As stated before, Josephus owned about 5000 acres in Indiana. He owned the largest dairy farm and helped build up the city of Chesterton, Indiana. However, most people from Northwest Indiana know only of the mansion and not of the man.
The Wolf Mansion sits at the intersection of Wolf Road and 700 N in South Haven, Indiana. It is a large, red brick, Italian style house. Construction on the house began in 1872 and it was finished in 1875. The work was done by about 300 German bricklayers and it cost around 6000 dollars to complete.1 Inside, the house has 18 rooms and a 45 foot cupola on the top, from which on a clear day Chicago could be seen. The mansion has marble fireplaces, oak floors, and a walnut staircase.2 It has been said the house has many secret exits and trap doors, although this has not been actually confirmed. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.3 The link below is to a YouTube video that shows the outside of the house much more clearly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXjfpugsbN0
The man in the video walks around the house and points out some of the original architecture.
Although not much information was found on the set up of the dairy farm, the essay by James E. Davis can help create a picture of how the farm may have been set up. He says in his essay farmers tried to locate their farms east and south of trees, to provide protection from high winds. They then set up their homes usually northwest of the farmstead, to protect from odor and bugs.4 A With this information I assume that the farmstead was located southeast of the house, with a lot of tree coverage to the far east. This is confirmed by the description in the house's nomination sheet.5 This essay also states that farmers planted deciduous trees to the west of their houses. The Wolf Mansion does have a line of trees along the west side of the house. They look fairly mature but it is hard to say when they were planted. It is also assumed that there was a woodshed and a well fairly close to the house.6 Gardens often times were located in close proximity to the house as well and the Wolf Mansion still does have a garden located to the north. I do believe the current garden is from the current owners, but it is reasonable to assume the Wolf family had theirs in a similar place. The Wolf family also had many outbuildings in the surrounding areas. None of these buildings are standing today. In close proximity to the house it was confirmed that there was an outhouse, windmill, horse and cow barns, and a small graveyard for their deceased children surrounded by an iron fence. A small gazebo was added in 1975. 7
The mansion was used for many things after the Wolf family left it. Josephus died in 1895 and only 22 years after his death, only 400 acres of his estate remained in the family. Most of the land was given to Martin Young and Frank Wolf after Josephus died. Frank Wolf had ownership of the mansion and rented it to Lewis B. Taylor and his family. Lewis at the time was sheriff in Valparaiso, Indiana. Lewis had also been hired to help build some barns on the property, so the family knew him beforehand.8 Since then, the house has been a monastery for the Seven Dolors Shrine, a nursing home, a women's shelter, a flower shop, a photo studio, and a bridal shop.9 In 1989, a young couple purchased the home after it had been sitting empty for a short time and restored it.10 Currently it is owned by Clement and Lynda Khan, who give tours of the house during the holidays.
There are many stories and rumors of the mansion being haunted, although none have been proved. There was a short film called "Blood Bath in Psycho Town" that was shot mostly at the mansion. The low budget film used Hollywood actors but also local Indiana talent as extras. Some scenes were also filmed in the surrounding areas of Portage and Valparaiso.11 This movie is free to watch on YouTube if anyone is interested.
Old houses like this do come with some old wives tales, one being that the bedrooms on the second floor are haunted by Susan Wolf searching for Josephus. Another story is that Josephus murdered his family in a fit of range and then hung himself in the cupola, but this is confused with the Wolf Murders in North Dakota. Many people claim to see the chandelier in the cupola turning on and off by itself, even though it is now blocked off. Growing up in Portage, I did hear that this house was haunted and that is one of the reasons I wanted to explore its history.
The History of Wolf Mansion, 2.
Descendants of Andrew Wolf and Related Families, 62.
National Register of Historic Places, "Registration Form for Wolf Mansion, Valparaiso, Indiana", 6.
James E. Davis, "How Nature and Culture Shaped Settlement," Jon K. Lauck, Gleaves Whitney, and Joseph Hogan, eds. Finding a New Midwestern History, (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2018), 32.
"Registration Form for Wolf Mansion, Valparaiso, Indiana.", 3.
"How Nature and Culture Shaped Settlement", 33.
"Registration Form for Wolf Mansion, Valparaiso, Indiana.", 4.
The History of Wolf Mansion, 38.
"Registration Form for Wolf Mansion, Valparaiso, Indiana.", 4
The History of Wolf Mansion, 44.
The History of Wolf Mansion, 78.
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