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Institutional and Private LibrariesLawrie Library%u2014%u2014Indiana State Soldiers%u2019 Home%u2014%u2014West Lafayette, IndianaThe facility was authorized in 1890, and this building was constructed in 1906 as a commissary, then used as a library from 1925 to 1979. It is awaiting funding for restoration.The Indiana State Soldiers%u2019 Home was created by an act of Congress to care for disabled Union soldiers after the Civil War. In 1895, the Indiana General Assembly unanimously appropriated $75,000 toward its construction. One-hundred-eighty-seven acres were purchased from Tippecanoe County, and the city of Lafayette donated an additional 55 acres. A local veteran and business man, General Richard P. DeHart, gave a strip of riverfront property to the Home as well, which is known today as the Tecumseh Trails Park.By 1910, the Home had 1,430 residents and operated like a small town complete with a hospital, electric light plant, bakery, fire department, and an assembly hall with a seating capacity for six hundred people. The Home even had its own pet alligator.Over the years, the Indiana Veterans%u2019 Home has adapted to provide for the best needs of its residents with many newer building having been erected. Sadly, most of the original structures were demolished in the 1950s. However a few older buildings still remain, including the Commandant%u2019s House, the Lawrie Library, the Administration Building (formerly the Adjutant%u2019s Residence), and the Post Exchange. These structures and nine surrounding acres were designated an Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. There is also a small museum on the grounds containing historical artifacts. Today, the Indiana Veterans%u2019 Home offers a complete array of services (including long-term skilled nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, independent living, and memory care services) in a therapeutic home-like environment to honorably discharged Indiana veterans and their spouses. Personal pets are not allowed, but there are several %u201ccampus kitties%u201d on the grounds. The Home%u2019s historic cemetery was established in 1896, and has almost 3,000 graves, some dating to the late 1800s, and several monuments dedicated in memory of those who served. The cemetery is reserved solely for the veterans and their spouses who reside in the Home at the time of their passing.