The Legend of Eliza

1922 was a busy year for the city of Franklin: The Wonder Five won the last of their three consecutive state high school basketball championships, the Artcraft Theatre opened as a vaudeville and silent movie house, and Eliza Patterson Willard began renovation on what would become the Willard Hotel.

                 There had been whispers around town that the old McCaslin House had been the sight of trouble throughout the years, but nothing could deter Eliza and her partners, Will and Sarah Judah as they undertook the project of their young lives. They would continue with renovations until late 1924, when they finally realized their  dream of opening the finest hotel on the south side of Indianapolis.

           Early on, business was good, and Ms. Willard was quite the social butterfly, attending the many gatherings and parties throughout the year, eventually serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Council for Business Matters. It is there that she would meet Robert Black. Tall and handsome, Mr. Black immediately caught Eliza’s eye during an extended dissertation on the evils of alcohol. This was a time of prohibition, and Mr. Black seemed to have his finger on the pulse of the prohibitionist movement.

           After a long courtship, Eliza and Robert became quite close, on occasion discussing marriage. They seemed so happy, that is, until the letter arrived.

                 Eliza’s n’er-do-well sister Rose was on her way to town. She wrote that she had fallen into trouble with gambling debt in Chicago, and would be arriving at the Franklin Train Station the next day. Eliza had not spoken to her sister in years and suspected she was hiding from those who would make her responsible for her debt.

           In a matter of weeks, Eliza’s intuition began sensing a change in her relationship. Robert began staying out later in the evening, and rumor about town was that in his company was none other than her sister Rose. She wanted to confront them to dispel the gossip, but she knew that to expose her suspicions could mean an end to what was becoming an increasingly fragile relationship with Robert. Things would get better, she thought, if she could bring back the feelings that were once so strong.

                 The weather in late October would sometimes bring a morning fog to the downtown area. Before sunrise, Robert and Eliza used to enjoy strolls down the sidewalk, watching the colors dance in the rising sun. She was sure he’d be here this morning. They had only spoken of this the night before. As she sat in disbelief on the front porch, she heard the familiar crash of breaking glass in the kitchen, and she went inside to investigate.

           She was met in the dining room by her trusted servant Mick, who quietly informed her that he was not responsible and had been on his way down when he had also heard moaning coming from downstairs. They joined hands and crept to the corner, the acrid smell of tequila filling their noses. Eliza peeked into the kitchen…and there on the kitchen table... were Robert and  Rose… in full coital compromise. Eliza squeezed Mick’s hand so hard she almost broke it, and as she let go and whispered an apology, Mick could tell by the sorrow in her eyes what she had seen.

           Eliza took Mick by the arm and quietly walked him to the front door. She told him she was giving him the week off with pay…to begin immediately. Mick began to protest, but stopped immediately when she shoved a large sum of cash into his pocket and told him to come back in a week or not at all. He turned south and walked away toward the Courthouse, noticing the sorrow he had seen in her eyes the moment before was gone, replaced by an emptiness that left him nauseous.

                 The events of the rest of that fateful day have been party to much speculation over the years. Some say she ran them out of her hotel, never to be heard from again. Some say she only bid her time, waiting for the right moment to allow her inner demons to exact their revenge….

                 So come inside and see for yourself why the people in the small town of Franklin came to believe on that October day, ”Hell hath no Fury …as a Woman Scorned”.

 

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