History of the Violett House

The Violett House has been a Bethany property since 2000. It is commonly known as the “Bethany boarding house” or the “Korean House.” It has been a home for many international students over the years, and is currently home to South Korean students. However, it isn’t just a boarding house. Built over 200 years ago, the Violett House has seen many different people walk through its doors and has many interesting stories to tell.

The beginning of the Violett House traces back to the 1800’s. In 1828, Major John Wesley Violett moved to Elkhart Prairie from Clarke County, Ohio. In “A Short History of the Violett Family and the William N. Violett House,” Randall L. Clouse, Bethany’s former business manager, tells the history of the Violett family. Violett’s original plan was to move to Mississippi, but after hearing “favorable reports of the St. Joseph Valley area,” he visited the place and decided to settle down there instead.

John Violett and his wife Chloe had thirteen children, but only nine of them lived past their childhood. Their first son, William N. Violett, built the Violett House which still stands next to Bethany. He constructed it in 1854, with distinctive Italian features adorning the interior. Four years later, John H. Violett, second son of John and brother to William, built a twin house on 2612 South Main Street, less than half a mile from Violett House on Bethany property. John H. Violett’s house continues to stand in good condition.

After William Violett’s death in 1873, “all of the land eventually left Violett family ownership,” and the land on which the house stood was reduced from 213.77 to 1.7 acres. Since then, ownership of the William Violett House has been exchanged between six different families.

Martin and Esther Weaver bought the house in 1949. Soon after it was purchased, they turned the house into the “Weaver Convalescent Home,” which they ran for eleven years with the help of Fannie Bontrager. The convalescent home, commonly known as a nursing home, welcomed a total of 147 residents until its closing on January 2, 1961.

Jack and Eleanor Dueck owned the house during the 1970s and 80s. The Duecks, acknowledging the house’s historic value, registered it on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1984. Any major construction or alteration of the house is a complex process due to its registered value.

Following the Duecks, Judith Forbes purchased the house and opened the Waterford Bed and Breakfast. Then in 2000 Bethany Christian Schools made the purchase, mainly to widen the school’s driveway. Jim Buller said, “At that point in time, we did not have a main entrance off of Stat

e Road 15 the way we do now…By purchasing that property, we had control.” Buying the house solved the driveway issue, but the school also had to figure out what to do with the rest of the property. Bethany rented the house to the Community Church of Waterford, which used the place for office and rehearsal purposes. In April 2006, the church moved out to its new building on County Road 21, where it stands now.

2007 was the first year Bethany started the boarding house system for international students. The first facilitators of the Violett House were Sarah and Matt Moyer, with their two daughters Katie and Naomi. The first group of boarding students consisted of Sang Hyun Han (‘11), Chang Geun Seo, Joshua Tanjung (‘09), and Lydia Kim (‘09). Then in 2008, the family welcomed two more Korean students, Stella Kim and Ming Woo (‘13). Following Lydia Kim (‘09) and Josh Tanjung (‘09)’s departure in 2009, Stacie Park (‘13) and Jean Ahn (‘13) joined the household. As most of the international students at Bethany are from Korea, the majority of the Violett House students were also Koreans.

After three years of managing a hectic full house, the Moyers left the house and the Lims replaced their position. Sang Geun Lim and Miae Lee are parents of Byeong Chan Lim (‘13) and Byeong Min Lim (‘17), and have gladly hosted the Korean students over the years.

The Violett House has been a home to many people since its foundation: various families, elders, travelers, and students. However, the future of the Violett House is “clearly up in the air,” Buller says. Byeong Chan Lim (‘13) is graduating and although Byeong Min Lim (‘17) is entering high school next year, whether the Lim family wants to stay or not is a pending question. Buller notes, “having [the international boarding house] as a resource for us has been of some value…but we also hope [that] in the future it serve as a house [which] students can become acculturated and practice English.”