SELMA AND THE HOUSE continued from 41
Dedicated to keeping her husband’ s artistic legacy alive, a proposed agreement with Indiana University to take control of the T. C. Steele artist sanctuary fell through. Selma contacted Charles A. DeTurk, director of state parks, lands and waters. He was instrumental in the completion of a warranty deed and instrument of gift to the Indiana Department of Conservation on July 11, 1945. Selma and Edith continued to live in a portion of the house and kept a garden.
Selma Steele died on August 28,1945. Her sister Edith lived alone on the Brown County art sanctuary for nine more years.
The property is now known as the T. C. Steele State Historic Site, located one and a half miles south of Belmont, between Bloomington and Nashville, at 4220 T. C. Steele Rd., off State Road 46. There is a Singing Winds Visitor Center offering tours of the house and studio. The gardens have been restored and are a must-see in the spring.
The book The House of the Singing Winds, originally published in 1966, and a revised edition by Indiana Historical Society Press, 2016, can be found in libraries and in Nashville at Fallen Leaf Books. •
Selma poses in the patio garden, circa 1940.
1840 STAGECOACH
92 w franklin st • nashville, in • 812.988.0336 sunday 12-4, tuesday— saturday 11-5
Historic restored home dates back to 1840 Downtown Nashville – walking distance to shops / restaurants 2 BR, 1.5 bath | covered front porch | free parking | pet-friendly come see us in antique alley, next to brown county pottery online: claypurl. com
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42 Our Brown County March / April 2023