Keith Stokes, via kansastravel.org (2006-2010)
"Coffeyville's Brown Mansion makes quite an impression. Completed in 1904, the three story 16 room Mansion was built at a cost of $125,000. It was far ahead if it's time and had features like an alarm system, elevator, and a walk-in ice box.
"The home was built by W.P. Brown, a businessman who moved to Coffeyville from Ohio in 1890. He first started a lumber company, but discovered one of the largest natural gas wells in the country. He then founded the Coffeyville Mining and Gas Company and owned several other businesses including a 40 acre amusement park and a Natatoirum (spa).
"The mansion was designed by Edward Wilder and Thomas Wight, who studied with Stanford White, and the house shares features with several of the famous homes that White designed. Some features of the home (such as the height of the steps) were designed to accommodate Brown's petite wife, Nancy, who was only 4'11"...."
(from Keith Stokes, via kansastravel.org, used w/o permission)
The page has eight more photos of the Brown mansion - an impressive pile. It's in pretty much the same condition it was in when Brown built it - thanks to a short list of owners and - the Lemming will let you read the rest yourself.
The parlor's furniture was custom-made for the four-foot-eleven Mrs. Brown: a luxury, maybe; but probably a very welcome one.
The Lemming's wife is about an inch taller than the late Mrs. Brown - and so the Lemming is familiar, second-hand, with the experience of living in a world designed around (comparative) giants.
About the kansastravel.org page? It's got the Brown mansion's location and hours of operation - and if you can't make it in person, serves as a pretty good second-best option to seeing the place.
In the Lemming's opinion.
Related posts:
- "Morris-Jumel Mansion: George Washington, Hessians, and the DAR"
(January 26, 2011) - "Glensheen Mansion, the Congdon Estate: Duluth, Minnesota"
(September 7, 2010) - "Denver, the Daniels Mansion, the Mayor's Wife, and a Fire Pole"
(June 15, 2010)
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