This House in Indiana was owned by an inventor of musical instruments
Charles Gerard Conn Mansion, Elkhart Indiana

C.G. Conn became internationally famous, and independently wealthy, for inventing a variety of improvements to musical instruments, the most significant being soft rubber mouthpieces greatly assisting the musician and his ability to play. His instruments were praised and played by famous friends and associates, such as John Phillip Sousa, Hi Henry, Jules Levy, and Alessandro Liberati, as well as the everyday man. He helped build the City of Elkhart, his factory employing 300 workers by 1880. Conn served as the first Democratic mayor of Elkhart, founded the Elkhart Truth newspaper, serving as its editor, purchased the troubled Washington D.C. Times, and served terms in both the Indiana State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Conn's greatest achievement, however, was the improvements he made to various musical instruments and the legacy that he left on Elkhart, dubbed the "Band Instrument Capital of the World."
Samuel Strong, for whom the house was built originally, was also a prominent businessman and leader in the community. Strong had the house built in 1874 in the Italianate style. He was involved in the Elkhart Hydraulic Company who built the first dam over the St. Joseph River in 1867-68. The first Elkhart High School was built in 1892 on the land that Strong had donated, which had been the site of his first home. It was later renamed the Samuel Strong Elementary School in 1912. The building remains, but no longer serves as a school.
The house was purchased in 1890 by Conn who commissioned architect A.H. Ellwood in 1912 to make changes to the house reflecting the more popular style of the time. Neoclassical was a dominant style for domestic buildings throughout the country in the first half of the twentieth century. The style had two waves of popularity: The first from 1900 to 1920 was likely influenced by the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago which carried a classical theme. Conn is reported to have attended the World's Fair touting his products, so it is very likely that the classical architecture influenced him The new neoclassical design added large composite order columns and other classical elements such as the decorative fanlights and dentil detailing. On August 22, 1950 an article written in the Elkhart Truth titled, "Our Yesterdays, 38 Years Ago" quoted an Elkhart Truth article from 1912 that said, "Contractor Lawrence Welter will commence work next week on a $10,000 porch to be built on the north, east and west sides of the C.G. Conn residence at 723 Strong Ave. The porch is to be two-story, colonial style, with 16, 26-foot pillars." The final product ended up with 17 pillars. The original Victorian interior is very much intact with high ceilings, hardwood floors, decorative woodwork, fireplaces and a curved staircase. Some of the original light fixtures still remain.
Charles Gerard Conn was born in Phelps, New York, on January 29, 1844. His parents Charles J. Conn and Sarah Benjamin Conn were farmers. In 1851 the family relocated to Elkhart where his father took a job as the head of village schools. Young Conn grew proficient in playing the cornet during this time.
In 1861, the Civil War erupted and Conn signed up with 15 Indiana Voluntary Infantry in Company B, where he played the cornet in the regimental band. Fifteen months later he was discharged, and he re-enlisted with Company G of the First Michigan Sharpshooters from Niles. He started as the Company Bandmaster, but advanced to sergeant, then second lieutenant, and at twenty years old he became the captain of the Company. He was wounded and captured during the assault on Petersburg, Virginia, and he spent the rest of the war in Confederate prison camps. On July 28th, 1865, he received an honorable discharge.
At the end of the war, Conn was released, and he returned to Elkhart where he married Katherine Mary Hazelton on October 10th, 1869. He worked as a grocer, sold ice, made rubber stamps, and plated and engraved silverware. As a member of the Elkhart Silver Cornet Band, he also gave music lessons.
Conn's success begins with the story that he reportedly got into a fight, leaving him with a lacerated lip. He feared he would never play the cornet again, depriving him not only of pleasure, but also extra income. In 1874, Conn conceived the idea of a "cushion" for his lips, and he began to experiment with creating a rubber mouthpiece that would allow his scarred lip to play the cornet. He invented an elastic-faced or rubber-trimmed mouthpiece. He thought that other cornet players may be interested in the flexible mouthpiece, so he created a lathe out of a sewing machine and began making his product. He developed a process for vulcanizing rubber to metal and added his new rubber mouthpiece to other manufacturer's mouthpieces. He persuaded other members of the Elkhart Silver Cornet Band to use the mouthpiece. He advertised his invention as a relief from tender and inflamed lips. He put all his money into printing 100 fliers, which he sent to musician contacts. The response was overwhelming. The mouthpieces were received so well that Conn had to hire help to produce them. He obtained patents in the United States, England, France, Belgium, and Canada. By 1875, Conn was producing sixty mouthpieces a day. Shortly after, Conn invented and patented an improved cornet valve and began the manufacture of brass instruments. In 1876, at Conn's invitation, Eugene Dupont, a French instrument maker, arrived in Elkhart to become his partner in making and repairing wind instruments. During their three-year partnership, they worked to perfect the cornet, and by 1877, they expanded their business, moving the upstart operation into a larger factory. Within a year of the move, Conn and Dupont had 100 employees. The firm was growing as the demand for the new Wonder line of instruments increased. The popularity of his instruments grew, as he was able to get endorsements from many well-known performers and conductors. The factory now not only produced cornets, brass instruments, and drums, but also printed and sold band and orchestra music.
In 1880, Conn was elected the first Democratic mayor of Elkhart. He resigned during his second two-year term to attend to the rebuilding of his factory, which was destroyed by fire in 1883. Conn declared that he would rebuild and three months later the new factory was opened. The company grew rapidly as demand for Conn's instruments increased. By the late 1880's, Conn employed 300 workers. According to the company publication Trumpet Notes the Conn factory was, at the time, the largest of its kind in the world. Conn continued to expand his product line. In 1888, he developed the first American-made saxophone, and introduced his own line of clarinets, flutes, and piccolos.
Conn's success led him to various other civic, journalistic, and political activities. He first undertook the development of a large hydraulic system for the northeast part of the city. He introduced electric light to Elkhart "almost," as one contemporary writer noted, "before it was introduced into Chicago." In 1888, Conn ran for representative to the Indiana State Legislature in which he served two terms. In 1889, Conn purchased The Elkhart Review and renamed the paper The Elkhart Truth which still operates under the same name today. Conn became the paper's editor and used it as a platform to express his "Democratic Ideas." In 1892, Conn was elected for a two-year term as representative to the U.S. Congress where he became nationally known as a supporter for organized labor. Conn declined re-nomination to another term in Congress, and in 1894, he purchased the financially unstable Washington Times. He paid the debts of the company and got the paper on solid ground and sold it a year later to return to Elkhart, resuming a more active role in his company.
In 1897, Conn purchased additional land and built another factory that would produce stringed instruments. His company began the production of the popular New Wonder Violin. He made other strides in the instrument business, adding the Wonder talking machine to his inventory in 1897, and making history when the first commercially available bell-up sousaphone was produced by a Conn employee. Patents for the Wonder portable reed organ and a new cornet were granted in 1901. After its incorporation in 1904, the C.G. Conn Company was the first industry of its kind to open its doors exclusively to the use of union labor. A new union was established, called the Metal Polishers, Buffers, Platers, Brass Moulders, Brass and Silver Workers International Union of North America. Most of Conn's instruments had been ornately engraved. Conn gained an international reputation for the fine and artistic finish that he gave his instruments. Conn's most ornately engraved instruments were those designed for the company's booth at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The engraving was done freehand for the first forty years.
A second fire in 1910 totally destroyed Conn's factory. Conn immediately announced plans to rebuild. The new Spanish Mission style factory was in operation four months later. After rebuilding, Conn introduced his New Invention line and dropped the Wonder trademark.
In 1915, Conn deeded the factory, newspaper, and most of his personal property to an investor group from Wauseon, Ohio, headed by Carl D. Greenleaf. Conn then moved to California, leaving his wife and daughter behind. His wife Kate lived in the house until her death in 1924. Conn divorced Kate and remarried Suzanne Cohn. Their son, Charles Gerard Conn III, was born in 1918 when the elder Conn was 75 years old. Conn died on January 5th, 1931, reportedly a poor man. His body was sent home to Elkhart to be buried in Gracelawn Cemetery.
After the death of Conn's first wife in 1924, the house was purchased in 1926 by William and Mary Elizabeth Hazelton, Mrs. Conn's sister. The couple lived there until 1932. From 1932 until 1938, Elizabeth Hazelton lived at the residence with Burt and Katherine Lyzen. The Lyzens continued to live there from 1940 to 1949. Joseph and Jean Menaugh bought the property in 1949 and lived there through 1952. The home changed hands once more in 1953 to Harry and Katherine Diman who lived there until 1972. From 1973 to 1987, S.H. and Gloria Cousins resided in the Conn Mansion. In 1988 they sold to Douglas Rice, who lived there until 1992, when Tim and Meg Shelly purchased the property. The Shellys embarked on restoring the home.
Building Description
The C.G. Conn Mansion is a stately home located at 723 Strong Avenue. The house is located in an architecturally significant neighborhood, which includes a mixture of architectural styles and types from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The house is situated on a large lot and is surrounded by mature trees. The original owner Samuel Strong had the house built in the popular Italianate style in 1884. The house is most well known for its association with C.G. Conn who purchased the house in 1890. Conn commissioned architect A.H. Ellwood to redesign the house, transforming the Italianate-style home into a Neoclassical gem by adding a wrap-around, two-story porch with large, fluted wood columns and wood hand-turned balustrade. On August 22nd, 1950 an article written in the Elkhart Truth titled, "Our Yesterdays, 38 Years Ago" quoted an Elkhart Truth article from 1912 that said, "Contractor Lawrence Welter will commence work next week on a $10,000 porch to be built on the north, east and west sides of the C.G. Conn residence at 723 Strong Ave. The porch is to be two-story, colonial style, with 16, 26-foot pillars." The final product ended up with 17 pillars.
The house is a two-story painted brick structure that is narrow to the front, tall and deep. A full-height porch extends across the front facade and continues about 3/4 of the way around the east and west facades, giving the house an almost square footprint. The two-story porch extends out from the original house approximately 10 feet, offering additional outdoor living space. Columns are spaced symmetrically across all three sides of the porch. All 17 columns appear original with approximately 10 composite capitals having been replaced over time due to extensive weathering and moisture damage to the originals. 'The new Corinthian capitals are also composite and match the originals decently with large volutes and the acanthus leaf details. They were purchased stock from either Schwerd's, in Pennsylvania or Chadsworth, in North Carolina. The entablature above the columns is composed of narrow, vertical boards. Dentil detailing is located between the first and second stories of the porch. Larger dentils are located where the vertical boards that form the entablature meet the cornice. The entablature forms a round arch in the center of the north and east facades and contains a decorative semi-circular fanlight. The balustrades with hand-turned spindles are located on the first and second stories and extend the full length of the porch. The balustrade along the first floor bows out between the columns, whereas it runs straight behind the second-floor columns. The porch floor is gray and white terrazzo tile and the porch ceiling is narrow bead board. Tall and narrow windows typical of the Italianate style have one-over-one double-hung sashes. The windows have rectilinear hood moldings with cutout geometric shapes capping the top and extending 12" down each side. The sills are limestone. The interior of the house features 12-foot ceilings, decorative woodwork, wide baseboard molding, hardwood floors, paneled wainscoting, pocket doors, a curved staircase, fireplace, and some of the original light fixtures.
North (Front) Facade
The front facade of the house has a two-story projecting square bay with four windows, two on each level. The windows are one-over-one double-hung sashes with decorative rectilinear lintels and limestone sills. The two-story porch is supported by six symmetrically spaced composite order columns, which are interrupted by the projecting bay causing the center two columns to be slightly farther apart. A semi-circular fanlight is located in the center of the curved entablature. The spacing of the center columns, the projecting bay and the fanlight all focus attention to the center of the facade. There is no entrance on this facade.
East Facade
The east facade is used as the main entrance to the house off the driveway. Double columns border the steps leading up to the front door, which is a double oak door with beveled glass windows in the southeast corner. One-over-one double-hung sash windows are present. Smooth Corinthian columns flank the door and a leaded glass transom window is located above. The porch covers 3/4 of the east facade, interrupted by a protruding bay with four windows, two on each level. The southeast portion of the second floor of the porch is enclosed with screens. It is likely that the screened sleeping area was added at the time of the porch addition, based on the mortise and tenon joinery and the screens, trim and molding were coped to match the existing. A semi-circular fanlight is located in the center of the curved entablature as seen on the north facade. This section of the porch steps forward several feet, with the columns, entablature and arched pediment following suite.
West Facade
The porch and columns extend 3/4 of the way along the west facade. Limestone steps allow entrance from the west. The entablature is straight and not broken up by a fanlight as on the north and east facades.
Symmetrically placed windows are one-over-one double-hung. Pilasters separate some of the windows. A small pointed arch dormer with a round window is located on the southwest end. This element was on the original house built by Strong. Pictures show that the dormers were originally on the front and east facades, but were covered up by the fanlights.
South Facade
The porch is absent on the south facade. The south facade has a chamfered two-story bay with four one-over-one double-hung sash windows on each floor. Also present are four one-over-one double-hung sash windows. A small pointed arch dormer with a round window is also visible on this facade as on the west facade. A one-story shed roof addition has wood siding, double-hung windows, and one door.
Interior
The front entrance is located off the east side of the house. The floors are oak hardwood. All walls in the foyer have wainscoting with raised square panels. An open walnut staircase is located to the right as you enter. The elaborate newel post is massive and the staircase has hand-turned spindles and ornate scrollwork on the outside. The staircase curves to a landing where two posts resembling the newel post are located. On the first floor behind the staircase is a small alcove with two windows and an L-shaped paneled bench seat. Paneled pocket doors off the foyer lead to the library and parlor, and a single door leads to the dining room. Many doors have transom windows. The antique chandelier is original to the house.
The library is located to the right of the foyer. The room contains painted wide quarter-sawn baseboard molding, decorative crown molding with dentil detailing and the window trim is fluted with a block 1/3 up. The window trim has corner ornamentation. The room is carpeted and decorated with period wall coverings. The chandelier is original to the house.
The parlor is located to the left of the foyer. The room has a wide quarter-sawn oak baseboard and crown molding with dentil detailing. The window trim is fluted with a block 1/3 up, and corner ornamentation. A fireplace in the room has a wood surround with slender spindled columns, a tile hearth features decorative ceramic tiles with tiger lily, dog and leaf motifs. A bay window is located on the east wall. The room is decorated with period wall coverings. Pocket doors lead to the dining room. The chandelier is original to the house.
The dining room contains wide quarter-sawn baseboard molding and decorative molding with bull's eye ornamentation around windows and doors. Crown molding has dentil detailing. The room is carpeted and decorated with period wall coverings.
The kitchen includes 1940's nondescript cabinetry and simple crown molding.
The family room has oak hardwood floors, wide quarter-sawn baseboard, and crown molding. A large bay window is located to the south of the room. A wooden bench or window seat is located in the bay.
The second floor contains five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Built-in cabinets in the hall provide for additional storage space. The master bedroom has egg and dart crown moldings. The windows have a saw tooth detail at the corner blocks. All doors on the second floor have transom windows. Other bedrooms have wide baseboard, decorative window and door molding, and crown molding.

Northwest facade (2003)

Columns looking northeast (2003)

Fanlight looking southeast (2003)

Porch floor (2003)

Window detail (2003)

Front facade looking south (2003)

East facade looking northwest (2003)

Entrance door looking west (2003)

Screened in porch (2003)

Fanlight on east side (2003)

West facade (2003)

South facade (2003)

South facade window (2003)

Foyer (2003)

Library (2003)

Parlor (2003)

Dining room (2003)
