[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 483 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 483

    Recognizing the 125th Anniversary of the Indiana Veterans' Home.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2021

  Mr. Baird (for himself, Mrs. Walorski, Mr. Banks, Mrs. Spartz, Mr. 
   Pence, Mr. Carson, and Mr. Hollingsworth) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 House of Representatives 
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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