A unique dwelling situated on the bluff between Water and South First streets, south of Oak Street, was referred to as "The Link House" for many years.

When built between 1829 and 1842, it was an impressive residence.

Grocer Casper Link and his wife, Catherine, owned the property from 1864 until Casper's death in 1885. And their descendants resided there for another decade.

However, the structure predated the Links' occupancy and probably was built by William and Joseph Montgomery, who owned the land between 1824 and 1830, or Joseph and Jacob Wallace, the owners from 1830 to 1858.

Though its address was 525 S. First St., the large frame two-story house faced the river. The earth was cut away to allow entry directly into the basement. A wide stairway provided access to the first story behind a sweeping front porch, which extended the full width of the home.

Surrounded by an iron railing and extensive lattice work, the porch provided a grand vista of the Wabash River and protected a basement patio below. Six large colonial pillars anchored the slanting roof.

At the time the residence was built, there were few businesses nearby. According to tradition, the owners rented rooms to tourists, particularly out-of-town lawyers and newspaper reporters visiting the city for trials at the first Vigo County Court House. It was, in effect, a 19th century "bed and breakfast."

Steamships docking at Walnut Street nearby introduced an additional dimension. By 1850, however, Groverman's Pork House, Warren and McGregor Pork House, Benjamin McKeen's Slaughter House and Smith's Steam Mill had invaded the neighborhood.

Surprisingly, perhaps, the home survived the pork-packing era, and the Links nurtured an extensive orchard and a rose garden about the premises.

But the slaughter houses were supplanted by Alexander McGregor's smoky distillery, which expanded many times over the years under the ownership of Herman Hulman, Crawford Fairbanks and others.

Eventually, Wabash Distilling Co. had a huge complex at the bottom of the bluff between the Link residence and the river.

What once had been a scenic setting continued to decrease in value. At some point in the 1890s, the Link family -- which included son John and his wife Louisa and Casper Jr. -- abandoned the home as a residence. For several years, employees of the distillery rented rooms there.

John and Louisa Link, who maintained a fish market near Ninth and Wabash, relocated to 616 S. First St. with daughters Margaret and Amelia and son Bill.

By 1900, the old Link Home was occupied by a different sort of clientele. Referred to by newspaper reporters as "The Asylum," it was a rendezvous for organ grinders, rag and pencil peddlers, itinerant musicians and miscellaneous street hawkers.

As many as a dozen families were able to live in the home at the same time.

The street peddler population reached its peak during the era of the Terre Haute street fairs between 1897 and 1903. Many residents were crippled or blind, or at least pretended to be while dispensing their wares on downtown streets.

The house often was deserted during the afternoon, only to be crammed with an interesting variety of boarders as darkness approached. Tenants usually got along, entertaining each other throughout the night with music and song: sometimes religious; sometimes lewd and ribald.

On one occasion, a blind man was arrested on a warrant for consorting with another blind man's wife at "The Asylum." The case was set for trial before a justice of the peace, but none of the subpoenaed witnesses "saw anything" so the case was dismissed.

Though the Links' orchard once was a riverside attraction to local youth, "The Asylum" was strictly off limits to most juveniles after the turn of the century.

Mayor Henry C. Steeg championed an ordinance in 1902 barring street musicians from soliciting without a license. Several organ grinders who had lived at "The Asylum" for several seasons left town.

One long-time blind resident began pulling a wagon full of coal. His wife, who was not blind, accepted 25-cent coal orders at "The Asylum," hitched him to a cart and steered him to his destination.

In 1904, the Peoples Brewing Co., bottlers of Spalter, Best and Celtic beer, built its plant on First Street at the site of "The Asylum." Without glitter or glory, the grand old Link House was razed.