Pete Larson Property: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The Peter Larson property is one of seven remaining sites within Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore affiliated with Swedish heritage. The property is associated with the ethnic community of Baileytown, Indiana, located about two miles south of Lake Michigan and about 40 miles southeast of Chicago. The Larson property is located on tract number 36-104. The period of significance for the Peter Larson property is identified as 1908 to 1948; this includes the initial land purchase by Peter Larson from Frances Howe and the construction of the contributing residence and outbuildings, and it continues until the end of the Larson’s forty year ownership of the property. Similar to other farms in the National Lakeshore area, the site is locally significant for its associations with the Swedish community, domestic architectural trends, agricultural settlement, and suburban ways of life. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Porter County was home to the largest concentration of Swedish-born immigrants in the state, many of whom lived in Baileytown. This population helped the community retain strong ties to language, customs, and religious activities. Peter Larson’s property demonstrates the ways in which Swedish heritage was merged with the adoption of popular American domestic ideals, also suggesting the relative prosperity of the recently-arrived immigrants. Although Larson was not a farmer, the house was positioned on a rural property in order to present the appearance of the propertied rural gentry. The northern section of the township contains wooded dunes and hills. More fertile soils are found south of the dunes, making the area better suited for early farming. The original purchase of 15-acres was reduced to a five-acre property in 1929, and the boundaries have remained since then. The Peter Larson residence is set back 150 feet from Howe Road and is surrounded by a variety of historic features. In addition to the house, which was purchased from a Sears & Roebuck merchandiser, is an assemblage of outbuildings that includes a barn, summer kitchen, and garage. There are also several mature trees that contribute to the historic character, and a variety of vegetation at the site represents the dynamic evolution of long-term use and inhabitation of the property. The Peter Larson cultural landscape retains historic integrity due to the impressive assemblage of extant landscape characteristics and features that, in total, help to convey the property’s significance. Although a portion of the property has shifted from agricultural use to woodland/meadow, the overall sense of design and setting is retained. The aspects of materials and workmanship are retained due to the presence and exteriors of the contributing house, barn, garage, chicken coop, and summer kitchen. The property possesses historic feeling due to the existence of significant structures, surrounding landscape features, and lack of modern development on adjacent land. Finally, the landscape has retained its association because the Larson property is one of seven remaining Swedish-related sites located within the boundaries of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and sufficiently conveys its historic character. At the time of the inventory, two descendants of the Larson family remained in the area. The Larson property is currently used by the Great Lakes Research and Education Center as a research facility under the park's Natural Resources Challenge.

Pete Larson Property: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

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