Landmarks  of  Shelby  County  Indiana

 The  Blair  House


          From 1871 to 1872 an extraordinary house was built.  This house is now on 819 South Harrison Street [Shelbyville, IN].  It is called the Blair House.
          When it was built the house was outside of city limits. Surrounding it was just farmland. However it had and still does have a perfect view right down the main street of Shelbyville.
          The Blair House is a very sturdy structure.  It has been around for about 128 years!  Here are some facts about the house. The inside walls are 4 bricks thick!  If you think that is amazing you may be surprised to learn that the outside walls are 5 bricks thick!  The Blair House was built out of brick, stone, tile, copper, and hardwood. You can tell it was built before electricity because of the transoms.  Transoms are little panels above the doors that you can open or close.  Before they had air conditioning and heat if they wanted a room to be warmer they would close the transom because hot air rises; if they wanted the room cool they would open them.
          The ceiling is beautiful and is made out of plaster.  It must have taken a lot of talent to design it!  There are also chandeliers that are made completely out of plaster.
          The spiraling staircase in the house is only supported by the side wall.  It doesn't even creak!  The number of stairs between each floor are the same wich is unusual.  There are 40 stairs in all.
          There are 3 floors in the Blair House.  The 1st floor or the main floor contains a dining room, a summer kitchen, a library and two parlors.  As you go up the steps to the 2nd floor you will find a nursery, a dressing rooms, and 3 bedrooms.  As you go still further up you will discover an attic and a bedrrom on the 3rd floor. All together there are 11 large rooms, 6 small rooms and large closets, and 2 large hallways.
          There used to be seven fireplaces in the house.  One of the remaining fireplaces is made of Italian marble.
          The Blair House is a second empire sytle house. It could be well considered a mansion.  It has very elaborate windows, dormer treatments, decorative brackets, and the original patterned slate.  When it was built the estimated price was $12,000 to $20,000.
          To learn more about the house you need to know a little about the people who lived in it.
          Alonzo Blair Sr, built the house in 1871-1872.  He was wealthy and respected.  Mr. Blair was a lawyer and important in the Democratic party.  As I said he was wealthy and made approximately $1100 a year. [Inflation calculator]  Mr. Blair had 4 children. Their names were  Alonzo  Blair, Jr.,  Charles  Blair,  Flora  Blair,  and  Mary  Bergan.  Alonzo Blair Jr. later became a judge.
          On July 8, 1879 Alonzo Blair Sr. died at age 47. July 10, 1879 there was a grand funeral for Mr. Blair.  Rev. Sluter preached in front of the 6,000 to 7,000 people that attended.  The courthouse bell rang the first time it ever rang for that reason.  The funeral procession consisted of two bands, marching masons, county officials, the hearse, pallbearers, carriages for the family, friends on foot, and a double line of carriages. That is a lot of people!  15 barrels of ice water were drunk at the graveyard alone!
          After Mr. Blair's death the house was sold to  Isom  Wray  for $8,000.  Mr. Wray like Mr. Blair was rather wealthy.  He and his wife  Miamia  had 3 sons and one daughter.  One of his sons,  Albert  Wray  lived there until his death.  In 1936 Isom Wray died at age 75.
          The house was sold to Charles Ewing in 1938.  It was then that a few rooms were added, the portico was added, and the columns which are hallow were added.  Mr. Ewing then turned it into a funeral home.  The house is now known as Carmony Ewing Mortuary Funeral Home.

Sources I have used for my report:
Boetcker, Wm. J.H., Picturesque Shelbyville, Unigraph Inc., 1978, p 6.
McFadden, Marion, Biography of a Town, Tippecanoe Press Inc. 1963 p 212 and p 245.
Nail-Ray Association, Nail-Ray Family Stories, Nail-Ray Association 1993 p 268, p 270, and p 272.
Shelbyville County Interim Report Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana 1992 p xxvii and p xxviii.
Tompson, Mark A. and the Shelby County Historical Society Shelby County Indiana Turner Publishing Company 1992 p 243.


Oral presentation:
Mrs. Wray


          Hello, my name is  Miamia  Wray.  My husband is Isom Wray.  We have 4 children.  We just purchased a house from the Blairs for $8,000.  Mr. Blair passed away recently.
          For many years it was called the Blair House.  The house seems sturdy with walls that are 4 to 5 bricks thick.  However, I'm not so certain how sturdy the staircase is.  It is only supported by the side walls and I don't know if it will hold with our children running up and down it.  The house has enough room for us.  It has 4 bedrooms in it.
          The Italian marble fireplacein the parlor is gorgeous.  I love how the staircase spirals.  I am so glad this house has transoms.  The kitchen gets so hot in the summer, and opening the transoms above the doors will help.
          The outside of the house is just as beautiful as the inside.  The patterned slate root is lovely.  It is magnificent to sit on the porch and look right down the main street of Shelbyville.

This report was made for Mrs. Vaught's 4th Grade "Strive" program at Coulston Elementary School, Shelbyville, IN, Spring 2000.

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