The Paul Dresser Birthplace is located in Fairbanks Park in

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Vigo County, Indiana Vigo County ( ) is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994 . Its county seat is Terre Haute. Vigo County is included in the Terre Haute metropolita ...

, at the corner of First and Farrington Streets. Listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, it is the birthplace and boyhood home of

Paul Dresser Paul Dresser (born Johann Paul Dreiser Jr.; April 22, 1857 – January 30, 1906) was an American singer, songwriter, and comedic actor of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dresser performed in traveling minstrel and medicine-wa ...

, a late-nineteenth-century singer, actor, and songwriter, who wrote and published more than 100 popular songs. On March 14, 1913, the

Indiana General Assembly The Indiana General Assembly is the state legislature, or legislative branch, of the state of Indiana. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the Indiana House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Indiana Senate. Th ...

named Dresser's hit, " On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away", the state song of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Built in 1850, the home was owned by Dresser's parents, Johann Paul and Sarah (Schanab) Dreiser. Their son, Johann Paul Dreiser Jr., who later changed his name to Paul Dresser, was born in the house on April 22, 1858. Dresser's father built the porch for the brick house, which originally consisted of one bedroom, a lean-to kitchen, and a parlor. In 1863 Dresser's father sold the home and moved the family to Sullivan, Indiana. By 1871 they had returned to Terre Haute, but Dresser did not stay in town for long. Dresser left home at the age of sixteen and became "one of the most important composers of the 1890s". Dresser toured the country as a vaudeville entertainer, then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he was also involved in music publishing. Dresser returned to Terre Haute only for brief visits and public performances.Paul Dresser - An American Composer
Vigo County Historical Society. Accessed January 8, 2009. ''Note:'' This includes Originally, the house was located at 318 South Second Street in Terre Haute. During the 1960s, when

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

threatened its demolition, the Vigo County Historical Society raised funds purchase the building (through a process of eminent domain), saving it from destruction, and relocated it to the southeast corner of Fairbanks Park. Altered over the years, the building consists of two floors. The first floor has a bedroom, a kitchen, and a parlor. The second floor has two bedrooms that are accessible by an outside staircase. The Vigo County Historical Society operates the home as a museum, open by appointment. Artifacts pertaining to Dresser include a

Chickering Chickering may refer to: * Chickering, Suffolk, a place in Suffolk, England * Chickering & Sons, the piano company that was created by Jonas Chickering * Arthur M. Chickering, an arachnologist * Arthur W. Chickering, a researcher of student devel ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

that he used to write songs and a portrait of Dresser painted during the height of his career. Unlike other house museums, Dresser's birthplace reflects the furnishings of a working-class family, not the well-to-do. In 1967 the

designated the home as a state shrine and memorial. That same year the

National Music Council The National Music Council of the United States is an organization listed under Title 36 of the United States Code, founded in 1940 and chartered by the 84th Congress in 1956. The Council is composed of organizations of national scope interested ...

listed it as "A Landmark of American Music". The property was listed on the

in 1973. Terre Haute's Fairbanks Park also includes a local

Girl Scout Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

office and a Terre Haute parks department office. In 1923 the Banks-of-the-Wabash Association officially named Paul Dresser Drive, the park's main road, in the songwriter's honor.

Gallery

File:Paul Dresser Birthplace 1.JPG, Front and side view of home File:Paul Dresser Birthplace 2.JPG, Front view of home File:Paul Dresser Birthplace 3.JPG, River side of home File:Paul Dresser Birthplace 4.JPG, Rear of home File:Wabash River Fairbanks Park downstream.JPG, The Wabash River by Dresser's home, looking downstream File:Wabash River Fairbanks Park upstream.JPG, The Wabash River by Dresser's home, looking upstream

References

External links

Paul Dresser Memorial Birthplace
- Terre Haute Convention & Visitors Bureau {{Terre Haute, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Terre Haute, Indiana Houses in Vigo County, Indiana Historic house museums in Indiana Museums in Vigo County, Indiana Dresse, Paul Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Buildings and structures in Terre Haute, Indiana Tourist attractions in Terre Haute, Indiana Relocated buildings and structures in Indiana