A view of the cabin remnants from the 5th Street side. (Taken April 13)
A view from the Eggebrecht Road side. (April 13)
Story and cabin photos by Beth Boardman, WNLP
(Click on photos to enlarge)
There’s history on every corner. On a particularly unusual triangle of LaPorte land, a treasure of intriguing history has been revealed.
A rather nondescript, mint-green house has occupied the strange little Isosceles bounded by Eggebrecht Road, Andrew Avenue and 5th Street for some years. Now the owner is having it torn down, knowing something was hidden within.
Between the exterior siding and the interior drywall stood three chinked walls of a log cabin, circa 1830s. The cabin remnants were being carefully dismantled Monday, April 13, 2015. A worker said plans are to reconstruct the remnants on private property in northern LaPorte County.
The owner could not be reached for comment Monday.
LaPorte County Historian Fern Eddy Schultz shed more light on the history of the little site:
“As I recall, the cabin was said to have been like an inn for travelers on the Lincoln Highway,” Fern told WNLP. “I have attached a copy of a photo from my files of the Triangle Garage, which was just east of this structure and was officially designated as the Lincoln Highway Garage. Some of the posts you see in the photo are still standing. I don’t know of any photo of the cabin being available. The structure was redone and was later an apartment house.”
Here is the image provided by LaPorte County Historian Fern Eddy Schultz showing what was then called the Triangle Garage, operated by the Eggebrecht family. Note the vintage cars at left. “TO CHICAGO” referred to the original Lincoln Highway route.
The website indianalincolnhighway.org gives the original Lincoln Highway’s turn-by-turn route through LaPorte as it was in 1913:
— Right (southwest) on SR 2/Lincolnway
— Continue on Lincolnway/SR 2 as it goes through LaPorte
— Follow angle left (south) with SR 2 (also becomes J Street)
— Turn right on 4th Street (3 blocks past the angle turn)
— At L Street turn left and then an immediate right onto Eggebrecht Road
— Turn right on 5th to Colfax
— Left on Colfax to SR 2 (NOTE: Eggebrecht on the left)
— Right (west) on SR 2/Lincolnway
So it made perfect sense that this little spot was a prime stop for gas, lodging, and a bite to eat. A true “comfort station,” as the historic photo indicates. There are some rumors that at one point it might have also served as a house of ill repute, but there is no historical documentation of that, Fern said.
WNLP thanks Fern and Sally Glynn, who brought to our attention the unveiling and deconstruction of the cabin. Sally lives just five blocks from the site and is fascinated by such history. She said about 10 years ago a man stopped at her mom’s house on Andrew and told her that he used to play in the area because his mother worked at the triangle restaurant.
We appropriately revere the courthouse, the Civic, the depot, the stately homes on the avenues. But sometimes intriguing snippets of LaPorte history are found in the most unlikely of locations — like that quirky little triangle at Andrew, Eggebrecht and 5th.
Three of the original pillars that once sported glass filling-station globes are still in place. (Looking toward L Street)
Detail of one of the surviving cabin corners before it was dismantled.