Chauncy Rose Part 1: Middle Class to Millionaire?

When I write and research my various blogs, there is one name that continuously comes up: Chauncey Rose. Rose left a very large footprint on Vigo County and Terre Hatue. Various schools, foundations, and even a college are named after this great man. But what made him so beloved in Terre Haute? I have decided it is high time I find out.

In 1794, Chauncey Rose was born into a low-middle class family in Connecticut. His formal education was extremely limited; it is believed to have only lasted five years.

Although little is known about his teenage years, it is known that he settled in the Wabash Valley at the age of 23. He took up residence in Dotyville - currently renamed Rosedale. For the next seven years, he operated his own logging and milling business.

Rose was a man of long-term-vision. In 1817, he arrived in Wabash Valley and knew the growing town of Terre Haute was something special. By locating his logging and mill business nearby, he became the leading supplier for all construction materials in Terre Haute. By 1824, his business scheme had paid off. Terre Haute was fast becoming a highly populated urban city, and he had made a small fortune.

Chauncey Rose did not stop after he had made his fortune. He believed Terre Haute’s future lied to the east. With his newly made capital, he bought much of the land that is between present day Seventh Street and Rose-Hulman campus. At this time, the land was virtually worthless, and critics believed he had wasted his fortune on low value land.

Using his newly acquired land, Rose created the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad in 1847. The new railroad was paid for by a few investors and him. This method was highly irregular for building a railroad. At the time, tax money would pay for a new railroad. Chauncey Rose did not agree with this practice; he felt all the success or failure should rest on his shoulders. If the railroad succeeded, he would be a multimillionaire. If it failed, he would be financially ruined.

Learn Chauncey Rose’s fate in my next blog.

Mogger and Bleemel Brewing

Mogger’s Restaurant, located on North Poplar Street, unites two Terre Haute brewing families: Mogger and Bleemel. The restaurant is named for the Mogger family, and its location is in the Bleemel Building.

Marthias Mogger, namesake of the restaurant, was a German immigrant. In 1848, Mogger bought the Terre Haute Brewery, and renamed it M. Mogger Brewing. He located his company at 906 North Poplar Street. In 1868 he purchased land on the south side of the street, built a new brewery and moved his entire operation to the new location.

The same year, Ernest Bleemel - namesake of the Bleemel Building - bought the old brewery at 906 North Poplar Street. He began a competitive brewery operation across the street from Marthias Mogger.

After Mogger died in 1875, Anton Mayer – his brother-in-law– expanded the M. Mogger Brewery. Bleemel could no longer financially compete, so he stopped brewery operations. He changed his business tactic from competition to supplier. He made a lucrative profit by selling grain to M. Mogger’s Brewery.

When Anton Mayer retired in 1889, he sold M. Mogger Brewery to the Terre Haute Brewing Company. Dependant on a positive relationship with a brewery, the Bleemel family decided to lease their building to the Terre Haute Brewing Company. This gave the new brewery room to expand on either side of Poplar Street.

Terre Haute Brewing Company made the most of their large location. By 1893, it was the 7^th largest brewery in the nation. Sadly, the golden age of brewing was short-lived. By 1958, the Terre Haute Brewing Company was closed for good.

The Oakley Foundation

When the words “Oakley” and “Terre Haute” are paired in a Google search, one result shows up- dollar signs. Known for awarding large grants, Oakley search results are filled with extraordinary amounts of money being given to organizations.

The Hollie and Anna Oakley Foundation, created in 1954, is a philanthropic organization based in Terre Haute. A seven member Board of Trustees manage the foundation’s funds, properties, grant making, and business affairs. Since four of the seven trustees have the last name of Perry, I believe some of the trusties are Oakley family descendants.

The only Oakley name I could link to Terre Haute was Fredrick D. Oakley. A wealthy man, he was vice-president of the lower Vein Coal Company and secretary for the National Drain Tile Company. Born in 1870, it is very possible that Hallie and Anna were his daughters or granddaughters. The extensive wealth of the Oakley Family could have been used to create the trust fund in 1954. (These are only my musings and cannot be factually confirmed.)

The Oakley Foundation is known for giving large grants to non-for-profit organizations. In 2000, the Oakley Foundation provided a $500,000 observatory for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. They donated a substantial sum to the Deming Park’s Oakley Playground which was honored with an IPRA Park Development award in 2004. In 2006, Rose-Hulman was granted $141,634 to operate a telescope based in Australia.

While researching this organization, I stumbled across a fascinating piece of information. The Oakley foundation paid for “Hometown with Tom Roznowski.” The 26 hour audio series allowed Roznowski to recreate Terre Haute during the summer of 1926. Recorded in 2002, the audio story served as prelude his book, An American Hometown: Terre Haute, Indiana, 1927.

However they formed, and whichever family they belong to, the Oakley Foundation has been aiding Terre Haute for over fifty years. Through their continued support and generosity, Terre Haute can flourish.