National Register of Historic Places

West-Harris House

Fishers, Hamilton County, Indiana
Listed
March 23, 1999
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
99000297

About this property

West-Harris House, also known as Ambassador House, is a historic home located at 106th Street and Eller Road in Fishers, Indiana, United States. The ell-shaped, two-story, Colonial Revival-style dwelling with a large attic and a central chimney also features a full-width, hip-roofed front porch and large Palladian windows on the gable ends of the home. It also includes portions of the original log cabin dating from ca. 1826, which was later enlarged and remodeled. In 1996 the home was moved to protect it from demolition about 3 miles (4.8 km) from its original site to its present-day location at Heritage Park at White River in Fishers. The former residence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and is operated as a local history museum, community events center, and private rental facility. The restored home is named in honor of two of its previous owners, Thomas and Sarah West, and Addison and India Harris. The Wests had the original two-room log section of the home erected about 1826 on their land at the northwest corner of present-day 96th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers. Addison Harris purchased the rural property in 1880 and had the home enlarged and remodeled around 1895. Harris was a prominent Indianapolis lawyer, a former member of the Indiana Senate (1876 to 1880), and a U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Austria-Hungary (1899 to 1901). His wife, India, was active in the Indianapolis arts community, serving from 1905 to 1907 as president of the Art Association of Indianapolis (the predecessor to the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis's Herron School of Art and Design). The home's nickname of Ambassador House comes from Addison Harris's diplomatic service in Vienna, Austria, during President William McKinley's administration.

Location

10595 Eller Rd.
Fishers, Hamilton County, Indiana
39.94206, -86.06535

Categories

POLITICS/GOVERNMENTLAWSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Questions about this property

When was West-Harris House listed on the National Register?

West-Harris House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 23, 1999.

What type of historic resource is West-Harris House?

West-Harris House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for West-Harris House?

The period of significance for West-Harris House is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near West-Harris House?

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