Read Dunes House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: The Read Dunes House site is located in Winchester Township in Porter County, Indiana, situated roughly midway between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana, and one-and-one-half miles south of the Lake Michigan shoreline. The site encompasses 2 acres within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, approximately 1,000 feet from the southern boundary, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 5, 1966. The site is relatively rural in context, and is situated among the oldest dune ridges which are estimated to have been formed roughly 14,000 years ago. The dunes where the house is situated were the Calumet and Glenwood Beaches of ancient Lake Chicago, the predecessor of Lake Michigan. The home is set atop one of these ancient dunes facing west towards Tremont Road. When facing the residence, the dune gently rises to the east from Tremont Road and subsequently slopes downward into a relatively flat area near the rear of the property. Surrounding the home are mature oaks, pines and a unique diversity of native and non-native plants. The vegetation characterizes the succession of plant communities on these older dunes (Lopez 2011, 6). The Read Dunes House was entered in the National Register on December 8, 2011, and is locally significant under Criterion A due to events that took place at the residence. The period of significance extends from the construction of the house in 1952 until the death of resident Philo Read in 1961. The Read Dunes House is historically significant for its association with the efforts of citizen conservation groups to preserve the Indiana Dunes and create the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. While the beginning of these efforts dates back to the early 20th century, it was in the 1950s-1960s that they proved successful, overcoming the opposition of industry and much of the state’s political leadership, leading to the preservation of the dunes and the creation of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966. It was during this time period that events occurring at the Read Dunes House played a central role. Strategic meetings of the Save the Dunes Council and the Izaak Walton League (whose Porter County Chapter was founded at the Read Dunes House), the legal, political and public awareness strategies planned there, the fundraising efforts directed, the petition drives undertaken, the newsletters written, the letter-writing campaigns, and the studies produced. The work of the committees and groups that met at the Read’s house were crucial to the movement. The Read Dunes House is the only remaining structure in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore that is intimately connected with the conservation movement for the preservation of the dunes and the establishment of the National Lakeshore (Lopez 2011, 7). Cultural landscape characteristics and features of the site include a one story linear planned residence constructed in 1952. Other characteristics and features also include associated patterns of circulation, domestic plantings, and several small scale features such as light posts and retaining walls. Overall, the landscape retains integrity in the aspects of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. The condition of the landscape at the time of the initial CLI is evaluation is good.

Read Dunes House: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

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