By Joy Neighbors
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| Charles Edward Ballard |
Dateline: June 28, 1874
He
was born poor, one of six sons, but his background didn’t influence his lot in
life. Far from it! Charles Edward Ballard was born on June 28, 1874. His father
James was a farmer who encountered serious financial debt when a friend reneged
on a loan Ballard had co-signed. James Ballard was left to settle the debt and
that meant everyone in the family had to work. By fourth grade, Ed had left
school to help earn money. His first job was as a pinsetter at the West Baden
Springs Hotel bowling alley for owner Lee Sinclair.
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| French Lick Springs Hotel |
A
few years later, Ed took a job as a rural mail carrier and delivered mail on horseback
for three years. By 1893, Ed was tending bar in a Paoli tavern and setting up
games of chance in the back room. In 1894 with money he had saved up over the
years, Ed purchased his first business, located directly across the railroad
tracks from Sinclair’s hotel. Ed called it the West Baden Saloon and
Restaurant. Customers could get a hot meal, day or night. Gentlemen searching
for the “finer things in life” could find imported cigars, fresh beer, wine,
and liquor along with roulette and gaming tables.
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| Lee Sinclair |
Sinclair
countered with a new casino on the hotel grounds in 1895, but he offered Ed the
position of running the games. Ed had a flair for the gaming profession, and
the clubs and casinos he oversaw began to thrive. By 1915, Ballard owned Brown’s,
located across from the French Lick Springs Hotel; it was the largest gambling
establishment in the area. Ed Ballard now controlled all of the gambling in the
Springs Valley region.
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| Beechwood Mansion |
That
same year, his Georgian mansion, Beechwood (named for 67 beech trees located on
the property) was built on a prominent hill in the town of French Lick. The 2.5
story brick home boasted 21 rooms filled with marble fireplaces and black
walnut paneling. His new home was the talk of the region, and so was his young
bride, 23-year- old Ada Fern “Dolly” Finfrock. Things were going well for Ed
Ballard, everything he became involved with made money – he had the Midas
touch, locals said.
In
1915, Ed purchased the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, one of six circus companies he
owned. (Ballard owned all of the big names with the sole exception of Ringling
Brothers Barnum & Bailey.) During the winter months, the circus troupe
lived in West Baden. That’s when Ed would turn the hotel atrium, then known as
the Pompeian Court, into a circus “big top.” A performance ring was set up in
the center and a menagerie of animals was brought in to perform and entertain
hotel guests and local residents for special events.
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| Lillian and Lee Sinclair |
In
1916, his long-time friend and mentor, Lee Sinclair died. When Sinclair’s
son-in- law Charles Rexford approached Ed for a loan to renovate the hotel, he
agreed and loaned Rexford half-a- million dollars. When Lillian Sinclair, Lee
Sinclair’s daughter and Rexford’s wife, discovered how much money he had borrowed,
she decided to end the marriage. Lillian sold the hotel to Ed in 1923 for
$500,000 cash and the $500,000 they already owed him.
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| West Baden Springs Hotel |
Ed
Ballard owned “The 8th Wonder of the World,” something he had always
dreamed of. Now, along with the Homestead Hotel, Brown’s, gambling clubs,
six circuses and his real estate holdings scattered around the Springs Valley
area, he was one of the richest men in the state.
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| Hotel Guests |
The
West Baden Springs Hotel flourished under Ed’s management. Conventions became
popular and Ed offered standard convention rates on the "American Plan". Wealthy
guests came from all over the country, and around the world. Although gambling
was not allowed at the hotel, Ed’s clubs and casinos were popular with hotel
guests. Gambling and Prohibition were “over-looked” by officials in the state, and
a good time could be had by all. Chicago gangsters were rumored to have spent
plenty of time and money at Ed’s “joints,” grabbing a little “rest and
relaxation” before heading back to the Windy City. The Roaring Twenties were a
time of profits and pleasure for Ed Ballard, and the West Baden Springs Hotel.
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| Tom Taggart |
But
1929 was a year like no other. Ed’s friendly rival, Tom Taggart, owner of the
French Lick Springs Hotel, died in March. The summer was uneventful, but the
date October 24, 1929 would be remembered for years to come. On that day, the
Wall Street Stock Market crashed. Word spread quickly throughout the hotel.
Within hours, panicked guest were checking out. The mass exodus continued for four
days until everyone was gone; the life had literally been drained from the
hotel.
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| West Baden Springs Hotel Veranda |
Ed
realized that this was not a passing problem. He offered any employee a job at
the hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. In 1931, he closed the hotel’s
doors, the first time they had been shuttered since 1887. The hotel reopened
during the spring of 1932 but only for a few months. On June 30, employees were
given their final checks and the executive offices closed for good the
following day.
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| Jesuits at West Baden |
Ed
decided to sell the hotel but buyers did not come forward in the turbulent
economic times. He then offered the U.S. Army the building to use as a hospital
but his offer was refused. Approaching the Catholics, he suggested the structure
as a retreat. Two years later the Jesuits accepted. For a $1 token payment, the
hotel would become West Baden College, a seminary to educate priests in the
Society of Jesus.
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| Ed Ballard |
Ed
Ballard lived another two years before his life took yet another surprising
turn. On the evening of November 6, 1936, Ed met with former business partner
Robert Alexander in Alexander’s hotel suite in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Ed had
thought they were meeting to come to an agreement concerning a misunderstanding
several years ago that had involved a lawsuit Alexander had filed against
Ballard and lost. Instead, Alexander pulled a gun and shot Ed Ballard three
times – once in the chest and twice in the right shoulder. Alexander then
turned the gun on himself.
The
man with the Midas touch was gone!
Ed
Ballard’s funeral was held in the atrium of his beloved former West Baden
Springs Hotel. Hundreds paid their respects, from well-known former hotel
guests, to state officials, local businessmen, politicians, friends and
acquaintances. The local paper reported that it was “one of the most impressive
(funerals) that has ever been witnessed in the valley.” Charles Edward Ballard,
the man who had put West Baden, Indiana on the national map, was buried in
nearby Ames Chapel Cemetery. His simple gravestone bears only his name, birth
and death dates.
In
1915, Ed purchased the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, one of six circus companies he
owned. (Ballard owned all of the big names with the sole exception of Ringling
Brothers Barnum & Bailey.) During the winter months, the circus troupe
lived in West Baden. That’s when Ed would turn the hotel atrium, then known as
the Pompeian Court, into a circus “big top.” A performance ring was set up in
the center and a menagerie of animals was brought in to perform and entertain
hotel guests and local residents for special events.
Ed
Ballard’s funeral was held in the atrium of his beloved former West Baden
Springs Hotel. Hundreds paid their respects, from well-known former hotel
guests, to state officials, local businessmen, politicians, friends and
acquaintances. The local paper reported that it was “one of the most impressive
(funerals) that has ever been witnessed in the valley.” Charles Edward Ballard,
the man who had put West Baden, Indiana on the national map, was buried in
nearby Ames Chapel Cemetery. His simple gravestone bears only his name, birth
and death dates.