It all began with love….and the Perry Family.
Every great story starts with a fantastic beginning!
Ours just so happens to go all the way back to the very beginning of America…
The Brick House began her life as a beloved family home in 1856. However, prior to the first brick being laid it was a mere dream in the hearts and minds of Edwin and Lydia Perry…
If you’re here…it’s because you want more of the whole story!
But, let’s be honest, who doesn’t usually want more of the real details?
That’s why this section was created!
Just for folks like you and me who enjoy the tiny, minute details of history!
Houses stand as the silent sentries of our lives, standing watch, absorbing our experiences, sheltering us in all seasons. Homes truly can become part of the family. Such is the case of The Brick House and her builders, Edwin and Lydia Perry.
Thus began the process of learning about the Perry Family….
For a short period, the newly formed couple farmed Edwin’s original farm in White County before moving back to Carroll County. They were the proud parents of 7 sons and 5 daughters.
Augustus and Hannah took over ownership of the Brick House and continued to run the Carroll County and White County farms mutually with Frank until Augustus’ death on
April 10, 1909.
After Augustus ‘ death, the last living Perry daughter, Malinda, moved into the Brick House with her husband George.
Hannah, Augustus’ wife, retained ownership of the home, however the farm was still bustling and as a result the family pulled together to maintain it.
Hannah died on September 13, 1922, leaving a mix of the Perry descendants to manage the remaining farm operations under Melinda and George’s watchful gaze.
Melinda was now the only remaining Perry from the original family.
By 1930, Malinda was in her eighties and widowed as George passed away in 1928.
The Perry family descendants were still running the farm, but as the Great Depression neared, operations slowed substantially.
It was no longer the premiere jewel, set atop the Wabash Valley, perfectly situated for the new and improved modes of travel and trade as it had been in 1856.
It was now just an old Indiana farmhouse that someone’s great-grandfather built long ago…
George and Malinda’s daughter, Mary Cree, began to take care of Malinda as the seasons of life change again in the Perry family.
Malinda, the final eyewitness of Edwin and Lydia’s lives, passed away on May 18, 1931.
Her daughter, Mary, passed away 5 years later on June 27, 1935.
After Mary’s death, Frank’s granddaughter, Willow Stewart took possession of the Brick House.
She and her husband, Everett, were not blessed with children of their own,
however, they claimed their niece, Mary Alice, as their daughter and raised her in their mutual family home. In fact, I still have Mary Alice’s doodles on one of the walls, proving that through the Ages children remain the same.
The Brick House remained in the Perry Family until Willow sold it on June 23, 1989.
Willow and her husband, Everett, the last of the Perry family descendants to live at the Brick House and farm Edwin’s land.
Everett passed away on March 20, 1979.
Subsequentially, Willow rented the home out to the Keeler Family for the majority of the 1980’s.
As the years passed the Brick Home changed hands from the Perry descendants to the Fassnacht family in 1989, followed by the Riffey family in 1996.
Thankfully, the Riffey family saved the Brick House by conducting a full-scale update and renovation of the home.
On October 25, 1996, Jeffery and Abby Rider bought the Brick House as their first farm before they moved on to more acreage in White County.
On October 19, 2020, Nathan and Misty Frost joined the legacy of the owners of the Brick House and bought a piece of true American history.
The Brick House…
Lives. Love. Legacy.
redbrickranch.net 