by An author we don’t know but who has a house we can tour? Count us in!
Gene Stratton-Porter (1863 –1924) was a writer, nature photographer, and naturalist from Indiana. She wrote several best-selling novels, which were read by an estimated 50 million people at their peak in the 1910s. In addition, she wrote for magazines such as Good Housekeeping, and later founded her own production company so she could retain control as her books were made into movies.
She was born and raised in small towns in the northern part of Indiana. Her given name was Geneva, but she shortened it to Gene while courting her husband, Charles Dorwin Porter. When she married, she kept her maiden name of Stratton and tacked his name on to the end.
Charles Porter became a wealthy businessman, with interest in drugstores, farms, a hotel, a restaurant, a bank, and quite a few oil wells. The couple had one child, Jeannette.
Gene grew restless as a homemaker and mother, so she pursued her interest in nature and birdlife. She learned photography and began writing, and over time attained astounding success. She published 26 books over her career, including 12 novels, eight nature studies, two books of poetry, and four collections of stories and children’s books
In 1895 the family built Limberlost Cabin in Geneva, Indiana, though it is much more significant than the “cabin” name implies — it has 13 rooms! The family lived at what is now the Limberlost State Historical Site until 1913, when they built their Cabin at Wildflower Woods (what is now the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site) on Sylvan Lake near Rome City, Indiana. Charles remained in Geneva for work, commuting to the new home on weekends.
A primary reason for leaving Geneva is that the that nearby 13,000-acre Limberlost Swamp had been drained to reclaim land for agricultural development, destroying the natural habitat that Gene loved to explore and write about. Two of her most popular novels are set in the swamp, Freckles (1904) and A Girl of the Limberlost (1909). She lobbied for the wetlands to be saved to no avail.
Gene ended her days in California, where she had relocated in 1919 to work on movie productions of her novels. She was just 61 when she died in a traffic accident.
Because Limberlost Cabin was acquired by the state from the family, it is full of original furnishings and artifacts.
It was a delightful tour (just the first floor), and we got to see a number of Gene’s paintings and drawings. Additionally, the nearby swamps are being restored, and we were able to spend an hour rambling about (unsuccessfully) looking for birds.
