OUR STORY
The name “Rising Hall” describes our home’s two staircases that lead to a landing, from which three staircases lead to four upstairs bedroom suites.
This brick, Italianate foursquare home was built by Melville McHaffie, whose grandfather was with General Washington at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered in 1781. 80 years later, the McHaffie family had moved to Indiana and accumulated over 800 acres in Putnam and Hendricks Counties.
As a young man, Melville had a hand in clearing the heavily forested land along the new National Road, now US 40. Later, during the Civil War, the McHaffies were nationally known for breeding mules, being recognized by President Lincoln for having provided the greatest number of livestock to the Union Army.
Soon, he set about building this home on 160 acres along the National Road. It took eight years and over $12,000 to build, $300,000 in today’s money. The workers building the home stayed in temporary housing on the land, making the bricks on site and cutting all the timber - mostly cherry and poplar - from the forested property.
The original home featured ten rooms, all 16’ square, surrounding the massive main cherry staircase.
McHaffie’s family remained on the property, farming and raising mules and race horses until the early 20th century, when the Arnold family purchased it to farm and raise pigs. In 1982, Walt and June Prosser purchased the structurally solid but very run-down property, beginning an arduous eight-year restoration to update and bring the home back to its original beauty.
Interesting facts
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Underground railway. Two areas in the home were specially constructed as hiding spaces for the underground railway, helping escaped and freed slaves travel north to safety.
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You’ll note that the barn was built in the same style as the home. Note the round windows for the horse stalls.
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Both the home and barn have their original New England slate roofs from the mid 19th century.
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Melville’s grandson was a fine horseman and raised horses. Near the barn there was a one-mile track on which they trained and raced. The legendary horse Dan Patch was even stabled at Rising Hall for four years.
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Featured on an episode of the popular home renovation show This Old House, host and home repair personality Bob Villa called Rising Hall “...one of the best private restorations in America.”
We hope you appreciate the beauty and historic significance of our wonderful home as much as we have for over four decades.
