Billy Sunday Home Winona Lake – Evangelist Billy Sunday (1862-1935)

“Read good books,” urged Billy Sunday.

In October 1906 Billy preached to a crowd of roughly 800 people in Salida, Colorado, at First Presbyterian Church. During his message he exhorted the crowd…..

Read good books and keep good company. Every gambler and drunkard became so by imitating the gang he went with. Good books and good companions are to character what water is to the fruit trees, the grasses and the vegetables in this beautiful valley.

There are a few hundred books in the present Winona Lake home that Billy lived in for the last 30 years of his ministry. On the shelf, one can find A History of the American People, by Wodrow Wilson in the first edition (1902).

While Sunday’s authority came from Scripture, A History of the American People offered a grand, moral narrative of the United States that fit seamlessly with his revivalistic call: a chosen nation needing repentance and reform to fulfill its destiny. Wilson’s combination of national mission, moral urgency, and literary flair reinforced Sunday’s belief that evangelism and patriotism were inseparable in early-20th-century America.

Morgan Library at Grace College (Winona Lake) has several cards or notes in which Sunday and Wilson communicated together. They seemed to have liked each other.

Who came to dinner at the home of Billy Sunday in Winona Lake?

During the height of his ministry-career (1905-1920) Billy Sunday was more popular than Mark Twain or William Jennings Bryan. He even turned down an offer for $1,000,000 for a contract with “moving pictures.” He was a friend to multiple U.S. Presidents and dignitaries. One can only imagine whom he and Helen entertained in their living room below.

Helen ‘Ma’ Sunday liked to paint

Several paintings by Ma Sunday (Billy’s wife) hang in their former home in Winona Lake. Many of her subjects were landscapes and animals.

Permission granted by the Winona Lake History Center.

Billy and Ma Sunday, bedroom

Here is the bed of Billy and Ma Sunday in their former Winona Lake home. The accompany picture (probably 1930s) of the famous couple is placed on the headboard.

A colorized version.

Photography permission granted by the Winona Lake History Center.

The famous Billy Sunday hat

Billy was often photographed in this hat, which now resides on the bed in his former Winona Lake home. Permission to photograph was granted by the Winona Lake History Center.

The picture below was taken in 1915 at the Polo Grounds (colorized with AI).

Billy Sunday’s Bible and Psalm 37

Many surviving signatures of Billy Sunday accompany and simple inscription to Psalm 37.

There is a KJV Scofield Bible, dated 1909, on the bed of Billy and Ma Sunday in their home in Winona Lake. This particular Bible was gifted to Billy in 1917 on Easter Sunday, in New York.

Permission granted by the Winona Lake History Center to photograph the Bible.

Chimes purchased by Billy Sunday

The docent at the Billy Sunday home in Winona Lake, Indiana says that these chimes were purchased by Billy. They hang in the dining room.

Mantel clock on Billy Sunday’s fireplace

Billy and Ma Sunday displayed a beautiful Victorian clock on their mantel in their home in Winona Lake. The characters are Pizarro & Cortez. The clock was made by the Ansonia Clock Company and this model was patented in 1891. One could only conjecture why this piece inspired Billy or Ma Sunday.