Ruthmere

In 1910, Elkhart, Indiana, was a town of 21,365 residents that covered six square miles. It had ten public schools, the telephone had arrived, and the automobile age had begun. Albert R. and Elizabeth Baldwin Beardsley commissioned Chicago-trained architect E. Hill Turnock to design and build Ruthmere in 1908.

For 14 years, Ruthmere was a place where they entertained friends and business associates in grand style.  Elizabeth and Albert both died within a few short months of each other in 1924.  Albert's nephew, Arthur Beardsley and his wife Stella lived at Ruthmere until Stella's death in 1940 and Arthur's death in 1944.  The Sherill and Helen Deputy family moved into Ruthmere in 1945, raising six boys in the house--the first and only children to ever call Ruthmere home.  In 1969, the Deputys sold Ruthmere to the Beardsley Foundation, which restored the home to its former glory, with the express purpose of creating a museum for the community and the region.