The Westcott House is a

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

-designed

Prairie Style Prairie School is a late 19th- and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northe ...

. The house was built in 1908 for Mr. Burton J. Westcott, his wife Orpha, and their family. The Westcott property is the only Prairie style house designed by Wright in the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. The grounds include the main house and a garage with stables connected by an extensive

pergola A pergola is most commonly an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained. T ...

Early history

In 1903, as part of a merger, Burton J. Westcott came to Springfield, Ohio as

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

of The American Seeding Machine Company. He would hold the position for 21 years. In 1916, Burton brought the Westcott Motor Car Company to Springfield, Ohio, from

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situ ...

. He was president of the company until 1925. Wright designed a detached garage which included a design for a large turntable (never installed), similar to at a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

yard. The garage also included two

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

stables and was connected to the main house by a

. Burton's wife, Orpha, was from Hamilton, Ohio. The Westcotts had two children: Jeanne born in Richmond, Indiana, in 1895, and John born in Springfield, Ohio, in 1903. Orpha L. Westcott was considered one of Springfield, Ohio's most prominent and progressive women, and is credited with suggesting the selection of Frank Lloyd Wright as the architect for their new home. In 1918, the Westcotts built the only addition to their home, a summer porch on the second floor and a room below in keeping with the original design of the Prairie style architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. By 1920, Jennie was no longer living in the Westcott House; she married Richard Rodgers from Springfield, Ohio. Their wedding was held at the house. The only other residents of the house were a cook named Nora and a housemaid named Margaret, both middle-aged and originally from Ireland. The 1920s proved to be unhappy years for the Westcott family. Orpha died suddenly in April 1923 following a minor surgical procedure in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. At the same time Burton's company was failing. He resigned as treasurer of the American Seeding Machine Company in order to invest more time for the failing Westcott Motor Car Company. Attempts to save the ailing car company had exhausted his finances. With no other option Burton sold out. The severe stress in his life took its toll on his health. In 1926 at 57 years of age, he died in his home on East High Street while under the care of his sister from

. Funeral services were held at the Westcott residence; he was buried in Richmond, Indiana. Burton J. Westcott was a true leader, Renaissance man, innovator, and a manufacturing pioneer of the 20th century. Following the death of Burton in 1926, the Westcott House was sold to Roscoe Pierce. He lived in the house until his death in 1941. Eva Linton bought the house in 1944. She subsequently sub-divided the main house into five apartments. Linton also had the stables remodeled, adding a kitchen and bathroom, and converted the garage into her place of residence. Over the next 37 years the house fell into a state of disrepair and decline. Eva Linton died in 1980, and her estate was passed to her niece Dorothy Jane Snyder. Dorothy inherited the property in 1981 and maintained it until 1988 when she sold it to her son Ken Snyder and his wife Sherri.

Westcott House Foundation

In 1991, Ken died unexpectedly in a car accident. Sherri struggled to manage and maintain the house until she sold the house in 2000. The

Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is an organization devoted to the historic preservation of buildings and their furnishings and decoration designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as to the study of Wright's career. The organization has gr ...

acquired the decaying Westcott House from Mrs. Snyder for $300,000 through the use of their Lewis-Haines revolving loan program, and as part of the predefined purchase arrangement the house was subsequently sold on May 11, 2001, to the newly formed non-profit The Westcott House Foundation. The Westcott House Foundation was organized by a devoted group of Springfield preservationists and benefactors, bolstered with a multi-year $3.5 million grant from the local Turner Foundation, they bought the house from the Conservancy and committed to restore the all-but-lost historic residence. Chambers, Murphy and Burge of

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, and Schooley Caldwell Associates of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

, were secured to be the lead architectural firms for the project. The nearly 5-year, $5.8 million, restoration of the Westcott House was completed in 2005, and was governed by goals and objectives set forth by the Westcott House Foundation and the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. More than four hundred architects, engineers, craftspeople and volunteers contributed to the effort. The Westcott House opened to the public on October 15, 2005. As of 2019, the Westcott House Foundation sponsors a lecture series, an array of educational programs for student, adults and educators, design exhibits, immersive art/multi-media events, design workshops, and social activities. The foundation strives to promote a greater understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, particularly about Wright's concept of organic architecture, design process thinking, and design education. Guided tours are offered Wednesdays through Sundays.

References

* Storrer, William Allin. ''The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion''. University of Chicago Press, 2006, (S.099)

External links

Westcott House Foundation
{{Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie School architecture in Ohio Houses completed in 1908 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Historic house museums in Ohio Museums in Clark County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Clark County, Ohio Buildings and structures in Springfield, Ohio Houses in Clark County, Ohio 1908 establishments in Ohio