Nicholson–Rand House

The Nicholson–Rand House is considered to be the finest example of American Gothic Revival architecture in Marion County and for this reason was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. It is named after two of its owners, Scottish immigrant and stonemason David Nicholson, who built it in the 1870s, and John Lindsay Rand, who lived here with his wife in the early 1900s. The house features typical elements of the American Gothic Revival style including an asymmetrical design, projecting eaves, and elaborate decorative woodwork. It is a private home but can be viewed from the road.

David Nicholson was born in 1823 and arrived in the U.S. in 1852 and settled in Indianapolis. He met another Scottish stonemason and they established a stone yard that was located near the present-day Greenlawn Cemetery. Nicholson was married but his wife died in 1870. He quickly remarried, however, and the marriage may have prompted him to build the house, which was completed in 1876. During this time he was also in charge of building the Marion County Courthouse.

Nicholson and his new wife divorced within three years and he sold the house to Marion County Commissioner Allison Remy in 1879. It appears Remy did not live in the house and rented it instead. Others may have owned the house in the 1890s but it may have been unoccupied. John Lindsay Rand and his wife bought it in 1903 and remained until 1926. Their daughter, Florence, inherited the house. However, she and her husband Wymond Beckett, already lived on a nearby farm so she rented the house to the manager of her farm.

The Beckett family donated the house and surrounding farm to DePauw University in the 1950s. By then it had fallen into disrepair and was vandalized. The university apparently did not use it and eventually sold it to a developer in the 1990s. In 1997, to save the house from demolition, the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana acquired it and had it moved a half mile to its present location.

Greiff, Glory-June. "Nicholson-Rand House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 22, 2003. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/03000542.

Hinton, Rick. "Haunts and Jaunts: The Nicholson-Rand House." The Southside Times. September 16, 2021.

Ksander, Yael. "American Gothic...the Nicholson-Rand House." Indiana Public Media. October 25, 2010. https://indianapublicmedia.org/momentofindianahistory/american-gothicthe-nicholsonrand-house.