Wayside Tour #19: The Carroll Mansion

Welcome to the Carroll Mansion and 5th Avenue Historic Homes Wayside Marker.

The Carroll Mansion is the headquarters of the Leavenworth County Historical Society, and it serves today as an historic house museum, representing the Victorian Era. The present structure was built in three phases. John McCollough bought the property and built this brick residence in 1867. He sold the house to Lucien Scott in 1882. Mr. Scott and his wife Julia spent $50,000 adding the north wing, cupolas on the roof, and the porches that you see today. The interior decor added at that time included parqueted floors, extensive wainscoting and ornamental woodwork, as well as many stained glass windows. In 1889, Mr. Scott sold the house to Edward Carroll, who lived here until his death in 1917. His daughter, Miss Ella Carroll, lived here until 1964, when she donated the house to the Leavenworth County Historical Society with the quote: "This is for Leavenworth, my home town." Today you can visit the Carroll Mansion for a modest admission charge.

Nathaniel H. Burt, Vice-President of the Great Western Stove Company, built the next house to your left around 1895. Its Romanesque design is that of architect William P. Feth which is representative of the architectural style of the last decade of the nineteenth century. Interior features of the house include oak and maple woodwork, oak pocket doors and nine-foot ceilings. The Nathaniel H. Burt house maintains a high degree of historic integrity. The property's environment is much the same as when the house was occupied by Nathaniel Burt, his wife and two sons from 1895 to the 1920's. The house is still a private residence.

Across the street and to your left is the David J. Brewer house. David Brewer was a prominent attorney whose career quickly advanced him through the judicial levels after his arrival in Leavenworth in 1859. In 1889 President Benjamin Harrison nominated Judge Brewer as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court where he served until his death in March of 1910. City directories record Judge Brewer as living at this location from 1866 until he went to Washington D.C. in 1889. This house continues to be a private residence.

The Vories House, located 1.5 blocks to your right, is named for prominent missionary and entrepreneur William Merrell Vories who was born in the house in 1880. In 1905, as a YMCA missionary, he went to Omihachiman, Japan. During is this time Mr. Vorie established the Omi-Brotherhood Society to promote the Christian Gospel to the Japanese people. He formed the Vories Architectural Company in 1907, which designed over 2000 western-style houses in Japan, China, and Korea. In 1920 he created the Omi-Sales Company to help finance his missionary work. He founded the Omi-Brotherhood Pharmaceutical Company to manufacture Mentholatum products under license from its inventor, Mr. Albert Hyde, who was another Leavenworth resident. These companies still operate today. After World War II, Mr. Vories was instrumental in the negotiations between General Douglas McArthur and the Emperor Hirohito and is credited with playing an important part in the retention of Hirohito as Emperor. Mr.Vories died in 1964. The Vories house also continues to be a private residence.