[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 284 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 284
Recognizing the 125th Anniversary of the Indiana Veterans' Home.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2021
Mr. Braun (for himself and Mr. Young) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 125th Anniversary of the Indiana Veterans' Home.
Whereas Indiana has a proud tradition of honoring its veterans and those who
serve our country;
Whereas 3 out of 4 Hoosiers of eligible age served in the Civil War;
Whereas 1 out of every 10 Union Army soldiers enlisted from Indiana, and only 1
State, Delaware, provided more soldiers in the Civil War based on per
capita population than Indiana;
Whereas the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is located in the center of
Indianapolis and the State of Indiana, and when it was dedicated in
1902, the only monument taller in the United States was the Washington
Monument;
Whereas, in 1886, at the annual encampment of the Department of Indiana Grand
Army of the Republic (``G.A.R.'') held in Indianapolis, Indiana,
Department Commander David N. Foster urged the G.A.R. to establish a
State soldiers' home in Indiana to care for the disabled Union Veteran
Soldiers;
Whereas intensive lobbying by the G.A.R. resulted in the Indiana General
Assembly of 1888 resolving to found a home for veterans, and in 1890,
work toward the home began;
Whereas a committee was founded to find a suitable location for the home, with a
member-at-large and 1 member from each congressional district, including
James R. Carnahan (at large), W.H. Tucker, David N. Foster, C.J. Murphy,
D.F. Spees, Andrew Fite, H.B. Martin, U.D. Cole, A.O. Marsh, C.M.
Travis, W.S. Haggard, D.B. McConnell, Jacob J. Todd, and Jasper E.
Lewis;
Whereas, in the summer of 1892, the committee decided to formally recommend 187
wooded acres in Lafayette, Indiana, as the location of the Indiana State
Soldiers' Home (also known as the ``Indiana Veterans' Home'') (referred
to in this preamble as the ``Home'');
Whereas the City of Lafayette and the County of Tippecanoe agreed to donate 200
acres of ground and $5,633 for the Home;
Whereas General Richard P. DeHart, a local veteran and business man, donated a
2,000 foot strip of riverfront property, which is now known as the
Tecumseh Trails Park, to the Home;
Whereas the committee, having secured a location, prepared a bill to be
presented to the Indiana General Assembly for the establishment and
maintenance of the Home;
Whereas, due to lack of time, the bill failed to pass the Indiana Senate, but in
1895, the Indiana General Assembly unanimously passed a bill to create
the Home and appropriated $75,000 for its buildings;
Whereas, on February 23, 1895, Governor Claude Matthews signed the bill, and it
became law;
Whereas the Governor appointed 5 men as the first Board of Trustees of the Home
to work without compensation other than their actual traveling expenses;
Whereas the Indiana General Assembly appropriated $61,723.61 to be used in
building an old men's home, a chapel, and an addition to the dining
room, constructing sewers, furnishing the different buildings, graveling
streets, roads, and sidewalks, and purchasing a pump, a dynamo, and a
fire apparatus;
Whereas, by 1900, numerous buildings had been erected for the use of the
residents of the Home, and the applications for residence at the Home
were far greater than its facilities were capable of handling;
Whereas, on October 31, 1900, there were 9 State buildings, 39 county cottages,
5 cottages built by the G.A.R., 1 cottage built by the Woman's Relief
Corps of Indiana (``W.R.C.''), 1 cottage each built by the John A. Logan
and Marsh B. Taylor W.R.C. of Lafayette, and 1 cottage built by the John
A. Logan Circle, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic of Lafayette;
Whereas, in addition to these buildings, the Home built a public restaurant,
Commandant's home, Surgeon's cottage, and combination carpenter and
paint shop;
Whereas, in addition to the sums donated for the buildings, the W.R.C. and
Ladies of the G.A.R. throughout the State gave $1,326.25 to furnish
rooms and cottages in the Home;
Whereas, in his written history of Tippecanoe County from 1909, General Richard
P. DeHart wrote of the Home, ``If one ever doubted that America
appreciates and cares for her defenders, a visit to this beauty spot of
Indiana will convince them that not only in times of peril and war does
she care for her brave soldiery, but that now after forty years have
come and gone, she still seeks to show these old and infirm men that she
wishes them all the peace and comfort possible to provide for them, at
any cost.'';
Whereas peak census was reached in the 1910s when the Home housed over 1,400
residents and another 200 staff members;
Whereas the Home operated as its own little town, complete with a hospital,
electric light plant, bakery, fire department, and an assembly hall with
a seating capacity for 600 people;
Whereas census in the 1920s had declined to the average number of residents
numbering in the 1,000s;
Whereas this state of affairs continued, and, by 1950, it was apparent that the
Home needed a major revamping;
Whereas this revamping resulted in the destruction of almost all of the original
buildings, and today only 5 structures remain from the earlier years of
the Home, including the Commandant's home, the Administration Building,
the Lawrie Library, the bus station, and the cemetery chapel;
Whereas 9 acres of the Home's land were listed in National Register of Historic
Places in 1974, including 4 original buildings--the Commandant's home,
the library, the Administration Building, and the post exchange;
Whereas, in addition, a collection of approximately 165 oil portraits and
charcoal drawings of Civil War generals and important political figures,
painted by Captain Alexander Lawrie, are housed in the library and add a
major cultural dimension to the Home;
Whereas, in 1974, the Home became a licensed healthcare facility;
Whereas, on June 4, 1976, the Home's name was officially changed from the
Indiana State Soldiers' Home to the Indiana Veterans' Home, and the
title of the chief administrator was changed from Commandant to
Superintendent;
Whereas, in 1976, the construction of Ernie Pyle Hall, MacArthur Hall, and
Mitchell Hall began and continued until completion in 1982;
Whereas, in 2009, the Commandant's Row buildings were placed under the authority
of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs and the Home;
Whereas census has declined over the decades as Civil War veterans passed, but
the Home has averaged 200 residents annually, ranging between 120 to 265
residents from the 1970s to the present;
Whereas the Home is operated by the State of Indiana to care for honorably
discharged Indiana veterans and their spouses and Gold Star parents;
Whereas there is no wartime service requirement in order to be eligible to apply
for admission to the Home, and the Home accepts all periods of service;
Whereas the Home is a full-service care facility, offering a complete array of
on-site services for its residents;
Whereas the Home currently boasts a small museum of historical artifacts related
to various wars, as well as artifacts from the Home's history;
Whereas the Home provides quality care for veterans, their spouses, and Gold
Star parents;
Whereas there are currently 3,000 graves in the Home's cemetery, which serves as
the final resting place for its residents and their spouses who chose
internment there; and
Whereas the Home has played a vital role in assisting Hoosier Veterans and their
families in their time of need: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the Indiana Veterans' Home has been, and continues to
be, an example of Hoosiers' dedication to their veterans,
especially those who served in the Civil War;
(2) the Indiana Veterans' Home, along with the other State-
owned and managed war memorials throughout Indianapolis and
Indiana, including the Soldiers and Sailors Monument,
highlights Hoosiers' appreciation for the service of its
veterans;
(3) the Indiana Veterans' Home continues a strong tradition
of providing care to Hoosier veterans at the beautiful property
located in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and offering a
historical glimpse into the past with its museum and the
notable nearby physical locations; and
(4) the Indiana Veterans' Home should be recognized for its
125 years of care to the veterans of Indiana and their families
at this beautiful and historically significant property in the
State.
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