{"id":433,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:36","latitude":40.48677639999999655628926120698451995849609375,"longitude":-86.14419060000000172294676303863525390625,"title":"Kokomo’s Seiberling Mansion","subtitle":"A Legacy of the Indiana Gas Boom","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/b5555bcc96be548bab9702f836370efc.jpg","address":"1200 W. Sycamore, Kokomo, IN 46901","all_locations":[],"zoom":16,"creator":["Howard County Historical Society"],"description":"<strong>Construction of the Mansion - 1889</strong> <br />Monroe Seiberling used the wealth earned from the Diamond Plate Glass Company to build himself a beautiful house. Construction of Seiberling’s spacious home began in 1889. The mansion reportedly cost $50,000 – approximately $1,500,000 today. It has 27 rooms, 10 gas fireplaces, and more than 10,000 square feet of floor space. The architectural style is an unusual mixture of Queen Anne and Romanesque Revival, with lavish interior woodwork done in multiple native woods. <br /><br /><strong>The Mansion’s Other Owners - 1895-today</strong> <br />The Seiberling family left in 1895 for a new business opportunity in Illinois. Franklin Miller bought the home in 1905 with money earned selling patent medicines. The Cora B. Miller Company was named after his wife. Advertisements carried the image of the mansion across the country. George Kingston, who became wealthy manufacturing carburetors for Henry Ford, was the longest resident. He owned the home from 1914-1946. <br /><br />Indiana University bought the property from Kingston’s estate. It was the center of the IU Kokomo campus until 1964, then was left empty and unused for seven years falling into disrepair. As community leaders struggled with the choice between demolition and renovation, the Howard County Historical Society stepped up and fought for the latter. In 1971, the mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places and, in August of 1972, it became the Howard County Museum. The mansion is open to the public from 1:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday through Friday.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"The mansion is open to the public from 1:00pm-4:00pm Tuesday through Friday. ","lede":"","website":"<a href=\"http://www.hchistory.org\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Howard County Historical Society\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http://www.hchistory.org</a>","related_resources":[],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/b5555bcc96be548bab9702f836370efc.jpg":{"id":1911,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Seiberling Mansion","description":"Springtime at the historic Seiberling Mansion, a legacy of the Indiana Gas Boom and present-day home of the Howard County Museum. The building was added to the National Register in 1971 and restoration began shortly after that. The museum opened in the mansion in 1972. | Courtesy of the Howard County Historical Society | 2019","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/b5555bcc96be548bab9702f836370efc.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/7612144a990ef4147f8674c0756cd975.jpg":{"id":1912,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Seiberling Home","description":"An image of the Seiberling family at their newly-constructed home in Kokomo, which was completed in 1891. The mansion’s elegant exterior appearance has changed little in the ensuing years. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | 1891","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/7612144a990ef4147f8674c0756cd975.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/fe8a3d8b8c2ad1bfe0feed9680e5dcfb.jpg":{"id":1913,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Seiberling Property","description":"An early image (ca 1891) of the Seiberling residence as seen from across West Sycamore Street, showing the original carriage house to the right and the family at play. Early newspaper accounts said the carriage house was more expensive than most homes in the city. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | ca.1891","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/fe8a3d8b8c2ad1bfe0feed9680e5dcfb.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/d8d3730a540c66171f6cf8dd6e42a08c.jpg":{"id":1914,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Gas Boom Promotional Pamphlet","description":"Like many communities in the region, Kokomo used the discovery of natural gas as an economic development incentive, offering unlimited supplies of free or inexpensive energy in return for investment. This Kokomo Board of Trade pamphlet featured an image of a burning flambeau and claimed a capacity of 46 million cubic feet of gas every day. The incentives led to a population boom and a shift toward a more industrial economy. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | March 1, 1888 | Kokomo Board of Trade","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/d8d3730a540c66171f6cf8dd6e42a08c.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/0fd5a08e8c84228c6f016fdc2b82332c.jpg":{"id":1915,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Miller Family","description":"The Franklin Miller family, shown seated on the staircase of the Seiberling Mansion. The Miller’s owned the home from 1905-1914. Miller sold patent medicine, then moved into real estate development. He once owned much of downtown Kokomo and donated land to the city for a park and swimming pool and for Memorial Park Cemetery. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | 1910","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/0fd5a08e8c84228c6f016fdc2b82332c.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/eb8b4bb140a81d8fa8c5cb37adf61bb4.jpg":{"id":1916,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"A Grand Staircase","description":"One of the first sights that greet a visitor to Seiberling Mansion is its remarkable staircase. Hand-crafted from native woods, it’s the most-photographed place in the home and the elegant centerpiece of the foyer. The staircase provided a grand entrance for the weddings of two Seiberling daughters and is a focal point for the present-day Christmas at the Seiberling celebration each December. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | 2014","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/eb8b4bb140a81d8fa8c5cb37adf61bb4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/8198b2e2d585fb81a6592a096bd08bcf.jpg":{"id":1917,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Kingston&#039;s Den","description":"George Kingston was friends with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. He was an outdoorsman as well as a leading industrialist. He commissioned a mural of a forest scene with wildlife, shown in this image, which reflected his love of fishing and hunting. The mural was left intact by Indiana University, who owned the mansion after Kingston’s death, and was covered in part by chalkboards. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | 2019","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/8198b2e2d585fb81a6592a096bd08bcf.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/0e178b6b425f61db57736968de8996bb.jpg":{"id":1918,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Indiana University","description":"After World War II, millions of mostly white veterans took advantage of the new GI Bill to further their education, exploding the rolls of colleges and universities across America. Indiana University and its local branches were no exception. The university purchased Seiberling Mansion from the George Kingston estate to accommodate its growing Kokomo enrollment, and the elegant parlor, among others, became a classroom. | From the archives of the Howard County Historical Society | 1953","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/0e178b6b425f61db57736968de8996bb.jpg"}}}