Haigis - Thompson - Helfter House
659 North 7^th St.

   This American Four-square was built in 1912 for Ernest Emil Gotthilf Haigis (1863-1946) and his wife Anna Elizabeth (1869-1924). Mr. Haigis was the clerk for the cigar stand at the Lahr Hotel, which, at that time, was owned and operated by his brother-in-law Christian Stocker. There were three children in the Haigis family: Frederick (1896-1979), Kurt (1898-1979) and Frieda. Kurt Haigis was a junior on the Jefferson High School Varsity basketball team in 1917, the year the team won the State Championship. Ernest and Elizabeth are buried in Spring Vale Cemetery.
   In 1926, Velma Lucile Hoover ( -1961) purchased the home from Emil Haigis. Two years later, she married Paul K. Thompson (1905-1979), an employee of Ebershoff Typewriter Co., and they became the joint owners until 1980. After Paul's death, the home is inherited by Paul's younger brother Dale C. Thompson and his wife Ruth. Dale is fondly remembered by his neighbors, as he would dress up like Santa Claus at Christmas for the children that lived nearby. In 1992, Thomas G. Eppel and Elizabeth A. Mediavilla purchase the home and lived there for three years. In 1995, Todd M and Anne M. Helfter purchased the home and began a restoration of the home.

   Todd and Anne Helfter, have stripped all the paint from the exterior and repainted. They have removed the pink paint from the interior woodwork and restored it to its original varnish color. Many of the missing elements have been replaced from similar houses nearby that were demolished. Some details worth noting include a pair of quarter-sawn oak doors that lead to the den, pocket doors between the living room and dining room, leaded glass windows in the dining room and a large second floor sun porch. Many of the large windows have the original wavy glass.
   The home received a Wabash Valley Trust Plaque in 1998, a Pride of Centennial Award in 1999 and a Tippecanoe County Historic Association Founder's Day Award also in 1999.