Background
Chauncey Rose was born at Wethersfield, Connecticut on December 24, 1794. He was the grandson of John Rose who emigrated from Scottish Highlands early in the eighteenth century, and the son of John and Mary (Warner) Rose.
builder Financier philanthropist
Chauncey Rose was born at Wethersfield, Connecticut on December 24, 1794. He was the grandson of John Rose who emigrated from Scottish Highlands early in the eighteenth century, and the son of John and Mary (Warner) Rose.
His education was brief and limited to that furnished by the common schools of his native village.
In 1817 Rose visited Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, looking for a place to establish himself. Favorably impressed with Terre Haute and its people he returned there in April 1818, but the following year went to Rosedale, where he built and operated a grist and saw mill.
In 1825 he moved back to Terre Haute and immediately became active in the affairs of this pioneer village as a merchant, farmer, and contractor. His native energy combined with thrift, forethought, and upright business methods brought him a deserved prosperity and considerable wealth. Rose was greatly interested in securing railroad facilities for Terre Haute. A road had been projected from Richmond, Indiana to Springfield, Illinois, but in spite of many difficulties, he succeeded in diverting it to Terre Haute. It is an evidence of his strong-willed and self-reliant character that he also successfully fought an attempt to get a land grant from the government to build the road and, largely by his own efforts, financed the building operations by private subscription.
The Terre Haute & Richmond Railroad (later the Terre Haute & Indianapolis) was organized in 1847 with Rose as its first president. This office he resigned in 1853 after the portion of the road lying between Terre Haute and Indianapolis was built and in running order. His efforts and his money were important factors in bringing other railroads to, or through, Terre Haute. Among these were the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad, which was completed between Evansville and Terre Haute in 1853; an extension of the Crawfordsville branch, which later became known as the Logansport Division of the Terre Haute & Indianapolis; and an extension of the Evansville road to Danville and Chicago, known as the Evansville, Terre Haute & Chicago Railroad. It was only on account of advancing years that he took no active part in the completion of the St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Railroad in 1870, although the preliminary surveys had been made under his direction.
Rose gave way the greater part of his fortune to philanthropic causes, the most of it during his lifetime. His largest gifts in Terre Haute were to the Providence Hospital, the Rose Ladies Aid Society, the Rose Dispensary, the Chauncey Rose School (formerly the Rose Orphan Home), and the Rose Polytechnic Institute.
This last institution was one in which he was greatly interested towards the close of his life, the more so, perhaps, because he had felt the need of trained engineers in various industrial enterprises. The school was incorporated in September 1874 as the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science and the name was changed later, over his protest, to the Rose Polytechnic Institute. In March 1883, it was formally opened under the presidency of Charles O. Thompson. Rose made gifts to the school during his lifetime and left it a specific bequest in his will. It was also made the residuary legatee of the Rose estate. He was unmarried and outlived a sister and six brothers, none of whom left any children.
