History

Originally built in 1939 by Russell White, then President of Indiana National Bank, the original 10,000-square-foot house included many classic features, such as a red-oak stairway and white-ash wood paneling in a sitting room. Subsequent owners painted over the red oak and white ash and carpeted the original hardwood floors in the living room in an effort to change with the times. However, when Scott purchased the estate in 1994, his initial instinct was to restore the rooms to their original beauty.

That took some doing. Refinishers told him it was impossible to get rid of all the paint because both red oak and white ash have such rough grains. A friend and expert craftsman from Boston came to his rescue. Over a period of approximately six months, he stripped the paint from the surfaces and then painstakingly "toothbrushed" the paint out of the grain of the wood.

The extensive renovation phase, which began in 1995, transformed most of the existing house into areas befitting an English country manor.

Both the renovation of the existing house and the construction of the nearly 17,000 square foot addition (begun in 1997) involved many Indiana companies, artisans and craftsmen, as well as some from other parts of the country and abroad. The resulting house, situated on roughly 53 acres of land, has 27,135 square feet (including multi-purpose garages and basements) and is the culmination of the efforts of architects, interior designers, builders, craftsmen, and others.

Before anyone else became involved, Scott roughed out the innovative layout, which included a "tree house" in the playroom and, in one corner of the three-story great room, a round tower that comprises a reading room on top and a wine cellar at the bottom