A Brief History

of Henry C. Ulen and the Town of Ulen
Henry and Mary Ulen lived remarkable lives together that can only be described as "dreams come true."

Growing Up

Ulen’s founder, Henry C. Ulen, was born in 1871 in New Brunswick, Boone County, Indiana. During his early years, few people would have imagined that young Henry would grow up to become a successful lawyer, banker, engineer and business owner whose international company would build massive public works projects throughout the world. Nor would they believe that Henry would one day establish a namesake town that would remain a viable and historic community nearly a hundred years later. Henry’s father was a storekeeper who also served as Postmaster for Lebanon, the county seat of rural Boone County. As a child, Henry exhibited some disdain for standard education. His early reputation in Lebanon was that of a boy who skipped school and jumped on trains, demonstrating his independence and desire to visit faraway places (or at least see more of Indiana). Henry never finished high school, and his flair for adventure was definitively frowned upon by mothers in Lebanon. Despite a general concern about his character, Ulen convinced Mary Dutch that he had potential as a husband, and the young couple were married in 1890 at her parents’ home in nearby Thorntown. Their marriage would last more than 60 years until her death.

A Career in Public Works Construction

By 1894, Ulen began to realize his potential when he passed the state bar examination and began practicing law. In 1899, Henry and Mary Ulen moved to Indianapolis where he organized his own company, the American Light & Water Company. The following year, he established a construction company. Ulen moved his business to Kansas City in 1903, and then relocated it to Chicago in 1908. Four years later, Ulen began another career as a prominent Chicago banker and was featured in a story in The New York Times. In 1913, he started the Ulen Contracting Company. The company landed a major contract three years later to construct modern water systems for several cities in Uruguay. This ambitious project in South America was financed with $5 million in bonds and would lead Ulen to pursue an international career in public works construction.
Ulen sent men from his company to oversee and manage the engineering tasks on the Uruguay contracts, using local workers to complete the labor. Shipping equipment over land to the South American construction sites proved to be costly and difficult, so Ulen solved his transportation problems by purchasing the Alice M. Colburn, an American four-masted sailing schooner. According to one historian, “This incident of trade (the first of many similar projects that Ulen would undertake worldwide) may be regarded as somewhat epochal for United States trade in South America.”
In 1921, the Ulen Contracting Company signed a $10 million agreement with the Bolivian government to construct a railroad, including stations and terminals throughout the country. To fulfill this agreement, Ulen organized Ulen & Company in New York City. He retained ownership of Ulen Contracting Company and was the president of both companies. He also served as vice president of the Shandaken Tunnel Corporation of New York, which would construct the Shandaken Tunnel through the Catskill Mountains and provide drinking water to New York City. At the time, it was the longest tunnel in the world. Ulen’s company also completed massive public works projects in Greece and other countries. Ulen was also moving in the circles of other important American businessmen. He was a member of the Banker’s Club in New York, a lifetime member of the Hamilton Club in Chicago, a member of the South Shore Club in Chicago and a member of the Evanston Country Club in Evanston, Illinois. The latter memberships reflected his love for golf and the social life found in country clubs.
It was a love that he would soon fulfill in his hometown.

Building the Town of Ulen

During the early 1920s, Ulen decided to relocate the company offices to west-central Indiana. To gain the interest of his executive staff, he established Ulen Township in Boone County, and planned a residential development of upscale houses, a golf course and the Ulen County Club. The Country Club building and first nine holes of the golf course were constructed in 1924. Designed by Bill Diddle, the golf course was expanded to eighteen holes three years later.
Construction of houses began during the late 1920s, and the original historic homes were completed by the mid-1930s. Henry and Mary Ulen’s brick Mediterranean style home at 118 Ulen Boulevard was completed in 1929. Other historic houses in the town feature mostly Tudor Revival and Mediterranean architectural designs. Homes constructed in Ulen during later decades include Colonial and modern Ranch designs.
Many of the homes are located along Ulen Boulevard with some back yards overlooking the third and ninth holes. The town includes four streets: Ulen Boulevard, East Drive, Artman Boulevard, and Country Club Drive, which is the primary entrance to the town and Country Club.

Recognizing Our History

In 2015 the Ulen Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the structures, buildings, sites and other objects within its bounds are carefully maintained and contribute to the historical charm and authenticity of the district.