The Towle House was the home of Marcus M. Towle, the founder and first mayor of the City of Hammond. This house was built in 1885 and originally designed in the Queen Anne style with an onion dome roof on the side turret and typical Queen Anne characteristics such as dark trim work on all the windows and a wraparound wooden front porch. One of Hammond’s finest homes was designed for Towle’s large family. In addition to the house, it also featured a stable and carriage house in the rear.

In 1907 the house was redesigned by L. Cosby Bernard Sr. in its current Free Classic style. The redesign included removing the onion dome and the third floor in the turret. Additionally, brick veneer was applied to the exterior, an overhang gable style dormer, brackets under the eaves and the wraparound porch was reduced to a large veranda style front porch, a sunroom was added, as well as, added a porte-cochere.

The house is a 3-story 5,526 square foot brick home featuring a turret on the second floor, seven bedrooms and seven baths. The house has a beamed ceiling and fireplace in the living room, as well as a sunroom and library on the first floor.

L. Cosby Bernard Sr., a prominent Hammond architect, also designed many other homes and public buildings in and around Hammond, including the George Wolf house, The Woodmar Country Club, The Hammond Civic Center to name a few.

Towle came to what would be called Hammond when he partnered with George Hammond to build the State Line Slaughterhouse, a packing house that drove the city’s early development in the last 19th century. While Hammond stayed in Detroit, Marcus ran the Hammond location, making him instrumental in the development of the Town of Hammond.

In 1875 Marcus Towle founded and platted the town of Hammond, which consisted of 103 lots. The number of these lots expanded and grew into the city of Hammond in just 9 years. Towle established the first newspaper, platted the first subdivision, built an opera house, and hotel. During his life he partnered with many and opened many other businesses, among them Hammond Corn Syrup Works, Lakeside Nail Mills, Hammond Distilling Company, and Hammond Buggy Company. He was determined to make Hammond a great city. Additionally, Marcus Towle owned a lumber company that supplied much of the lumber to build the new city he planned. The September 1910 addition of the Hammond Times, states “At one time, (Towle) was practically the owner of Hammond and owned more of the city than any other person.” Towle became mayor in 1884, a position he held until 1888.

The Towle house was designated a local landmark in 1984.

Bibliography
The Hammond Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Districts & Landmarks
Jane Ammeson, Northwest Indiana Times, June 2018
Joseph S. Pete, Northwest Indiana Times, November 2022
Hammond Times, Volume 5, September 1910
Andersononline.org
City of Hammond Offering Sheet for the Marcus M. Towle House