Passing the Torch

In Rising Sun, Indiana Landmarks restored the outside of Rumpe House before we sold it to Rising Sun native Bill Schroder. Located within view of the Ohio County courthouse (the oldest continuously operating courthouse in the state), the picturesque house with steeply pitched roof and ornate brackets is hard to miss. The interior is where things really get unusual. Built in 1867, the house remained a time capsule, mostly untouched by modern alterations.

Bill Schroder has already begun work on the Rumpe House in Rising Sun.

A hand pump in the kitchen supplied the only running water, and a primitive electrical system wasn’t added until much later. Undaunted, Bill is renovating the house, removing dropped ceilings and plywood paneling. He hopes to tackle more interior work over the winter, though no modern HVAC system means he’ll have to bundle up.

In Dearborn County, the OS Group, Inc., a restoration and remodeling company, bought Aurora’s Neaman Hotel, a former railroad inn adjacent to the city’s old depot. Built c.1850, the building served a number of purposes over the decades to its most recent service as a restaurant.

After the owner donated the property to Indiana Landmarks, we tackled urgent repairs, stabilizing a bowing brick wall, reinstalling interior supports, and restoring the wood windows, and repainting the exterior. OS Group intends to rehab the interior for a restaurant on the ground floor, and short-term AirBnb rental rooms on the second floor.

For more information about Indiana Landmarks’ work in southeast Indiana, contact our Southeast Field Office, 812-926-0983, jholbrook@indianalandmarks.org. Check out more historic properties for sale in our real estate section.