Just the Facts
Buck Moon Farm1835 Carpenter Gothic-style Farmhouse on 207 acres in the Bristol Indiana Fruithills.
Beardsley Family
Andrew (Hub) Beardsley, considered the inventor of Alka-Seltzer, took afternoon naps on the small single bed about 1920 and here developed the idea for the product. He left the property to his son, Walter Beardsley, President of Miles Laboratories, Inc. When he died in 1980, part of the property passed out of the family, until Walter's son, Robert Beardsley purchased it back in 1995 and extensively renovated the house. Robert had bought some of the farm property in July, 1958 and with the 1995 purchase, it totaled 207 acres..
Early Owners
The home was originally built by the Pease family in 1835 and were long-time fruit growers. In 1938, it was sold to Henrique Sandovals, whose wife sold it to Robert Beardsley in 1958. Robert named the property Buck Moon Farm, because it was the Iroquois word for July, the month in which Robert bought the farm land.
Buck Moon Farm, Bristol Fruithills
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Robert Beardsley reluctantly decided to sell Buck Moon Farm in 2003, when he moved to France and semi-retired from the Beardsley Foundation Board that among other things, managed the Ruthmere House Museum in Elkhart. But before he did, he agreed to let Ruthmere sponsor an open house of the then 168-year old architechturally signficiant home. It would be the first and only public tour of the property.
Gayle Martin of WNIT, was one of the volunteer hostesses who greeted the guests on the tour that was held on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 & 26, 2003.
The home, was extensively remodeled by Beardsley in 1995 and featured family works of art, an old-fashioned kitchen with everything new, lovely blue and white Portuguese tiles, bedroom wallpaper by William Morris and a music room.
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