Abandoned hotel in Indiana
Joseph Jackson Hotel, Vallonia Indiana

The Joseph Jackson Hotel is the last vestige of Vallonia's once-thriving downtown and was changed very little since its construction in 1914. (The building continued to house combined residential/commercial use until the 1980s.) It also served as a community gathering place for many of Vallonia's social, fraternal and political clubs.
Vallonia, the oldest town in Jackson County, was laid out in 1810 by Jesse B. Durham, Judge John McAfee and Thomas Ewing. It is situated in Section 29, Township 5, Range 4 in Driftwood Township. No plat of the town was recorded until October 7, 1856 when it was surveyed by Thomas Carr. There were 24 lots, with Main Street running north and south and Commerce Street running east and west. It came within one vote of being the capitol of the Territorial government for the time. The territorial Legislature, December 18, 1815, declared that the seat of Justice of the new Jackson County would be held in the town of Vallonia.
Commerce played a significant role in Vallonia's history from an early date. According to the "History of Jackson County, Indiana", there was a French settlement and trading post on the land where Vallonia stands today. Vallonia was on the direct line of travel between Vincennes and Detroit. Several forts were built in the area, one near Vallonia, for the protection from hostile Indians during the War of 1812. Fort Alexander was the largest military installation in the county and stood in the village of Vallonia. (A large piece of wood salvaged from the original fort is on display in the Fort Vallonia Museum.) When the war started there were 93 families living in the county. Seventy of these families moved away, leaving 23 families to struggle for survival. A treaty of peace was drawn up by the pioneers and Chiefs of the Delaware, Shawnee and Wyandotte tribes under a large elm tree on the west side of Vallonia in 1813. A sign still marks this historic event.
The 1815 territorial act created Jackson County effective January 1, 1816. Vallonia was the largest town in the county and became the center of many "firsts" in the county. The first church was built on the ground now used as the cemetery of the Driftwood Christian Church. The first court was held in Vallonia in February 1816 in the one-story log schoolhouse. In September of the same year, the court was moved to a more central location in the county, to Brownstown. The first road in the county ran from the Muscatatuck River to Vallonia. The first water mill was built by George Isminger in 1812 or 1813 and the first "still" in 1815. The first post office in the county was located in Vallonia and the first adhesive stamp was delivered to a Mr. Copeland in 1847.
From these early beginnings, Vallonia continued to grow from the early population of 23 families to a population of 1100 in 1910. The opening of the Ohio and Mississippi Railway in June of 1854 provided a means for the products of this agricultural community to be shipped to other communities. This railway became known as the Baltimore and Ohio around 1871-1872. By the time of the Civil War, Brownstown (the county seat) and Seymour had overshadowed Vallonia's early lead as a commercial center in Jackson County. Yet, the fact that Vallonia had a depot continued to make trade viable. Certainly the prosperous dairy farmers of Driftwood Township would have found access to Vallonia easier than to Brownstown.
In 1907 a fire in the heart of town destroyed several businesses. Those lost were a saloon, restaurant, paint shop, livery stables and a business office. By the time the Joe Jackson Hotel was built, the town had grown to 27 businesses. Included in this number were a blacksmith shop, creamery, drugstore, bank, millinery shop, barber shop, shoe repair shop, post office, two general merchandise and grocery stores, one grocery store, restaurant, contractor business (George Geyer), a buggy shop, two saw mills, Justice of the Peace office, Vallonia Canning Company, tavern, two livery stables, hardware, garage, grist mill, funeral home and a physician's office.
In 1914 a group of the local merchants contracted with Joe Jackson to build a hotel to provide housing for the salesmen, "drummers", who were coming to Vallonia to conduct business. At the time there were two hotels/boarding houses in Seymour but the salesmen would have to travel back and forth by train or horse and buggy to do their business with the Vallonia merchants. An annual rental of $480 was guaranteed to Mr. Jackson for a period of five years.
Plans for a two story brick hotel were developed by George Geyer, a local contractor. Hotel construction began in March 1914. The brick and tile used in the building came from the Jackson Brick and Hollow Ware Company in Ewing. W.C. Blevins of Seymour had the contract for installing steam heat and running water. It was advertised as the "Most modern hotel in Jackson County".
In addition to the four churches, there were other social activities in Vallonia at that time. The Booster Club, Epworth League, W.C.T.U. Society, Dramatic Club, Civic Club, Knights of Pythias, Vallonia Concert Band and a Ladies Band were all active groups providing educational opportunities and entertainment for the residents of Vallonia. There was an annual July 4 celebration in Peter's Grove with refreshment stands, plenty of good water for "man and beast", Merry-go-round, shows, band concerts, singing and other amusements.
"Work is plentiful in Vallonia, but not a vacant house in town; several families have turned away on account of not finding houses to move into." The Booster Club was asked to provide more hitching racks for the country people coming to town. The streets were reported to be so crowded that all of the hitching racks were filled.
Opening day was September 1, 1914; the dedication ceremony was held on September 13, 1914. Guest speakers at the event were Archiball Hall, representing the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, George Gunder, President of the Brownstown Commercial Club, Fred Willis, Vice President of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and George R. Shipman, member of the Norfolk Virginia Chamber of Commerce. A booster dinner was served to one hundred twenty-nine guests. In the afternoon free watermelons and cantaloupes were served. The Vallonia band played throughout the day.
The hotel provided sleeping rooms, a dining room for guests, a restaurant and barbershop for the public. The salesmen who visited the Vallonia businesses were picked up at the Vallonia Depot by horse and buggy and brought to the hotel. The depot was approximately one half mile northwest of the hotel. The cost of staying for a night is not documented but a local resident recalls that it was twenty-five cents.
Joe Jackson owned and operated the hotel until 1922 when he rented the building, except for the barber shop, to W. E. and Alice Hunt for twenty five dollars a month. In 1923, the hotel building, excluding the barbershop, was rented to J. H. Philips and in 1924 to Julius H. Beaver.
The barbershop opened in 1914 and gave continuous service until 1979 when it closed and was never reopened. The restaurant was closed from 1941-1947, replaced by a pool hall and then reopened. There were three major fires in the Vallonia-business district, in 1917, 1935 and the last one in 1945. None of these fires damaged the hotel but the number of businesses decreased with each of the fires and the need for lodging of salesmen decreased as well.
Joseph Jackson and wife sold the hotel to Charles and Edna Gray for a total value of three thousand eight hundred dollars on August 12, 1954. The new owners continued the restaurant and rented apartments. The room configuration remained unchanged but the second story was divided into two apartments and the first level had an apartment in the rooms behind the barbershop. At this time there were no indoor bathrooms and the steam heat was replaced with fuel oil stoves. Rent for the apartments was $10 to $15 a month.
On July 25, 1983, Edna Gray sold the hotel building to Charles Applegate. He sold fresh fruit, other food items and used clothing until 1989 when he rented the building for one hundred dollars a month to Carole and James Wheeler. They ran a bait shop and small grocery until 1993.
The old hotel stands vacant now. The building was purchased in 1998 by the Fort Vallonia Association, which intended to look for funds to restore it. The hotel is the only remaining two-story commercial building left in Vallonia. Most of the old historic buildings were destroyed by fire or demolished. The hotel holds many memories for members of the community. Many school children spent the night when the weather kept them from getting home after school. Newlyweds often rented an apartment in the hotel as their first home and some raised their families there. For others in the community it was a gathering place for after-school treats or a place to have a meal, get a haircut or play pool.
Vallonia is a far different place now than it was in the busy days of 1914. The 2000 census gave a population of 592 living in Vallonia. Instead of twenty-seven businesses, there is a tavern, post office, a seasonal breakfast/ice cream shop, funeral home (operated by the fourth generation of the Johnson family) and a small grocery/carry out restaurant. The area remains agricultural and those who do not farm for a living work primarily in Brownstown, Seymour and Columbus. The Fort Vallonia Museum, the rebuilt Fort and the annual Fort Vallonia Days festival celebrating Vallonia history are the major attractions in the community today.
Building Description
The Joe Jackson Hotel is a two-story brick and limestone building of the Twentieth Century Functional style. It is located on the southeast corner of South Main and Water Streets and fronts on South Main Street. There is an empty lot behind the hotel that was the site of a livery stable when the building was constructed.
The hotel retains its original storefront configuration: a double-door entrance at the north end, a single door with sidelights near the center of the building which led to the upstairs rooms and a single-door entry toward the south which led into the barbershop. The storefront itself is cast iron manufactured by George Mesker Co. of Evansville, Indiana. Each cast iron post is in the form of a decorative pilaster, with high plinth with scroll base, fluted shaft, and floral corbel/capital. Piers made of rock-faced limestone anchor the north and south ends of the storefront. The storefront also retains its wooden kick plates which feature recessed panels with diagonal boards, a motif that is echoed in the doors.
Large multi-light transom windows, now boarded over, are located above the storefront display windows and doors. The boards covering the storefronts and transom are painted with rural scenes. The second story has three pairs of one-over-one double-hung windows evenly spaced with a continuous limestone lintel and sill across the width of the building. These are currently covered with plywood boards but remain intact underneath. The lintel is approximately twice the width of the sill. Above these windows is a large rectangular-shaped limestone plate with "J. Jackson Hotel 1914" inscribed on it. Each corner is decorated with a shell design framing the hotel's name. On this west facade, there is a corbelled brick cornice with round limestone parapet caps at the roofline. At each corner of the second floor, the stone piers below become brick piers that project several inches to meet the plane of the corbelling.
A wood and tin-roofed canopy with 6 wooden post were added across the lower level of the west side of the building circa 1930. It was removed in 2003. The holes in the brick over the storefronts are where the canopy had been mounted.
On the north elevation, the parapet wall steps down toward the rear of the building and is topped with a limestone cap. Three brick chimneys are evenly spaced along the roofline, at each step-down. On the lower level, the storefront extends back approximately six feet and has a diagonal board kick panel.
A small, high-set one-over-one window with a limestone lintel and sill is located immediately east of the storefront. Continuing east, two large round-arched windows with multi-coursed brick header voussoirs and limestone sills are found. These had paired double-hungs with vertical pane arched transoms above, again, now boarded shut. Another one-over-one window, similar in size, shape and detail to those found on the second story, is located at the far east end of this elevation.
The upper story of this facade features six one-over-one double hung windows, each with a smooth limestone lintel and sill. Window placement is irregular, with the window or windows placed symmetrically between the chimneys or ends of the wall.
The east side of the building, the rear of the building, on the lower level of the east end there is a single door opening with a limestone lintel. In the middle of this level is a high-set porthole window edged in brick. Moving on toward the south, there is another single-door opening with a limestone lintel and then a large one-over-one double-hung window with a limestone lintel and sill.
The upper level has two large one-over-one windows with limestone lintels and sills. Toward the south end of this upper level is a smaller single-pane window with a limestone lintel and sill. All upper openings are set close against the top of the wall.
On the south elevation, the parapet wall steps down toward the rear of the building and is topped with a limestone cap. Three brick chimneys are evenly spread along the roofline. Again on this side as with the north elevation, window openings are generally placed so as not to interfere with the internal chimneys. On the lower level are five one-over-one double-hung windows similar in size, shape and detail as those on the upper level.
The upper story of this facade features a small single-pane window with a limestone lintel and sill on the southeast end followed by five large one-over-one double-hung windows with limestone lintels and sills spaced evenly apart.
The roof of the building has a slight elevation from back to front. At present it is covered with tar and is in poor condition and a section has collapsed. No information could be found that referred to the original roofing material.
The upper story of this facade features a small single-pane window with a limestone lintel and sill on the southeast end followed by five large one-over-one double-hung windows with limestone lintels and sills spaced evenly apart.
The roof of the building has a slight elevation from back to front. At present it is covered with tar and is in poor condition and a section has collapsed. No information could be found that referred to the original roofing material.
The first floor had an office, dining room, servant's room, bedroom, boarder's dining room and barbershop on the south side. A large dining room, with a desk for checking in guests, was at the northwest corner, lit by the large arched windows; on the east end was the kitchen. The barbershop was located on the southwest corner of the building with a single door to the outside and another single door leading to the hallway. The hallway with the stairway could be entered from the front single door next to the barbershop. The double door on the front entered the dining area. The floors on this level are concrete. The walls are plaster with wood trim on the windows and doors. There are three patterns of stamped metal ceilings in each of the first-story rooms but the ceilings are damaged due to the leaking roof. The barbershop, hallway and some walls in the restaurant/dining area still have the original wainscoting, woodwork and doors. There are transoms above the interior doors on the lower level.
The second story was arranged with a large parlor across the front of the building and five bedrooms on the north and south sides with a hallway between the two sides. There were two toilet rooms and one bathroom across the back or east end of the second story. The floors and trim of the doors and windows were made of wood and the walls and ceilings were plaster over wood lath. A single light fixture was in the center of the ceiling in each room. There were no wall electrical outlets. Many of the doors and the trim are still present. The plaster is present in several of the rooms in the front of the building but the rest has been damaged.
At the time of construction, a boiler system was installed for steam heat. Later, circa 1940, the radiators were removed and sold for scrap. Steam heat was replaced with several fuel oil stoves as evidenced by the flues on the exterior and interior walls.
There are no existing outbuildings on the property at this time. The old livery stable was torn down a number of years ago.

Looking east on Main Street (2004)

Looking east on Main Street (2004)

Looking south on Water Street (2004)

Looking west, looking toward Main St. (2004)

Looking west toward Main Street (2004)

Looking slightly northeast (2004)

Looking at ceiling in the front hallway, lower level (2004)

Looking southeast showing the original wainscoting, woodwork and plaster walls in the barbershop room. (2004)
