Elam

S.P. "Pearl" Elam and his wife were touring Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin in Southern Wisconsin in the late 1940's when they mentioned their desire to build. Wright was in the stage of his career when he was constructing affordable homes for the middle-class Americans. These houses were generally small, single-story dwellings without a garage or much storage space. These houses were usually L-shaped in plan in order to accommodate for the landscape and terraces or gardens on the lot space. This series of homes also generally had large, south facing windows in order to let in an ample amount of sunlight, allowing the home to use passive solar for both light and heat conditions. As with his prairie style homes, Wright maintained the hearth as the focal point in the homes since he believed this to be the center of the family. Lastly, Wright designed these homes to have radiant in-floor heating.

These homes were termed "Usonian" houses, with the root of the word coming from Wright's desire to re-name and re-structure the landscape of the United States. Wright constructed nearly 60 Usonian homes throughout the United States; 13 of those are located in Minnesota, and only four of those are located in Southern Minnesota, one of which is the Elam (Plunkett) House. At the height of Usonian house construction, Wright was able to construct a house for $5,000 for a family with children, which was very unheard of at that time. Frank Lloyd Wright had never actually visited the site of the Elam (Plunkett) House, but drew up the plans bases solely on pictures of the site.

The Elam (Plunkett) House was constructed with low-cost materials in order to maintain status as a Usonian house. The exterior of the house is made up of limestone and cypress board and batten siding. The limestone was taken from a quarry near Wright’s home in Spring Green, Wisconsin and shipped to Austin, Minnesota. The roof is covered in cedar shakes, again, a fairly inexpensive building material at the time. The house is constructed on a four foot module, with it spanning 148 feet long. Similar to other Frank Lloyd Wright designs, people enter the house on the lower level, arriving in the loggia where they then ascend the stairs into the main living space of the house. This house is particularly iconic for its large cantilevered roof structures that make up the living room. These cantilevers allow for the ceiling to open up to a larger space, which allows for more windows. This is where a majority of the passive solar lighting and heat comes from in the house. These cantilevered roof structures extend from large cantilevered balconies that span over the main entrance into the house. The original design of the house included eight bedrooms, but the house was only built with five bedrooms and six and a half bathrooms. The reason behind the change has never been stated, however S.P. “Pearl” Elam and Frank Lloyd Wright had a lot of conflicting ideas about certain aspects of the house. One of these conflicting ideas revolved around the heating and cooling system in the house. Wright designed each Usonian house to have in-floor radiant heating, but Elam insisted upon having a forced air system in the house as well. This resulted in two large “Kewanee” boilers and a large air circulating system. Another controversy between the two men was brought about because of a narrow window in the kitchen. Wright was adamant about not installing the window because he thought it was inappropriate for the design, but Elam protested and eventually the window was installed. It is said that there was a falling out between Wright and Elam before construction was completed, leaving Elam to finish the kitchen on his own. This could have been a result of the conflicting ideas between the two men.

While the Elam (Plunkett) House is a Usonian house, it is also very accommodating for a large family. The first owners of the home, the Elam family, lived comfortably in the home for eight years with five children. After eight years the home was purchased by Warren F. Plunkett, who was a State District Court judge at the time

In 1977 when Millicent's mother Kathryn McLaughlin died, Pearl and Millicent were living in Austin, Minnesota.

Open Earl Elam was born March 7, 1903 in Wells, Appanoose County Iowa to Marcelles Elam and Jennie M. Horn.

In 1930 Opal is in Litchfield, 26, married to Rosecella 25, with Allen L. 5, Lyle D. 3, and newborn Robert.

In 1940 Litchfield they have Allen L. 15, Lyle 13, Robert 10, Dean 1, and Gene four months.

Opel died January 11, 1980 in Meeker County, Minnesota. Angela Rosecella born Aug 27, 18904 in Minnesota, died Nov 19, 1994 in Meeker County, mother's maiden name Nelson. She's the Angela R. Carlson in 1910 Meeker County, daughter of Andrew N. and Hulda B. Carlson.

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Madison likely married Elizabeth Horn, and in 1895 they're in Appanoose County, with Edgar 11 and Guy 9.

In 1900 Lewis E. Elam born Apr 1864 in Iowa, married 18 years to Clara, Mar 1865 Iowa have Jessie June 1883, Guy Oct 1885, Velma Nov 1887, and Dicie Sep 1890.

Moulton Weekly Tribune
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1943

Former Resident Dies In California At Age Of 59—Burial Saturday

Edgar J. Elam, 59, a former resident of Moulton, but more recently of Milliken, Colo., died in Los Angeles, Cali., last Wednesday, according to word received in Moulton first of the week. Death was due to a heart ailment which he had suffered for the past several years.
Mr. Elam was born in Moulton, October 19, 1883, and on October 14, 1908, was married to Sarah Erickson. The couple moved from here to Kansas City, and in 1911 moved to Milliken where Mr. Elam opened a general store which he operated until his death. He was a civic, political and social leader of Milliken, where he served
as president of the Rotary Club, past master of the Masonic lodge, past patron of the O. E. S., past Noble Grand and charter member of the Milliken Odd Fellow lodge, and he also had been active in the Milliken Pioneer Society. He served as mayor of Milliken, was a member of the Board of Education for 20 years, serving as president or treasurer during that time. He was a member and elder in the Presbyterian church.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Sarah Elam, a son, Edgar J. Jr., of Cheyenne, Wyo., and two daughters Mrs. Florence McNight of Greeley, Colo., and Virginia Elam, senior student at Milliken High School. Two grandchildren, a brother, Guy R. Elam, of Los Angeles, and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Florence Erickson also survive.
Funeral services were held in Greeley, Colo., with burial being made there.