 'high end' apartments for Rose Hulman students.
I drove up there yesterday on my way out to Chamerlain Cemetery (to do flowers by the Memorial stone). The new structures are up and while it's bittersweet- they are very attractive. I wasn't able to get very good photos, but here is a shot of the main entrance and the west end of the new building. It has been constructed in the exact place that the old building had stood.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h303/JennKrock/newapts1.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h303/JennKrock/newaptswestendshot.jpg
It is hoped that there will be some sort of 'dedication' using the cornerstone from the original building to maintain the historical heritage of the property. Information on that will be posted here as it develops.
Meanwhile, over at the main campus property, the Pi Kappa Alpha Brothers are strongly working on bringing Alden Hall back to life; new age style. Plans have been under development for the last year to turn Alden from a vacant building into a new facility containing a Chapter Room, study rooms, dining room, kitchen, and living space for twenty or more Brothers. The final revisions to the floor plan are in progress, and they were be presented at the groundbreaking held a few weeks ago (sadly I was not able to be in attendance) . The 'new' Alden is expected to open in fall of 2010.
If you would like to follow their progress, please add the following link(s) to your bookmarks:
http://www.pi-kappa-alpha.net/?q=taxonomy/term/17 (main blog on the developement of the project and updates as it progresses)
http://www.pi-kappa-alpha.net/?q=gallery&g2_itemId=17150 (photo album with many, many great images of the clean up progress)
That's all I have for now. Peace to you and yours. Have a Blessed Memorial Day!!
Former Juvenile Center building - originally part of Glenn Home - is now a pile of rubble.
I stopped by on Sunday just to see if the building was down by now- it is. Sad to see a part of Vigo County History a pile of blocks and debris. Not much can be said though I suppose and Mr. Overton who bought the property to turn into apartments / condo's stated that he does plan on somehow recognizing the site's original use and building in the new structures.
I could very easily tell by looking down into what would've been the lower level what was original 1936 artitechure. (probably not the smartest or safest thing I've ever done considering I was alone and standing on a crumbling outer basement wall!) Anyway...I've attatched some photos...
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h303/JennKrock/Glenn%20Home/?action=view¤t=713ec618.pbw
Well, I guess I get my public speaking initiation!!!
I was invited to speak at the May 12 Wabash Valley Genealogy Society meeting on Adoption Records and the history of Vigo County orphanages / children's homes. Yep- history on all 3 of them that were here.
Thus I've had to brush up on my Indiana / Illinois adoption records laws and make sure all my contact names / numbers were correct. I've put togther a powerpoint presentation on both parts of the speech so that hopefully will help folks see these historical images better than on a computer screen.
I'll also be covering the Glenn Home memorial - the who, how, and why's on that as well as an update from Chad Overton - new owner of the African American home / Juvenile center building property- on his plans for developement of that land. Yes, sadly that building is coming down, but the way it was described to me there was no saving it. If they'd gotten ahold of the property 5 years ago or so it probably could've been internally redesigned and saved the shell of the structure. Sad...but true.
Anyway, I just wanted to post this here to invite you to join us at the downtown Terre Haute public library on Monday the 12th at 6:30pm.
Should be interesting.......hopefully I don't stutter too much!!! I am SOO not a speaker- I was the kid who'd flunk a class in school to get out of an oral book report! 
Till next time....
Please post your thoughts on the following 'poll' construction options. The guys are very interested in your input! Please keep in mind these are only in the 'talking' stages at this point...but they are very interested in doing something as, is no surprise, Alden, Leach, and Owen buildings are in almost total disrepair.
At the presentation on May 12 - I will have survey's regarding this and seeking your - the public - thoughts and input to return to the Fraternity brothers. Please do participate as your thoughts mean alot to them on how they proceed on this revitalization of the GH buildings.
Also, to the left there is an electronic version of that survey. Thanks!
it's actually been brought up a few times since I've been working on the site and the House was featured in the Fraternity national magazine about a year ago for the exact same thing....
http://sd.pikes.org/307/sd307_9.pdf
I found it interesting that it actually made the front page of the paper, esp. being a paranormal buff myself. What are your thoughts??
Article...
By Austin Arceo
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE— Rose-Hulman senior Matt Rutkowski remembers a night two years ago when, as his truck’s lights focused on the front doors of an old nearby orphanage dormitory, he and a friend watched as one door just opened, and then closed.
Only there wasn’t anybody around.
“… And there was no wind or anything, so we were like ‘what is going on?’” Rutkowski said. “It kind of freaked us out.”
It’s just one of many such tales supposedly taking place at Rutkowski’s fraternity.
The Pi Kappa Alpha property near Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been the setting of such tales time and time again.
Next to the fraternity house, cars carrying license plates from across the country seem oblivious to the two abandoned, boarded up former orphanage dormitories sitting just feet away.
One of them is where Rutkowski saw the door mysteriously open.
“Nobody believes me to this day that this even happened…,” he said as he introduced his account yet again, this time on Sunday afternoon.
His fraternity house was part of a several-building complex for the former Vigo County Home for Dependent Children, which was also known as the Glenn Home. The orphanage was created in 1903, though the “main building” was constructed in 1896, and still survives, a Web site dedicated to the Glenn Home’s history reports.
Several buildings were replaced through the orphanage’s tenure, which lasted more than 75 years. It finally closed in 1979, and many of the buildings later became part of Pi Kappa Alpha’s property.
And then the legends began.
Sunday afternoon, Rutkowski and fraternity president Jason Rodzik recounted eerily haunting tales - stories that were handed down, and likely will be so again and again.
Rodzik explained the tale of how a young woman one night said she heard the sounds of children playing in water while she was walking in the parking lot.
It was the site of an old swimming pool, Rodzik said.
In another incident, Rodzik explained of a fraternity brother who was alone at the house when he repeatedly heard someone knocking at the front door, only to find nobody there when he answered it. After the third time of being interrupted by the disturbance, the young man not only checked the door, but walked around the entire property, only to find nobody.
As the young man came inside, he heard the knocking again.
It came from a small room underneath the staircase.
“And he just, like takes off and … locks himself in his room,” Rodzik said, finishing the tale.
Still, Rodzik admitted that everything he’s heard are “second-, third-, fourth-hand stories.”
“Well, the house itself is just over 100 years old,” Rodzik said, “so obviously that leads to a lot of … stories going back about it.”
An exploration of the nearby structures provides the visible proof as to why ghost stories can easily emanate from the site. Leach and Alden halls, the two dormitories next to the gravel parking lot, are darkened, dampened spots worn by weather and time, where someone can instantly forget that an engineering student could be playing video games less than 100 yards away.
The duo explained still more haunting tales that supposedly occurred on or near the Pi Kappa Alpha site, as some former orphanage locations exist outside the fraternity’s property.
But do all the tales mean that they’ve become believers that Pi Kappa Alpha is haunted?
“Well, I just feel that I’ve seen it, so ‘the unexplained,’ you know,” Rutkowski said. “Plus, it’s cool to think of in that way.”
Rodzik, meanwhile, doesn’t “really believe in ghosts.”
“So living out here for four years, I’ve had a lot of opportunities, I guess, to change that,” he added, “and I haven’t seen anything that has.”
He might think differently had he encountered Rutkowski’s occurrence. Just after Rutkowski and his friend had seen the door mysteriously open, they got a few of their friends, including Rodzik, to scope out the building.
As it turned out, Rutkowski thought he witnessed the door open an opposite way than the hinge allows.
“I tried to tell him he was crazy by kicking the door repeatedly” to prove it didn’t open that way, Rodzik said.
“Hey, you know, whatever,” Rutkowski shot back to Rodzik after he laughed. “Two people said it happened.”
Austin Arceo can be reached at (812) 231-4214 or austin.arceo@tribstar.com.
here's the link to the front page:
here's the link to the article online: http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_301232652.html
)
Tamie Dehler, genealogy columust for the Tribune Star newspaper here in
The Newcomer's Club of Terre Haute will have a representative at the Memorial on the 15th. Starting in the 40’s and continuing thru the 60’s and possibly the 70’s the Newcomer Club contributed money, conducted clothing drives and had Easter and Christmas parties for Glenn Home.
On a more somber note; the building and four surrounding acres built in 1936 for the African-American children has been purchased by a local real estate developer and will soon be torn down and may soon feature condominiums and apartments. That's just FYI and I won't bore you all with my personal thoughts on this 'utilization' of the property here. If you recall the
We're working on ironing out the final plans and arrangements for the Memorial ceremony. The stone is finished and ready for placement. It is absoulutely beautiful.
By Howard Greninger www.tribstar.com
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE August 29, 2007 08:35 pm
— The site of a former county juvenile center may soon feature condominiums and apartments, said new property owner Chad Overton.
Overton was the sole bidder Tuesday for 4.72 acres at 6801 Brentlinger Lane, the site of the former Vigo County Juvenile Center.
The old center’s building is located east off of Hunt Road, north of U.S. 40, near Hawthorn Park.
Overton is owner of Servpro of Vigo County, a fire- and water-restoration company at 850 N. Fruitridge Ave.
In 2005, Overton bought and converted the former Bedino Peace Chapel, at Poplar and Sixth streets, into an apartment building, which is rented out by a fraternity. He created a leasing company, Ashton Development LLC, to create that four-level apartment building.
Overton said he plans to develop the former juvenile center land in two phases, with condos, then apartments.
“We are not sure how many of each yet, but we plan to start within the next 18 months,” Overton said Wednesday.
“We’re happy we can put this [vacated property] back into use,” he said.
Vigo County opened a new juvenile center in March 2001 at 202 Crawford St., abandoning the old center, which did not pass Department of Correction inspections. Left vacant, the building soon became an eyesore, with shattered windows and transients taking up residency.
“At one time, we did find evidence that people had been living there with sleeping bags and other items, but the sheriff’s department never found anyone there,” said Paul Mason, president of the Vigo County Board of Commissioners.
Overton bid $23,000 for the property. He was the lone bidder on the advertised sale of the property.
The next step is for county commissioners to seek final approval from the Vigo County Council for the sale of the property, Mason said.
Mason said commissioners had to receive at least $17,000 for the property, which is 90 percent of two appraisals. One appraisal placed the value at $14,000.
A second appraisal listed the value at $70,000, however it also listed $50,000 as the cost to demolish the former juvenile center, leaving the final appraised value at $20,000, Mason said.
Commissioners in 2005 ran into problems when attempting to sell the property, after deeming it a liability for the county. The building that housed the juvenile center had been assessed with a value of $743,000, while the land assessed at $127,000. That assessment was done by a private appraisal firm in 2002 for Lost Creek Township. At that amount, a potential buyer would have had to pay more than $17,800 in taxes.
Commissioners then appealed that assessment before the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals and later worked with the Vigo County Assessors Office and the Lost Creek Township to lower the assessed value, enabling the county to place the property up for sale.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
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Over the last month we have had the pleasure of hearing from several former residents, many of them from the 1940's - early 60's. Including one gentleman who appears in the 1941 Christmas photo with Santa Clause. Much history - both personal and statistical- has been learned from these folks that has been missing. We are very grateful and glad that the community- especially the former Glenn residents- are welcoming this memorial. Perhaps some old friendships will be renewed through this!
If you have questions, would like to be added to the mailing list, or otherwise would like to comment on this project please contact us via email or telephone.
Lost Creek Twnshp Trustees Office telephone: 812-877-3415
Fax: 1-812-877-9455
Email: ricklong2@verizon.net or
Email: jennifer@krockenberger.com
We finally have the listing of the children recorded as being buried on the Glenn Home property. There are three additionals who are interred elsewhere. The list can now be found at http://glennhome.homestead.com/GlennHomeCemetery.html
Today, the Terre Haute Tribune Star ran an article on the proposed memorial for Glenn Home Cemetery.
Rick Long (Trustee for Lost Creek Township) and I met with journalists from the newspaper Sunday afternoon. After a brief interview for the article we proceeded out to Glenn and the cemetery. Meeting up with one of the Fraternity Brothers who knew exactly where the headstone found was, we hiked back into the woods to document the area.
The Brothers' have cleared some pathway back to the site, so it is easier to get to than we thought it might be; although the recent rain made for a rather muddy walk.
The cemetery is located just due southwest by about 2-3 acres of the old 'Cottage D' or the original African-American cottage which was destroyed by arson in the early 1990's. Little David R. Anderson's stone is the only one we have found so far, but searchers may keep looking for more as weather permits.
If you miss the article in the paper today, you can view it online at
http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_092001019.html
Again, We would be honored to hear from anyone formerly affiliated with the Home; be they a prior resident, staff, or county official.
First off, let me give you a bit of history on this project. After all, you may be asking, "Why bother?".
From 1903 to 1979, Glenn Home served many children from newborns to age 18. For many it may be remembered as a negative place in their lives; for others it is remembered as a savior from an otherwise unfortunate life. At Glenn their lives were stabilized; they were well-fed, provided with clean and stable living conditions and regular health care- which many of the children cared for at Glenn had not had. By 1970, none of the residents of Glenn were actual 'orphans'- which was the original intention of the facility. Rather they were children of unfortunate living situations; abuse, neglect, poverty, or other conditions were the reasons they were placed at Glenn.
I was raised in East Glenn by my adoptive parents, just around the corner from Glenn Home. I went to school with these children until its closure. Even rode the same school bus. I still recall names of two little girls who were in my grade school classes. After it closed and into my teen years, I was drawn to the place as if it were a magnet and I the metal. That interest has never dimmed. In 2004 I decided to begin a historical tribute website to both Glenn Home and the old Rose Orphans Home as there was next to nothing on the internet for either of them. This gained a bit of community interest and in 2004 I was contacted by the trustee of Lost Creek Township, Rick Long, regarding the possiblity of a memorial stone or plaque for the Home. Bigger issues took presendece however and the project got put on the back burner.
It's now back on the hot plate and moving forward. There is a small group of folks who are steer-heading this. Our thoughts are simply that the Home, the children who called it "Home", and the individuals who provided care all deserve to be recognized. There were a few deaths of children during their time there, many of whom are buried in a cemetery on the Glenn Home grounds. These children also deserve the recognition that they existed.
Most of the buildings, with the exception of the Main house and gymnasium, are in disrepair. The fraternity living there has reconstructed Owen Hall to suite their own uses, but Leach and Alden Halls, as well as 1917 cottage D, and the 1936 building which was once the african-american children's home all are in condemmed state. These buildings eventually will be gone, leaving only the memory of those who knew the facility behind.
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