The Virgin Home .:. 126 N. Colorado

This 1903 Victorian home was built by the late William Fitzgerald for the Perry Parker family. Prior to ownership by the Walters, this house was the home of several local families, including the Christiansen family, and the W. C. Virgins, who operated the Virgin Variety Store.

Because this house was owned primarily by older couples, much of its original beauty has been preserved. Several beautiful features of Fitzgerald's handiwork include an open oak stairway, an ornate comer window, built-in china cupboard and colorful stained glass windows. Renovation done by Lyle and Ann in the interior include an enlarged country kitchen, a family room and sunroom, while still preserving the original Victorian parlor, dining room and master bedroom.

Today this home, with its turn of the century decor, is the home of Lyle and Ann Walter and their two modern-day daughters, Monica and Molly.

The Hall Home .:. 203 E. Hazelwood

The Queen Anne Victorian at the far west comer of Hazelwood was designed and constructed for George and Laura Hall at the turn of the century. Hall was founder and President of The State Bank of Waterville which later became the Farmers State Bank and was located where the Waterville Public Library now stands. The house was designed by an architect in Knoxville, Tennessee. The original plans are framed and currently on display in the attic.

William and Frank Fitzgerald, local builders at the time, began construction of this lovely home in 1899 and completed it in 1901. According to William's daughter, the late Mary Turner, her father negotiated with George Hall to build the house for $8,000. The price included all materials and labor for the two brothers. Frank Fitzgerald left his signature and completion date on an attic rafter. The original "plumb bob" remains preserved after recent completion of the third floor.

The Hall Family lived in this house almost 45 years. Gene Hall sold the entire property to C. G. Steele, Sr. in 1945. It was purchased 6 years later by Rolland and Mary Edwards. Mr. Edwards later sold the south half of the property which included the carriage house to Wright and Mary Turner.

Don and Ruth Ann Roepke of Topeka bought the Edwards' Estate in February 1988. Later that year, Mary Turner sold the carriage house property to them which returned it to the original Hall Estate.

The new south addition to the house was designed by Charles Hall, Manhattan, Kansas. Ray Blomfield, Hiawatha, Kansas, and Darrell Tollefson were builders of the project. The original kitchen, two porches and a sun porch above the kitchen were removed and replaced with the new addition. A little summer kitchen, which was located southeast of the house and moved to the east, is now used as a Garden House.

The north and main part of the original home remains unchanged and is identical to the original plans and construction of 1901.

The Roepkes moved into their home in October 1990. Since that time they have completed restoration, finished off the attic, added the porch on the southeast and completed stone retaining walls and landscaping.

Don was born on a farm south of Waterville and graduated from Waterville High School. Don and Ruth Ann are mostly retired from their business located in Topeka, Skinners Garden Store. They enjoy their historic home, garden and participate in church and community activities in Waterville.

Samuel T. Powell Home .:. 108 W. Commercial

The Samuel T. Powell house was built in 1895 and is listed in both the State of Kansas and federal registers of historic places. The house stands eminently in the center of Waterville. The house is being restored by the current owner Ward Alan Minge.

While the exterior has been returned to the original bold yellow with white and ox bold trim, the interior rooms are being stripped or layers of paint to reveal their William Morris styling. To finish the walls and ceilings, a team of artists imported by the Powell's covered the surfaces with a special fabric which, in turn, they decorated with stenciling and hand-painted murals.

The dining room is one of the finest masterpieces of this kind west of the Mississippi. The structure and equally elegant carriage house were constructed largely by the local builder Will Fitzgerald.

These late Victorian interiors represented the very latest fashions. A local newspaper reported in 1899 that Mrs. Powell was an "ideal hostess and that an evening spent in the lovely Powell home would be an evening forever remembered by the guest." No doubt few residents of Marshall County has ever seen anything like it.
 

The Thorne House .:. 223 E. Hazelwood

Intriguing as a mystery novel, architectural surprises lurk behind every hallway turn in this house located in the middle of the block at 223 E. Hazelwood.

The Thorne house, as it is known by, was built by Frank Thorne, the President of Merchants State Bank of Waterville. The Valley Heights Board of Education office is now where the former bank building was.

In the 1880's the house stood by itself south of town on the street later known as "banker's row". In addition to banking, Thorne was a land owner and naturalist. He used the fenced hill behind the house for a habitat for deer and other wild animals. The Thorn's raised two daughters here, neither of whom settled in this community. Mr. Thorne's second wife, Ruth Copeland, was a local lady who resided in the house for many years after his death.

Built sometime in the early 1880's as a country estate, this house has the distinction of having had only two owners in its lifetime which is unusual in a period covering over a century. The home has had two periods of major change. The first occurred in the early 1900's when the former comer porch was turned into an oak entry way, a large wrap around porch, tower and back wing were added. The other when it changed family ownership in 1975.

Mike and June Myers purchased the house in 1976 after selling their automobile dealership in Marysville. They moved in June 1976 into the midst of renovating and restoring. Mike is currently a retired automobile dealer and farmer.

Some features of the house include the original gas and electric light fixtures, oak parquet floors, a built-in ice box in the dining room, two coal burning oak fireplaces, some original bath fixtures, a cave opening off the kitchen, and the carriage house equipped with a loft and accommodations for horses and carriages. The woodwork is mostly pine which has been grained to resemble oak. The living room, front hall and staircase are oak.

Furnishings in the house include some family antiques, antique and junk shop finds which have been refinished by the owners, and some new things. The house itself remains little changed since the early part of the century. The kitchen cabinets and equipment were added as well as two gas forced air furnaces and air conditioning.