Vigo County Indiana has 50 places on the National Register of Historic Places including 2 places of National significance and 7 places of Statewide significance. Significant places include Debs, Eugene V., House, Terre Haute Masonic Temple, Condit House, Dresser, Paul, Birthplace and Farington's Grove Historic District.
Several famous people are associated with these Vigo County historic places including Eugene V. Debs, Paul Dresser, Col. Robert N. Hudson and Major George W. Dewees.
Some of the country's most noteable architects helped create the Vigo County places including Frank Senour, Jabez Hedden, Dietrich A. Bohlen, Reese P. English, Edwin J. Peck, John Eberson, Charles Padgett, James F. Alexander, Jupiter G. Vrydagh and W.M. & Son Co. Allen. Prominent architectural styles found in Vigo Country are Italianate, Classical Revival and Queen Anne.
Historic Significance:
Person
Historic Person:
Debs,Eugene V.
Significant Year:
1922, 1890
Area of Significance:
Commerce, Industry
Period of Significance:
1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic Function:
Domestic
Historic Sub-function:
Single Dwelling
Current Function:
Landscape, Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function:
Forest, Museum
The Eugene V. Debs House, located at 451 North Eighth Street in Terre Haute, Indiana, is a historically significant two-and-a-half-story wood-frame Victorian home built in 1890. Designed in the Eastlake style, this elegant residence served as the primary home of Eugene V. Debs, the influential American labor leader, social reformer, and five-time Socialist Party candidate for President of the United States, from its construction until his death in 1926. The house, which Debs shared with his wife Katherine, stands as a tangible link to his personal life and contrasts his comfortable, middle-class domestic environment with the radical, working-class labor movements he championed nationwide.
The historical significance of the property lies in its direct association with Debs during the zenith of his career as a towering figure in American political and industrial history. It was from this home that Debs helped organize the American Railway Union, directed the momentous Pullman Strike of 1894, co-founded the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and launched his historic presidential campaigns, which garnered nearly a million votes in 1920 while he was imprisoned for opposing World War I. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Eugene V. Debs House is preserved today as a museum, honoring his legacy of labor advocacy, social justice, and political dissent in America.