North
Township
Discover the beatiful North Township
Robert Schroeder, Sr. Farm
“Sycamore Hill”
12954 6th Road
Greek Revival/I-house,
Italianate/German Bank Barn, 1865-1867
The property known as the Schroeder Farmstead was purchased by Robert Schroeder, Sr. in 1865.
Between 1865 and 1867, Robert Schroeder constructed a bank barn and home on the property into which he moved his family in 1867. Schroeder's parcel of land fronted Michigan Road, but he constructed the farmstead buildings at the rear of the property probably due to the topography and low areas of the front portion.
The Schroeder families arrived in the area that would become Marshall County between 1832 and 1834. At the time of Robert Schroeder Sr.’s permanent settlement in 1833, there were only two other white families in the county, both living south of the Yellow River. There was some dispute during the mid-1800s on exactly who the first white settler in Marshall County was, either Robert Schroeder or a man named Abel Hickman, who had claimed to settle south of Argos on the Michigan Road in 1832. Robert was the first white settler to create a homestead in the county north of the Yellow River; it was in the vicinity of the existing farmstead, along the Michigan Road.
Related to the area of architecture, the bank barn's Italianate features are unique in Marshall County. While restrained from typical stylistic details, the barn's double and triple arch-shaped hoods on its tall louvered openings and the sawn scroll rafter and purlin tails show a progressive spirit in the construction of the barn. When the Schroeders constructed their home, though, they reached back to a style that was waning in popularity, the Greek Revival style. Used with great restraint on the house, the typical features of the style including cornice returns, corner boards that simulate pilasters, tall frieze boards, and a formal arrangement of openings on the façade are still present. The Doric pilaster-inspired chimney supports inside the house are also features of the Greek Revival style and are the most elaborate interior features of the farmhouse. The Greek Revival style was popular from about 1840-1860, though it was used with simplified details later into the early 1870s. The Schroeder House is a modified I-House, a type that was popular from about 1840-1880, and was so-named because of their popular use in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa during the time the states were rapidly being developed. I-houses typically are a full two stories tall, sometimes with rear ells.
Argos Izaak Walton League
Explore the Redevelopment of Argos Izaak Walton League
7184 E. 16th Road
Park Rustic/Craftsman, 1935-1937
William Foker, stonemason
The Argos Izaak Walton League property is a total of 17 acres of constructed fishing ponds, structures, and buildings developed as a fish hatchery and meeting hall for the organization dedicated to the conservation of natural habitat for wildlife. In 1929, they purchased and developed the first two acres of the property. In 1934, the remaining 15 acres were purchased. Through an agreement with the United States Bureau of Fisheries a clubhouse was constructed under the New Deal projects of that era. The building was constructed under the direction of local stone mason William L. Foker in 1935-1937, with glacial stones in the Craftsman style. Some of the period structures on the property include a stone gateway, two artesian wells, three stone picnic tables/benches, and a sluice; these date to the New Deal construction on the site.
Spearheaded by avid outdoorsman Wilferd M. Harley, the Argos Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America was created by Charter No. 68 on January 25, 1926; the initial name of the organization was Tippecanoe Fish Hatchery. Harley and seven other men who were anglers had made application to the State Department for minnows to be distributed in adjacent lakes and streams in an effort to replenish the rapidly depleting local supply of desired fresh water fish. The men began discussions in 1925 regarding the formation of a local chapter of the Izaak Walton League. William Foker, the stone mason, worked in both cut and uncut stone. In both methods he hand selected stone blending colors and shapes to provide a very aesthetically pleasing form to his creation. He is arguably one of the most accomplished masons in Indiana during the 20th century.
The Argos Downtown Commercial Historic District comprises approximately three of four blocks of the original business district, laid out in 1851. The town is situated along the north-south alignment of the Michigan Road. Original free-standing frame structures have given way to generally continuous facade lines of masonry constructed commercial structures built from 1883 to 1942. With few exceptions, the buildings retain a high level of character defining features of their original appearance. As with most historic commercial structures, the upper story facades are generally intact with a smaller number of storefronts retaining their historic appearance. A downtown revitalization effort in 1998 resulted in restoration style lighting, street trees, and partial brick sidewalks along Michigan and Walnut Streets. The Argos Public Library conducted an adaptive-reuse of the Schoonover Building at 118 N. Michigan St into its new home in 2008.
With the period of significance ranging from 1867 to 1942, the building styles are principally Italianate and 19th and 20th century functional, with some individual examples of other traditional Midwestern styles of the period also existing. The northernmost blocks were developed first and appear mostly as they did during the period of significance. One exception is the bank's acquisition and renovation of a 1920s era cafe for expansion space to the north in 1962. The corner lot on which the bank building is located was the original site of a frame flouring mill constructed in 1863. This structure was moved to the railroad when the bank was built and is still in existence. Just outside of the district, two frame buildings were demolished at the north end of the east side of North Michigan Street; one was the original two bay fire station with hose tower.