Does anyone know how this Horatio Chapin fits into the Chapin Tree?
The Chapin Park National Register Historic District was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places in 1982. The neighborhood is notable as one of the highest concentrations
of architecturally significant structures in the city.
The district was named for Horatio Chapin, who purchased this tract of land just north of
the city limits in 1855. Upon acquiring the property he built a Gothic Revival structure
(407 Navarre) on what became his country estate. Chapin surrounded the house with an
extensive orchard and named the area Chapin Park.
Chapin was a banker, theologian, horticulturist, scientist, businessman and founder of the
local First Presbyterian Church. The estate remained intact until his death in 1871; it
was then divided by his children, Mary and Edward. Mary (Anderson) had a house constructed
at what is now 710 Park Avenue. It was built facing Lamonte Creek and was later turned to
face Park Avenue when the creek was put underground.
In 1890 Edward Chapin platted the western portion of the estate as Park Avenue; Mary
platted the area due east shortly thereafter. In 1891 Christopher Fassnacht, owner of the
South Bend Lumber Company, bought the Chapin House and moved it one block south and east.
He developed the southern portion of the property as a neighborhood intended to appeal to
the wealthier citizens of South Bend. The demands of a growing city made the area a
successful development venture; by 1910 the neighborhood stood essentially as it appears
today.
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You can read more at
www.chapinpark.org
Kathy