Culbertson's Remarkable and Scandalous Women

Walking through the Culbertson Mansion, the historic Indiana home on Main Street in New Albany, can be humbling. The 25-room, 20,000-square-foot structure, designed in the Second Empire style, simply seems to go on and on. 

For example, on the first floor there’s a room the Culbertson family had used for entertaining that is 40 feet long by 20 feet wide, complete with a ceiling so ornate it almost feels like being in a chapel.  

“Literally, this room is bigger than some people’s homes,” Devin Payne, Southeast Regional Director for State Historic Sites for Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, said during a recent walk-through. 

The three-story home was built shortly after the Civil War by William S. Culbertson, a man who began as a humble dry goods clerk in Pennsylvania before moving west to New Albany and ultimately made his fortune as a businessman and banker. At one point, he became the richest man in Indiana. 

Along the way, Culbertson had three wives and a total of 10 children. Most of those children lived quiet lives, and not much is known about them. 

“They were all very private,” Payne said. “Most of them moved away from this area.” 

But two of those children lived quite interesting lives, indeed, making big names for themselves. One, Samuel Culbertson, would serve for several years as the president of Churchill Downs and the American Turf Association, and is credited for starting the Kentucky Derby tradition of draping the winner in the ceremonial Garland of Roses.  Learn more about the Churchill Downs connection.

He then served as the racetrack’s chairman of the board from 1937 until he died in 1948. He was remembered for his generosity and chivalry, according to a 1948 account in The Courier-Journal. 

And there’s another one of the Culbertson children we want to honor in celebration of Women’s History Month in March – along with a bonus Culbertson descendant who made quite a name for herself, as well. 

Blanche Culbertson French (1870-1924) 

The youngest child of William Culbertson, French helped to make American history. She attended college in Philadelphia at the now-defunct Ogontz School for Young Ladies, studying literature, psychology, mathematics and more. During the Culbertson Mansion tour, guests walk through her childhood bedroom, a space with high doorways, teal walls and ornate wood furniture. 

As a young woman, Blanche met and fell in love with a young man named Leigh Hill French, a man of whom William Culbertson did not approve because he was a reputed womanizer. 

“Leigh Hill had an unfortunate reputation,” Payne said. 

For her involvement, she was cut out of Culbertson’s will (although she would later sue for her inheritance and received a $500,000 settlement). Following her father’s death, she traveled to Europe and ended up engaged to another man. That marriage never happened, however, as she would reconnect with French in Chicago, where she was living a lavish lifestyle. Together, they eloped and had three children together, ultimately settling in New York. 

She was well on her way toward earning her nickname, "Scandalous Blanche." 

But the move to New York is where history began to take place. At this time, in the early 1900s, women in America didn’t have the right to vote – Blanche, a longtime advocate for women’s rights, set out to change this, becoming a leader in the New York suffrage movement. With money and influence in her arsenal, acting as President of the Equal Franchise League of New Rochelle, she would help lobby and lead suffrage parades through the streets of downtown New York. 

Thanks to the efforts of many like-minded women, in 1917, a full three years before the 19th Amendment gave women across the U.S. voting rights, New York became among the the first states to ratify the right for women to cast their votes. 

Blanche Culbertson French would die seven years later at the age of 53 and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in New York. 

Rebekah West Harkness (1915-1982) 

Harkness, the great-granddaughter of William Culbertson, had a memorable life in many respects. Most importantly, she was a Renaissance woman of sorts – she was a sculptor, a dancer, a composer and a patron of the arts, particularly dance. She married William Harkness, heir to the Standard Oil fortune. 

Needless to say, she also was a wealthy socialite and philanthropist, one who had a bit of a quirky side. In her late teen years, she and some friends organized a cheekily named group of young women who, shall we say, liked to stir things up in social situations, from dancing on tables to spiking the punch.  

She studied in New York, France and Geneva. She became close friends with Surrealist artist Salvador Dali and many other well-known figures in the artistic community. She reportedly cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon champagne. 

Pop superstar Taylor Swift not only wrote a tribute to Harkness – the 2020 song “The Last Great American Dynasty” – and also bought Harkness’ Rhode Island home, which was known as Holiday House (now re-named Harkness House). In the song, Swift sings in tribute to her muse, “I had a marvelous time ruining everything.” 

Visit the Culbertson Mansion 

Learn more about the Culbertson family on a tour of the historic Culbertson Mansion in New Albany, Indiana. One of 12 Indiana State Historic Sites, the Culbertson Mansion offers guided tours at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. during their regular hours of business. Look for a special “Remarkable Women” tour offered each March. Discounts are available for military and educational groups. Click here for tickets and more information.