Linda E. Landon House, 447 Grove St. (c. 1918)

Linda Landon House, November 2003. Photo Credit: Kevin S. Forsyth.

Linda Eoline (Vought) Landon (1856–1942) was born May 9, 1856, at Niles. In 1877 she married Rufus Wharton Landon, a man 41 years her senior, and together they had two sons, Rufus Jr and Lee. Her husband died in 1886, and at some point Linda taught for two years in the public schools of Kalamazoo.

L. E. Landon. Photo Credit: Beal, p. 473

In 1891 Linda Landon was hired as Librarian at M.A.C., with an initial salary of $500 per year. She remained in this position for forty-one years, and “presided over a growing collection of books and periodicals that was one of the best among independent land-grant colleges.” The library’s rapid growth during her tenure resulted in the building of a brand-new Library in 1924.[Minutes, 10 Jul 1891, p. 598. Kestenbaum, p. 60]

Mrs. Linda E. Landon “presides” in the Library–Museum circa 1896.
Photo Credit: Chace Newman Family, reprinted in Kestenbaum, p. 60.

Mrs. Landon’s “inspirational leadership and pleasant personality… endeared her to thousands of students coming under her influence, to the faculty, and friends of Michigan State College.” She even “received the unusual campus tribute of an honorary membership in the men’s Union Literary Society.”[Minutes, 23 Oct 1942, p. 1863. Niles Daily Star, 30 Sep 1942, p. 2]

Linda E. Landon moved to this house when it was new around 1919. At the time it was numbered 409 Grove Street, until a street numbering revision the following year. Prior to living here, Landon lived in an apartment in Howard Terrace, and a house at 307 Albert Avenue (no longer standing).[LCD (1916), p. 428; (1919) p. 599]

Mrs. Landon retired in 1932 and remained here until her death on September 29, 1942, at age 86. She was buried alongside her husband in Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles. Linda E. Landon Hall, completed in 1948, is named in her honor.[Minutes, 23 Oct 1942, p. 1863. LCD (1941), p. 321. findagrave.com]