The County Line
The historic home of nationally acclaimed artist and illustrator Franklin Booth will likely have a “safe” and secure future on Carmel’s rapidly changing Range Line Road. Local historians were concerned when the property went up for sale last year. Most of Range Line Road has evolved from a residential street to one of offices and shops, many in radically converted former homes.
But, last week it was learned that the Booth house has been sold to a young couple planning to restore it and make it their home. The house at 321 N. Range Line is considered historic both because it was home to one of Carmel’s famous sons and because it is a largely unspoiled example of Italianate architecture popular in the U.S. between 1850 and 1890.
Booth, born in 1874 and raised in the Carmel area, probably inherited the home from his parents. During the height of his career in the early 20th century, Booth maintained a studio behind the house were he did some of his famous work.
He illustrated books for James Whitcomb Riley and Mark Twain. He created patriotic posters and other items for the U.S. government during World War I, did illustrations for national magazines, artwork for the New York Daily News and designed a series of stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. He is also known to have entertained some clients including Riley at the house.
Booth also maintained an apartment in New York. He married one of his models about 1905, but had no children. He died in New York in 1948 and his ashes were returned to Carmel and scattered on his parents’ graves.
The Booth house passed through several ownerships and was divided into two apartments, but the appearance inside and out was not radically altered. With the most recent sale, members of the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission expressed their delight that the house apparently is secure while many in the community have not experienced a similar fate.