The Historic Lane Place resides on the remaining two and a half acres of the once-thriving arboraceous land our community once called “Elston’s Grove.” Originally, the grove served as a self-sufficient community for the Elston family, as their forty-acre pasture contained communal barn, stables, outbuildings, and trash dump. Today, visitors can wander the remnants of Elston’s Grove to catch a glimpse of the past through its remaining structures and landscapes to get a deeper understanding of the area’s history and the Elston family’s role in shaping the community.

In 1835, Major Isaac C. and Maria Elston built a Federal-style homestead in the center of the grove. The Elstons raised nine children, several of whom later married and built homes on the grove. In 1845, Joanna, the Elstons’ second daughter, married Sen. Henry S. Lane, a local lawyer and politician. Together, the Lane’s built a Greek Revival-style mansion, known as the “Lane Place,” on the Southwestern section of the property.

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During the early to mid-1800s, Elston’s Grove flourished with livestock that grazed the land, and water wells that provided water for daily necessities. While water wells proved useful in farmwork or daily chores, the Lane’s equipped their homestead with a large copper cistern that provided them drinking water. While raising livestock and maintaining access to drinking water were necessary to daily life, the Elston family, like everyone else, faced the uncertainty of death. An Elston family cemetery resided in the middle of the grove until 1883, when family remains were relocated to Oak Hill Cemetery North in Crawfordsville. As the City of Crawfordsville expanded many small family cemeteries relocated to larger ones due to overcrowding, health concerns, and removal for urban development.

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The late 1800s to the turn of the century marked a period of change for the grove. Beginning in the early 1890s, citizens protested the city council’s proposal to extend Pike Street through the grove, arguing that the extension of the street would ruin the sacred area and the city’s only green space. Although Elston’s Grove underwent major changes during the turn of the century, the Lane Place arboretum remained unscathed by urban development and continues to serve the Crawfordsville community as a green space.

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The legacy of the arboretum lies in Sen. Henry S. Lane’s appeal for nature. According to family stories, after he retired from the United States Senate in 1867, Sen. Lane complained that there weren’t enough trees in the grove, so he made treks into local forests to collect saplings, which he planted on the grounds. Today, the Montgomery County Historical Society remains dedicated to conservation and the preservation of Sen. Lane’s vision to replenish the grounds with trees native to the State of Indiana.  

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