Moses Fowler House

The Fowler House is available for rentals. The historic house museum is currently closed for renovation and restoration.

The Moses Fowler House is a Gothic Revival home built by Moses Fowler in 1851-1852. Fowler, one of the area's leading merchants and cattlemen, was anxious to have a home reflecting his social status. A book entitled Architecture of Country Houses, by A. J. Downing, illustrated popular floor plans of the day and may have served as a guide for the design Fowler selected. His home was built by a local contractor, using native white oak and black walnut woodwork. The ornamental plaster work on the parlor ceilings was done by Italian artisans from New York who traveled to Lafayette via the Wabash and Erie Canal.

In 1916 Cecil G. Fowler, grandson of Moses Fowler, remodeled the house, adding a two-story wing and eliminating a separate kitchen/laundry building by incorporating the kitchen into the main house. Stairs from a new veranda led to formal Italian gardens, with reflecting pool and summer house. The formal gardens, reflecting pool, and summer house were removed in later renovations.

The House as Museum

The Moses Fowler House was purchased by the Tippecanoe County Historical Association from Cecil Fowler in 1940. The association opened the house as its historical museum in 1941. The House functioned as the county historical museum until the exhibits were dismantled and the museum closed in 2005. Currently there is no county historical museum.

In 1971 the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hours
Available by reservation, call to schedule a visit!

Location
909 South Street
Lafayette, IN 47901