High and Dry

Staff at Kokomo’s Seiberling Mansion knew they had a problem years ago, when water seeping through the original slate roof left the great house with stained plaster, cracked window sills, buckled floorboards, crumbled mortar, even damaged artifacts. Ad hoc repairs failed to curtail persistent leaks, and by 2016 the situation had reached crisis-level, inspiring an emergency fundraising campaign.

Now home to the Howard County Historical Society, the Seiberling Mansion is a product of Kokomo’s rich industrial history. In the 1880s and ‘90s, eastern Indiana experienced massive economic growth after the discovery of abundant natural gas, which the state offered for free to manufacturers willing to relocate to Indiana. The Gas Boom ended in the early twentieth century, but its architectural legacy endures.

Built for Monroe Seiberling in 1891, the imposing Neo-Jacobean and Romanesque Revival mansion at 1200 West Sycamore Street served as the Seiberling family home until 1901. Formerly of Akron, Ohio and uncle to Goodyear Tire and Rubber founder Frank Seiberling, Monroe Seiberling came to the city to found the Kokomo Strawboard Company. He subsequently sold the business and opened the Diamond Plate Glass Company — another Gas Boom manufacturer.

For much of the early twentieth century the house belonged to George Kingston, inventor of the Kingston Carburetor. The mansion later served as the original home of Indiana University-Kokomo; the Historical Society assumed stewardship in 1971 and restored the house as a museum.

In 2016, Indiana Landmarks funded a preservation study by RATIO Architects for the society through an Efroymson Family Endangered Places Grant. The study identified the house’s failing 125-year-old slate roof as the most urgently needed repair.

The Howard County Historical Society launched a capital campaign, raising $560,000 to replace the roof with new slate. Donors include the Howard County Council and Board of Commissioners, the Community Foundation of Howard County, and the Indiana Historical Society. Kokomo native James Long contributed $100,000 to the campaign. Indiana Landmarks secured a $10,000 grant for the roof from the Efroymson Family Fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

The roof restoration represents the largest investment in the property in more than a decade. Although slate is more expensive in the short term, the new roof should last well into the next century. The irregular roofline — including the home’s signature acorn-shaped dome — poses a substantial challenge to even the most seasoned craftsmen. Contractor Hinshaw Roofing & Sheetmetal Co. of Frankfort enlisted one of its retired slate roofing experts to oversee the project, which should be complete by Thanksgiving.

The Seiberling Mansion and its surrounding neighborhood, the Old Silk Stocking Historic District, are both listed in the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more about the museum and its restoration, contact the Howard County Historical Society, 765-452-4314, or visit www.howardcountymuseum.org.