The Ilion Party, Post 1 of 5

I've been planning, actually for several years, to post a series of slides taken during the evening of April 13, 1955, when Chariton Rotary held a party at the Ilion, also known as Mallory's Castle, shortly before it was demolished. The event, which began on the square with a procession of vintage automobiles and carriages, also marked the 50th anniversary of Rotary International --- hence the birthday cake.

The photo above shows the Ilion as it looked in 1949 when after years of neglect it was sold to C. Otto Brown at public auction by the estates of Luther H. Busselle and William A. Eikenberry. Brown made extensive repairs and tenants occupied the house from 1950-1954.

Otto Brown died during 1954 and the following year his heirs announced plans to demolish the house and develop the "Ilion Acres" subdivision on the site. The house was demolished during the summer of 1955.

I drew the rough conjectural floor plan --- always intending to redo it, but never getting around to it. At least you can locate the rooms where the photos that follow were taken by referring to it.

There are about 50 of these slides; I'll probably post them 10 at a time, occasionally, during the next couple of weeks. They'll be numbered, so anyone who wishes to add identifications may do so either by commenting on the blog or on Facebook. Eventually, I'll post these to the "Mallory Castle Blog," too --- and it would be great to have everyone identified. The slides are in no particular order.

Photo No. 1: A banner mounted on the curve of the Ilion's front hall greeted guests when they entered the house on April 13, 1955.

Photo No. 2: Margaret Stanton Larimer and the registration table in the southeast parlor.

Photo No. 3: Theopolis "Buster" Gibson greets guests in the vestibule --- formed by the base of the tower.

Photo No. 4: Signing the guest book in the southeast parlor.

Photo No. 5: Prepairing to ascend the main staircase. The door to the southeast parlor is in the distance.

Photo No. 6: Conversation in the dining room with Marguerite (Holmes) Threlkeld in the center.

Photo No. 7: Utilizing the mirror above the fireplace in the dining room.

Photo No. 8: A grand entrance --- just inside the front doors.

Photo No. 9: Ladies ascending the staircase.

Photo No. 10: Gilbert Garton passing the guest book pen to Elva (Van Zee) Neighbour.