The Seiberling mansion in Kokomo is decked out for the holiday season. The Neo-Jacobean/Romanesque Revival structure was begun in 1889 and completed in 1891. A wooden, barnlike structure was built over the site so construction could continue during winter weather. Photo courtesy of Howard County Historical Society.

By Rod King
Guest Columnist

This holiday season, consider a road trip to Kokomo to visit the elegant Seiberling Mansion.

Leading to the second story is this broad staircase. The mansion cost $50,000 to build in the late 1800s and the carriage house cost another $6,000. Indiana University Kokomo held classes here from 1946 to 1965. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Photo by Rod King.

The 11,000- square-foot Neo-Jacobean/Romanesque Revival mansion, which is beautifully lit for the season, is a testament to the great Indiana Gas Boom of the late 1800s, which brought an era of prosperity to Hoosiers and laid the foundation for a new industrial economy.

Monroe Seiberling, lured to Kokomo with the offer of free land and free gas, was already a wealthy man in Akron, Ohio, before founding Diamond Plate Glass Company, Kokomo Strawboard and other firms in Jonesboro and Elwood.

Construction on the mansion began in late 1889. It was completed in 1891 because a wooden structure was built over the site for year-round work. After completion, the cover was dismantled and the materials given to anyone who could haul them away.

The initial estimate to build was $40,000 (a lot at that time), but ended up costing $50,000. The local gentry weren’t necessarily concerned by that figure, but when they learned that Seiberling had spent another $6,000 to build a carriage house they were shocked. Both, of course, were heated by natural gas.

The Seiberlings lived in the mansion until mid-1895 when the gas fields dried up and the boom fizzled. They moved out — lock, stock and barrel — to Peoria, Ill., where he established new factories and continued to make tons of money. There were a couple of owners after Seiberling and before George Kingston, inventor of the carburetor used in Ford’s Model T automobiles, moved into it in 1914. He also founded Kingston Products, a major Kokomo manufacturer for years.

In 1946, Indiana University took over the property and established headquarters for IU Kokomo until 1965. It must have been special to attend classes in such historic surroundings. After IU, the mansion was empty until 1972. During that time it was vandalized and suffered from weather and neglect.

Velvet draperies frame the dining room entrance. The mansion has a total of 16 rooms on three floors. A ballroom running the length of the house dominates the third floor. Photo by Rod King.

It was close to feeling the power of the wrecking ball before the county stepped in and turned it over to the Howard County Historical Society, which carried out renovations and restored it to its original opulence.

Neither the furniture nor the light fixtures are original. They are, however, from the Victorian era. Brass door fixtures and window lifts are of Moorish design, while the woodwork is oak, walnut, maple, cherry, mahogany and tulip poplar. Seiberling Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The mansion includes a Miami Indian display, cooking ranges made by Globe America Company and a World War I exhibit of six-inch trench mortar shells produced in Kokomo. The company made 17,460 mortars, but none of them made it to the battlefield. The ballroom on the third floor features photos of Howard County war heroes, uniforms, paintings and photos of the city through the years.

Seiberling Mansion is located at 1200 Sycamore St. Drive past the mansion and turn right at the next street. Go another block, turn right again and come into the parking lot from the rear. It’s open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, February through December. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students (K-12) and free for children under 5.

For more information, visit howardcountymuseum.org or call (765) 452-4314.