File:Henry B. Brown Residence at 303 East Jefferson Street, 1918 - Valparaiso, Indiana (50576242663).jpg

PRES. HENRY B. BROWN, VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY, AT HIS HOME

Date: 1918 Source Type: Postcard Folder Publisher, Printer, Photographer: E. C. Kropp Company Postmark: July 16, 1918, Valparaiso, Indiana Collection: Steven R. Shook Remark: Henry Baker Brown and his wife Geneva resided at 303 East Jefferson Street in Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana. This house was razed in 2020 to be replaced with condominiums.

The house stood on a well known hill in the city referred to as Calkins Hill. The hill was named after William H. Calkins who constructed his house on this hill. Calkins would run as the Republican candidate for governor of Indiana in 1884, but was defeated in the general election by Isaac P. Gray. Calkins would move to Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington, in February 1889 and be appointed a Supreme Court Justice for the Territory of Washington in April 1889. In 1880, Henry Baker Brown, longtime president of the Northern Indiana Normal School and Business Institute and Valparaiso University, purchased the house for $4,000. The White House Restaurant later occupied the building followed by Calkins Hill Restaurant. In late September and early August of 2020, the large house on Calkins Hill was torn down due to the excessive rehabilitation costs and replaced with condominiums. Prior to the erection of Calkins’ house, the Old Seminary, which served as the town’s district school, was built in 1854 on the brow of the hill. In the fall of 1857, the Old Seminary was razed by flames and no school was rebuilt on the site.

Sources: Bumstead & Company. 1905. Bumstead's Valparaiso City and Porter County Business Directory, Including Rural Routes. Chicago, Illinois: Radtke Brothers. 421 p. [see p. 62]

Post-Tribune, Gary, Lake County, Indiana; September 28, 2020; Column titled “Valparaiso Mansion Dating to 1870 Razed; Former White House Restaurant to be Replaced by Condominiums.”

Reading, A. H. 1905. The City of Homes, Schools and Churches: A Pictorial Story of Valparaiso, Its People and Its Environs. Valparaiso, Indiana: A. H. Reading. 82 p. [see p. 78]

Skinner, Hubert M. (A Citizen). 1876. History of Valparaiso from the Earliest Times to the Present. Valparaiso, Indiana: Normal Publishing House. 23 p. [see p. 15]

The Times, Munster, Lake County, Indiana; March 22, 2002; Volume 95, Number 220, Page B3, Columns 2-5. Column titled “Former White House Reborn as Calkins Hill,” by Phil Wieland.