The Captain Thomas C. Harris House (also known as the Parrish Place) is a two-story

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

-style home located at 101 East Burton street in

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University. ...

. A modified "T-plan" Victorian home constructed in 1875, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on October 15, 1973.

History

Captain Thomas C. Harris was an officer in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. A native of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, he settled in Kirksville shortly after the conclusion of the war, and was engaged in a succession of

woolen mills Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in the town and vicinity. In 1875 Harris began construction of a large two-story brick home on what was then the northern edge of Kirksville. There is some doubt as to whether Harris ever lived in the home, and for how long, as it was sold in 1879 to another Civil War veteran, Doctor John Burton. Burton served with the Sixth Indiana Cavalry and as President of the United States Pension Board at the war's end before establishing a medical practice in Kirksville in 1867. The home took on its secondary moniker of "The Parrish Place" in 1895 when it was purchased by Doctor A. Washington Parrish. Doctor Parrish had a medical practice in

Queen City, Missouri ''For the place nicknamed "the Queen City of the Ozarks", see Springfield, Missouri.'' Queen City is a city in Schuyler County, Missouri, Schuyler County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was ...

before purchasing the home and moving his practice to Kirksville. Following Parrish's death in 1928, the home passed to his son, Doctor Bert Parrish, also a physician and surgeon in the community. Bert Parrish died in 1951, leaving the home to his longtime housekeeper, Everrella Murdock. Murdock had lived on the first floor of the home since 1939. A fire in 1958 destroyed the summer kitchen, wood shed and coal storage room but was extinguished before causing any significant damage to the main house. Those areas lost were replaced by the addition of a new section to the home containing a family room. Another major change to the original design came in 1965 when, due to fears of a weakening roof, the distinctive cupola was removed. However the cupola was restored to its position several years later. Thomas C Harris House 2

Upon Murdock's death the Harris-Parrish home went to her daughter Mary Childers Sloan, who resided there until moving to

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in the 1980s. The home was mostly vacant from the early 1980s until Sloan's death in April, 2003. She deeded the home and property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The present owner, Daryl Shafer, purchased the Harris-Parrish home from the Trust in 2007. After extensive renovations under the National Historic Trust's ownership and later Shafer's, the home once again appears very much as it would have when first constructed, save for modern electrical, heating and cooling systems, and plumbing. One of the most significant changes involved removing a two-tone exterior paint of cream with dark brown accents and returning the structure to its original red brick. The post-fire additions of a garage and the west wing containing the family room were removed and replaced with a porch and landscaping. In addition to serving as a private residence the home has also served as a popular spot for weddings, open houses, and community gatherings. One such gathering in 2012 honored the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Kirksville.

References

External links

* http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/73001034.pdf * https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221213/http://www.kirksvillecity.com/filestorage/74/394/681/1142/1152/1154/Info_101_E_Burton.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Capt. Thomas C., House Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Italianate architecture in Missouri Houses completed in 1875 Buildings and structures in Adair County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Adair County, Missouri