County of site: Posey County
Location of site: Church St. & West St., New Harmony
Built: 1859
Architectural Style: Gothic Revival
The Person:
DAVID DALE OWEN
Pioneer Geologist of the American MidwestConducted field studies in the years 1837 through 1860 that established a framework, little altered in the ensuing years, for the regional geology of the Upper Mississippi Drainage Basin. Appointed Geologist for the State of Indiana in 1837, he extended his activities to other states and territories beginning in 1839 when he was designated principal agent to explore the mineral lands of the United States in northern Illinois and in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa Territories. Studies for the States of Kentucky and Arkansas followed, and he was again State Geologist of Indiana when his life ended in 1860.
Numerous eminent geologists were associated with new Harmony. William MaClure and Gerard Troost preceded Owen there, and, of many others who worked with him or learned under his tutelage, Richard Owen and Edward T. Cox remained to contribute notably to the geological knowledge of the area.
"David Dale Owen (24 June 1807 – 13 November 1860) was a prominent American geologist who conducted the first geological surveys of Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Owen served as the first state geologist for three states: Kentucky (1854–57), Arkansas (1857–59), and Indiana (1837–39 and 1859–60). His first geological work was as an assistant mapping the geology of Tennessee in 1836. In addition, Owen was appointed as a U.S. geologist in 1839 and led federal surveys of Iowa, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois (1839–40) and in the Upper Midwest (1847-1851). Owen's greatest legacy lies in the eleven volumes of published reports from his state and federal geological surveys, which increased the general knowledge and understanding of American geology, the structural geology and paleontology of the United States, and the mineral wealth of the Midwestern states. Owen's most significant contribution to the field of geology was identifying and naming major geological formations of the Mississippi River Valley and placing them in relative position on a geological timeline. He also helped to standardize the nomenclature of geological structures in the Midwest.
"David Dale was the third surviving son of Robert Owen, a Welsh-born socialist reformer who established a social experiment at New Harmony, Indiana. The experiment failed within few years, but David Dale and his three brothers, Robert Dale Owen, William, and Richard Dale Owen, as well as their sister, Jane Dale Owen Fauntleroy, established a permanent home at New Harmony. Owen amassed an extensive personal collection of natural history specimens at New Harmony, as well as a geological laboratory and museum that served as the headquarters of the U.S. Geological Survey until 1856. In addition to his geological survey work, Owen had a minor role in the preliminary design of the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., and recommended the distinctive, dark-red Seneca Creek sandstone that was used in its construction." ~ Wikipedia
The Place:
"The David Dale Owen laboratory is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture. Built in 1859, it features a slate roof, a returned boxed cornice, and an octagonal cupola with decorative brackets and a conical roof. It was built by David Dale Owen as a scientific lab, but was never used, as he died in 1860." ~ Visit New Harmony
"David Dale Owen Laboratory, 428 Church Street, contributing
(part of existing NHL designation)
1859 Gothic Revival two-story brick laboratory with a hipped slate roof. The facade has a center entry with decorative hood next to a tall oriel. First floor windows are 8-light casements with hoods. The second floor windows are small and round-arched with round-arched hoods. There is a quatrefoil window
in the gable end. There is a porch on the east elevation with a hipped roof and cast iron supports. A flat roof addition to the west has an oriel window and cast iron balustrade. Another round addition has a steeply pitched conical roof and weathervane." ~ NRHP Nomination Form