Wheeler-Stokely Mansion

  • Also Known As: Hawkeye also Magnolia Farm
  • Also Known As: Stokely Music Hall also 097-29655005

  • Address: 3200 Cold Spring Rd
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Building

The Wheeler-Stokely Mansion was constructed during what is known as the Country House Era, a time when the wealthy built homes for their families outside the city. This trend is reflected in the string of mansions the wealthy built in the early 1900s along Cold Spring Road, which was known as "Millionaires Row." The estate harks back to the early years of suburbanization in Indianapolis. Its first owner, Frank Wheeler, was closely associated with Indy's significant automobile manufacturing industry. The house, designed by a master architect, is among the city's best examples of Arts & Crafts architecture.

"Hawkeye" was the name Frank Wheeler gave his new mansion and estate overlooking Cold Spring Road, which was completed in 1911. Wheeler, a native of Iowa, earned his fortune in auto parts manufacturing in Indianapolis. He co-owned the Wheeler-Schebler Carburetor Company. The company made carburetors for more than 15 auto manufacturers including Ford, Dodge, Auburn, and Duesenberg. He was also a co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Later owners of the estate included G. Monty Williams, president of the Marmon Motor Company, and William Stokely, owner of Stokely-Van Camp Packing Company.

The Wheelers hired William Price of Price & McLanahan, a Philadelphia firm, to design the mansion. The house is 2 and half stories with walls of tan face brick, capped by a green terra cotta tile roof. The bands of geometrical glazed tiles at corners and along upper walls were a trademark of Price & McLanahan's Arts & Crafts style. They are Mercer tile made by the famous Moravian Pottery and Tile Works of Pennsylvania. A porte-cochere accommodated the Wheelers' automobiles.

The grounds, believed to have been designed by local landscape architect A.W. Brayton, included a large reflecting pool with tower. While the pool and tower are gone, a long pergola and Japanese gardens with tea house and gardener's cottage remain. - NPS


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1911/00/00 Moravian Pottery and Tile Works Artisan Wheeler Mansion is built for Indianapolis auto parts manufacture Frank Wheeler, the upper walls are trimmed with Mercer tile
1911/00/00 William Lightfoot Price Architect Wheeler Mansion is built for Indianapolis auto parts manufacture Frank Wheeler, the upper walls are trimmed with Mercer tile

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  • NRHP

Data »

Particulars for Wheeler-Stokely Mansion:
Area of Significance Architecture
Criteria Architecture-Engineering
Sight Category Building
Architectural Style Bungalow-craftsman
Criteria Historic Event
Owner Private
Historic Use Single dwelling
Area of Significance Social History



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration: 6th December 2004

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name: Wheeler--Stokely Mansion
Registry Address: 3200 Cold Spring rd.
Registry Number: 04001312
Resource Type: Building
Owner: Private
Architect: Price, William L.; Price McLanahan
Architectural Style: Bungalow-craftsman
Area in Acres: 8
Contributing Buildings: 3
Contributing Sites: 1
Contributing Structures: 5
Other Certification: Date received-pending nomination
Certification: Listed in the National Register
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: State
Area of Significance: Architecture, Social history
Applicable Criteria: Event, Architecture-Engineering
Significant Year: 1912
Historic Function: Domestic
Historic Sub-Function: Single dwelling
Current Function: Education
Current Sub-Function: College

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