Prospect Hill

The Ball Residence, south of downtown Lafayette, was built by Judge Cyrus Ball in 1865 - 68 on what was called "the pasture" because some members of the community owned land on the hill where their livestock was driven to graze. It is significant for its Second Empire Architectural style and the influence and contribution of the Ball family to Lafayette and the State of Indiana.

Of unusual significance is the book of the day-by-day record of expenses incurred in building the house. The architect was George Post. Each workman, his craft and daily pay; each supplier of material and its cost and drayage is recorded. The cost of the car load of slate for the roof, from Buffalo, New York, and freight, the plaster ornaments for ceilings from J.F. Taylor of Indianapolis, the mantles, the iron railing for tower, terra cotta, stone cutting, and rope molding are all recorded. Ultimately the cost was recorded to be $25,000.

The architectural significance is due to the ornate detailing of the Second Empire style which has been maintained on the exterior and interior. The house is one of the finest examples of the Second Empire in the area, with original furnishings preserved and restored. It is a museum in itself while still being maintained as a home by the original family descendants.

The house contains many original and historically significant paintings by George Winter, the great-grandfather of the recent owner, Cable Gordon Ball. Winter was this area's first artist. He sketched and painted Indians, early settlers (including John Purdue), family miniatures, and Indiana landscapes, 1837 to 1876.

 
 

  The house is also significant because of the roles played by the inhabitants in shaping the city, state and country. In 1826 Cyrus Ball, with his cousin Justice Harland, subsequently a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, came to Indiana on horseback. In his saddlebag was the sheepskin of his admittance to the Bar of Lebanon, Ohio. They were looking for a place for Cyrus to settle and practice law. Because Lafayette was a new town there was very little law practice. Cyrus, with his brother Seneca, went to Baltimore to buy a stock of goods which was brought to Lafayette by boat and they set up a general store. In 1831, Cyrus was elected Justice of the Peace, and he served for 5 years.

In the late 1830s Cyrus Ball volunteered for duty during the Black Hawk War. When they reached Chicago they found a mere trading post, so small they could not get enough feed for their horses. He 1838 he was married to Rebecca Gordon of Philadelphia. In 1840 he was made collector of tolls for the Wabash and Erie Canal. In 1841 he became cashier for the Lafayette Branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana. In 1852 he was elected an associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

Cyrus Ball was the first president of the Lafayette Artificial Gas Company. With Albert S. White he was chiefly instrumental in the construction of the Railroad between Indianapolis and Lafayette. As one of the original free soilers he entertained William Lloyd Garrison and other noted abolitionists in his home at times when it was dangerous to do so. He maintained one of the stations for the escaping blacks who traveled "the underground railroad". Judge Cyrus Ball's son, Eugene Ball died while on duty to Vienna Austria, as United States Consul to Budapest under President Hayes. His funeral brought numerous national and international officials to his house.

After the deaths of both Judge and Mrs. Cyrus Ball the house was inherited by the three succeeding generations:
  1. Cyrus Gordon Ball and his wife Annette Winter Ball
  2. George Gordon Ball and his wife Georgia Winona Cable Ball
  3. Cable Gordon Ball and his wife Evelyn Osterman Ball

Cable Ball was an attorney in Lafayette for almost fifty years. He served as City Attorney from 1936 to 1937. He was elected State Representative for Tippecanoe and Warren Counties from 1951 to 1960. In 1959 Mr. Ball was Minority Leader in the House of Representative and he also served as the Permanent Chairman of the Indiana Republican Party Convention. Cable Ball served for four years during WW II in the China-Burma-India Theater as a Lt. Colonel in the 10th Air Force, He also served as assistant Staff Judge Advocate and then Acting Staff Judge Advocate of the 10th Air Force. Mr. Cable Ball died on October 10, 1981. Mrs. Ball died in August, 2005.

The house is not only an architectural treasure but has many ties to the history of Lafayette and the State of Indiana.

 

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