The Dorothy Q Chapter, NSDAR, will open its chapter house, the Elston Memorial Home, for scheduled, guided tours.
Tours are cash only and the rates are $7 for adults and $5 for children. The funds raised from the tours will be used for historic preservation of the property at 400 E. Wabash Ave., said chapter president Terri Fyffe.
To request a tour, visit the Montgomery County Historical Society website at www.lane-mchs.org/dorothy-q-chapter-of-nsdar; or through the Montgomery County Visitor’s Bureau website at www.visitmoco.com/attractions/historic-chapter-house-the-elston-memorial-home.
When requesting a reservation, consider the house is not ADA accessible. Tours are inside, ground-floor only, with an optional outside architectural tour.
The Dorothy Q Chapter, NSDAR, purchased the home in 1926 from the Elston family who originally built it in 1882. Col. Isaac C. Elston Jr. (1836-1925) returned to Crawfordsville in 1867 to take over the Elston Bank from his recently deceased father, Major Isaac C. Elston (1794-1867). The colonel and his wife, Sarah Mills Elston, wished for a more up to date home. They had six children — five girls and one boy. The colonel had been looking for an organization to take over his home who would look after it and use it for a good purpose. He accepted the Dorothy Q offer, and upon his passing, his son, I.C. Elston III, ‘Ike’ (1873-1964), followed through on the sale. The Dorothy Q Chapter formed The Elston Memorial Home Foundation which holds the title.
The home is located next door to historic Lane Place, the home of Senator Henry and Johanna Lane, and shares a driveway accessed from Pike Street, across from the City Building.
In 2023, the local chapter will be 125 years old, but the chapter house turned 140 years old this year. Many of the furnishings are original to the Elston family, and the house is significant for its historic association with a family prominent in the development of Crawfordsville. The house is architecturally significant as a superb example of the eastern stick style, and for the excellence of its craftsmanship, detailing and high degree of integrity.
