House of the Singing Winds, T. C. Steele State Memorial Site, Brown County, Indiana http://www.tcsteele.org/plan-your-visit/

According to T. C. Steele’s second wife, Selma, in 1905 or 1906, Steele had taken some time to make excursions into the little-known region of Brown County, Indiana. While he was searching for suitable sties for painting, he was unexpectedly attracted to the beauty of the hill country. Because of the hidden valley farms and meadows he found, Steele decided to settle there. In April 1907, he bought land on top of a hill in the rural region and started building a studio-home, which is later referred as “The House of the Singing Winds” by his wife Selma. The expansion of the house and studio gave Steele and his wife great satisfaction.

Both Theodore Clement and Selma actively participated in the construction of the house from the get-go. Steele oversaw the construction of the framework for the house, arranged delivery of building materials and directed on-site construction. Selma on the other hand was mostly doing interior design and offered suggestions for modifying the floor plan. Selma eventually made two major modifications to the floor plan. First, she added a cellar right underneath the house. At that time, most cellars in the hills were outdoor pits, dug into the side of hill and usually far away from the house. Selma’s special design turned out to be the first in the region and received much local interest. Selma also added a fireplace to the house. The fireplace directly faced the beautiful view of the country side and offered Steele and Selma many intimate moments.
After the construction was finished, the house later went through a series of expansions and slowly grew to its size today. The Steele’s called the house “The House of the Singing Winds” for the strong wind swiping though the valley from time to time. As the wind passed by, the porch of the house vibrated as if it was a song of nature. Selma once noted: “And it came about that this bit of wilderness emerged from out its obscurity, and became a place of recognition over great distances of country.”

Video about House of the Singing Winds

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