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Residences of Douglas: A Walking Tour
<p>In time, every city becomes a museum without walls. Its collection, the artifacts it offers, includes buildings, cemeteries, murals, parks and gar dens, and parts of the infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and railways. This booklet is a tour guide for one part of the collection currently offered by the city of Douglas, Wyoming: its historic residences, located in a tree-lined neighborhood on the north side of the city. The tour covers a total of 18 buildings, and thus makes no claim to being comprehensive. It affords only an interesting and representative sample of the complete collection available for viewing by the general public, at the open-air museum known as the North Douglas Historic District</p>
David House
The house built by the early 20th-century Douglas businessman E. T. David crowns
a hill at the east end of Center Street. The street originally was, and remains,
the nerve center of the Douglas business world. David, then, commanded an
overview of both the developing city and the open plains, further to the west,
that he hoped it might eventually come to replace. He thus enjoyed direct visual
feedback on the fruits of his efforts to develop the city—efforts that were
various, and almost uniformly successful.
After a failed ranching venture in the brutal Wyoming winter of 1886, and
following stints as a land appraiser and ranch superintendent, David moved his
family to Douglas in 1907, where he purchased the established Florence Hardware
Company, a main supplier of material for early Douglas buildings. Subsequently,
he was a key figure in the construction of the LaBonte Hotel on Walnut Street,
which was one of the most important and elaborate buildings in early Douglas.
Also politically active, he served as mayor of the city from 1912 to 1913 and,
earlier, had been influential in the creation of the political entity of
Converse County, in 1888.
One of the fruits of David’s success was the hilltop house on South 6th Street,
which he built in 1907. The hill was made to fit the house by excavating a level
area across the originally-rounded crest; then the sterile, clayey surface of
the newly-leveled site was overlain with 38 truckloads of fertile topsoil.
Viewed from street level, only the upper story and arching roof lines of the
house are visible, with the exterior wraparound porch and entire lower floor
being obscured by the gentle slope of David Hill.
Jenne House
The Jenne House exemplifies a residential variant of the “Queen Anne”
architectural style. This style was a loosely-defined set of design precepts
governing, primarily, the use of ornamentation. In general, an excess of
ornament, and a variety of such, are the style’s hallmarks. Thus, in the Jenne
House, we see a profuse variety of window styles and treatments, including
several fine specimens of stained glass; extravagantly ornate wood trim along
the roof gables; elaborate woodwork incorporated within the wraparound porch;
and—another stylistic hallmark—a series of complex, steeply-pitched roof lines.
All of this is intended to evoke a distant, “romantic” past, distinctly at odds
with the sleek lines of the “modern.” In the case of the dramatic Jenne House,
this intention is fully realized.
Although the style today seems more antiquated than even its proponents perhaps
intended, to Jacob and Anna Jenne, who passed the first part of their married
lives living in a sheep wagon, their Queen Anne home must have seemed the height
of modernity (not to mention spaciousness—with 20 rooms on four levels). Jacob
Jenne was, however, no stranger to sheep wagons: Born in Illinois and raised in
Missouri, he came to Wyoming in 1891, to partner with his brother, John Morton,
in the sheep ranching business. The Morton-Jenne Sheep Company thrived over the
ensuing decades, enabling Jenne to diversify into other enterprises. In 1916, he
financed construction of an office block in downtown Douglas—the Jenne Building,
at Third and Center; the building is still extant, and remains a historic
attraction in its own right.
Williams House
Designed by the famous Wyoming architect, William Dubois, the Williams House
vaguely suggests the work of the American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The
strong horizontal thrust of the wraparound porch, the broad, overhanging eaves,
and the intricate brickwork are all found as primary design elements in Wright’s
early “Prairie style” houses. In fact, though, the Williams House actually
exemplifies the “Foursquare” style that was popular throughout America from
about 1895, and through the 1930’s. Foursquare houses were generally
twoand-a-half stories tall, had strong rectilinear configurations, low,
gently-sloping roofs, full front porches, and were crowned with dominant,
central dormers. Each of these characteristics is evident in the Williams House
(as each was also, in the work of Wright)—making it a classic example of the
Foursquare esthetic. William Dubois, the architect, was active in Wyoming
throughout much of the first half of the 20th century. His practice, based in
Cheyenne, produced not only residences but many major Wyoming government and
commercial buildings as well, including county courthouses, several buildings on
the University of Wyoming campus at Laramie, major additions to the state
capitol, and, in Douglas, the Ashlar Lodge building, at North 4th and Walnut
Street. Dubois designed another Douglas residential landmark, the Morton
Mansion, at 5th and Center; while the Williams and Morton mansions differ
markedly in their outward appearance, they were both designed and built in 1903.
Its first owner, John T. Williams, enjoyed success in a string of various
enterprises, including a livestock ranch, a dry goods store (at Fort Fetterman)
and, in a partnership with William C. Irvine, the Oglalla Land and Cattle
Company. Williams was also active in state and local politics, serving as a
state senator and as the first elected sheriff of Converse County.
North Grade School
The North Grade School was constructed in 1931, to replace its three-story
predecessor, locally known as “Old North Grade School.” A sizeable chunk from
the old concrete foundation still remains in place, jutting out from the center
of the grade beam along the front facade of the present building; while the
remnant may have been left as a sentimental reminder, it was more likely for
reasons of economics, since the new school was built in the depths of the Great
Depression. Yet, despite the lean times in which it was constructed, the
building possesses a subtle elegance; with its sturdy brick facades and
buff-orange interior ceramic tiling it has, too, an air of quiet permanence.
Designed by the Casper architectural firm, Goodrich and Krusmark, the floor plan
is simple, logical, and wholly effective to its purpose. Eight classrooms—one
per grade—occupy the north and south perimeters of the building; administrative
offices are ranged along the front (west) end, while a gymnasium and auditorium,
both of generous proportions, occupy the interior core. A corridor from each of
the main entrances proceeds along the classrooms at either side of the building,
and these two are connected by a third, which passes between the auditorium, in
the heart of the building, and the offices at the front. The exterior brick
walls incorporate protruding pilasters and sparse, geometric ornamentation, both
of which lend some visual interest to the otherwise plain facades. The building
is set on its spacious lot well back from the distractions of the public
street—a setting that, naturally, well befits the purpose of the structure.
North Grade School enrolled grades one through eight until the 1950’s, when a
junior high was constructed; after which, it served grades one through six.
Douglas Hospital
Despite modern renovation and remodeling entailed by its adaptation to
residential use, the old Douglas Hospital building still retains much of its
historic, picturesque character. The octagonal turret with bell-shaped roof that
ascends from the southeast corner of the building is the most immediately
striking element— its lines mimicked both by the gentle curve of the broad roof
that overhangs the porch, immediately below, and by the gable projecting from
the east facade, the roof of which is pitched at an angle approximately
equivalent to the angles in the facets of the bell roof. (The roof skylights are
a modern addition, not original to the building.) The roof plan as a whole is
exceedingly complex, especially for a building of this size, and was dictated
largely by the complexity of the functions the building was constructed to
serve. In fact, it was the first (and only) hospital building in Douglas—and
indeed, in all of Converse County—for about the first forty years of the 20th
century. It was founded in 1903 by a Canadian-born registered nurse, Elizabeth
D. Dickson, a sister to early Douglas businessman George W. Dickson, Jr. The
building accommodated a small medical ward, three private patient rooms, an
operating room, and, on the second floor, residential quarters for the medical
staff. A living room, dining room, and kitchen were also included on the first
floor, while the full basement housed a furnace and storage areas. By 1920, an
addition had been constructed at the rear of the building, probably to house
additional staff. The hospital ceased operations sometime in the 1940’s (several
years before completion of the Converse County Memorial Hospital) and the
building was converted into a private residence.
Rowley House
The Rowley House is one of several buildings on the tour that can be classified
as “vernacular” architecture. “Vernacular” is actually a term from the study of
linguistics that refers to the ordinary, everyday language used by a particular
population, at a particular time and place. But the term has been adopted by
historians to refer to buildings that are built without benefit of an architect,
and according to more or less standardized plans tailored to the basic needs of
a local population. With vernacular residential architecture, the aim of the
builder is to meet the need for comfortable, dependable shelter, with economics
being a decisive part of the mix. The Rowley House is one of several
well-preserved examples on this tour, of early 20th-century vernacular
architecture. Apart from the siting, the only truly dramatic aspect of the
structure is its soaring, steeply-pitched roof lines— which are dictated by
utility, and not esthetics. Its location and siting, however, afford the
building a degree of interest, and even a sense of prestige, that does not
ordinarily attach to vernacular design. Constructed on a low rise, and fronted
by a concrete retaining wall, the house appears entirely congruent amongst the
larger, more elaborate buildings it neighbors. Its original owner, Thomas C.
Rowley, was a longtime resident of the city, who worked in the local banking
industry and also served as both county clerk and county treasurer, in the
1930’s.
Powell House
George Powell, a second-generation American, married a Swedish immigrant,
Margaret Skogland, at Fort Fetterman in the Wyoming Territory, in 1878. At the
time, he was hauling freight and supplies to forts—including those of Steele,
Fetterman, Laramie, and Casper—that lined the Wyoming frontier, and she was at
the first-named, acting as maidservant to a military family. Soon after
marrying, they built a house of adobe on the banks of LaPrele Creek, and lived
there for the following 15 years—until 1903, when Powell built the Douglas house
on North 5th Street. It is a matter of conjecture, but the unusual styling of
the house, which reflects European influence, may have materialized at the
behest of the Swedish Skogland. And indeed, the many intricate details
incorporated at the exterior suggest what might be considered as a feminine
taste at work: the slender (purely ornamental) window shutters, the
gracefully-curved trim boards over the main entrance, the subtle arching of the
masonry window lintels, and even the roof lines—which, however, are not Swedish,
but vaguely French, in the Tudor style—suggest some taste decidedly different
from what might reasonably be expected of a pioneer American freight-hauler.
Finally, the textured stucco across the exterior yields a finish that harks back
to that first house, fashioned of adobe, that the Powells had built on the
LaPrele Creek.
Garst House
The Garst House is locally renowned for both its architectural character and for
the identity of one of its former occupants, Doris Shannon Garst (1894-1981),
who wrote, for children, a series of biographies on famous westerners. Popular
during the 1950’s, Garst’s books fell out of fashion (and out of print) by the
1990’s. Her house, however, endures, as a prime specimen of the early
20th-century “Craftsman bungalow” style. As a house type, the “bungalow” evolved
from the economics of post-Victorian society, as demand materialized for
smaller, more efficient homes that could be maintained by a middle-class family
without a staff of increasinglyexpensive household servants. The bungalow, a
house type imported from India to California (and, from thence, to the country
as a whole) was often marketed as a “starter home,” and exhibited strong
horizontals, broad roof overhangs, and a simple, compact porch. The bungalow was
adopted as one standard house type by promoters of the “Craftsman” style of
design—which emphasized materials thought of as “rustic”—such as cedar, stone,
slate, and brick. In the Garst bungalow, this rustic aura is imparted by the
short, battered brick piers at each end of the front facade, the exposed ends of
the roof rafters, and the massive brick chimney, which dominates the west
facade. The house was constructed by the Douglas contractor, Fred Cannon, who
was especially skilled in masonry work, and was also a prominent bridge builder;
other famous local buildings with brickwork by Cannon include the LaBonte Hotel
and the Ashlar Lodge, both located in downtown Douglas. Cannon also constructed
at least four other Craftsman-style homes in Douglas, including the Storey
House, which is included on the tour.
Storey House
The Storey House is a “Craftsman”-style bungalow built by the Douglas
contractor, Fred Cannon. It shares certain qualities with Cannon’s Garst House
(also on the tour), especially in the materials employed: brick below, wood
frame above. And, as in the Garst House, the exposed roof rafters lend the
building a slightly rustic aura; finally, the low, broad, gently-pitched central
roof is also similar to that found on the Garst House. The massive wooden
brackets beneath the overhanging roof eaves are purely ornamental, and telling
hallmarks of the Craftsman style. But overall, the Storey House is a more
elaborate representation of Craftsman esthetics. The roof lines, especially when
viewed from the east, are more varied, and offered in greater quantity, in
accord with the more complex floor plan. And the brickwork, a Cannon specialty,
is more intricate than that on the Garst residence, the ornamentation more
detailed and pronounced, with geometric figures ranging from squares to diamonds
to cruciforms. The massive chimney on the east facade displays a “triple wheat
stalk” graphic, the anatomy of the grain lending itself readily to idealized
re-creation in brick. The original owner of the home was the prominent local
physician, L. W. Storey, who practiced in the area during the 1910’s and 1920’s.
The house was later occupied by local businessman Gene Payne, who operated his
agricultural supply company out of a warehouse along the tracks of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad.
Richards House
The elaborate Richards House was built for the son of the early Wyoming
governor, DeForest Richards. He, J. DeForest, had followed his father into the
family banking business as vice president of the First National Bank in Douglas,
which the elder Richards had established, in partnership with his brother, in
1886. When his father, while still governor of Wyoming, died suddenly in 1903,
the then twenty-eight-year-old J. DeForest assumed control of the family’s local
banking and business interests, and simultaneously built this new residence, at
4th and Cedar Street. Its completion was an event of some note—for the local
newspaper at the time, in a feature entitled “A Handsome Home,” hailed it as
nothing less than “a monument to the confidence and pride which our people feel
in the future of Douglas.” The architect, who remains unknown, managed to
combine an eclectic assortment of elements into a reasonably integrated whole
that bears the stamp of no particular style; as such, it can best be described
as “eclectic vernacular.” At two-and-one-half stories, its proportions place it,
for Douglas, firmly into the “mansion” category. The natural wood shingle siding
on the upper stories lends it a rustic look, while the multiple,
steeply-pitched, gabled roofs suggest turn-of-the-century Victorian. Arches
within the side gables of the main roof are of a vaguely Gothic character.
Diamond-patterned window mullions draw the eye toward the uppermost story, where
the projecting gables, with exposed, Craftsman-style ornamental support
brackets, are framed by wide, decorative boards that boldly contrast with the
dark shingle siding, and emphasize the gables’ triangular geometry. J. DeForest
inhabited the home until around 1911, in which year, the house was purchased by
the Douglas dry goods merchant, George Metcalf.
Richards Carriage House
As a building type, the carriage house in America dates to the horse and buggy
days—clear back, in other words, to at least the 18th century. The “house” was
constructed as an outbuilding—never attached to the owner’s living quarters, for
reasons of hygiene—and was available only to those who could afford what it
sheltered; that is, only to the comparatively well-todo. With the invention of
the automobile in the first decade of the 20th century, necessities for the two
modes of transport—that is, horse, carriage, and auto—were often stored
side-by-side, in the same building. Owing to the obvious disadvantages of this
arrangement—a Model T reeking of horse manure being not the least of the
problems—around 1910, a new type of outbuilding, the automobile garage, came
into being. But the house built for DeForest Richards in 1904, on the cusp of
the technological shift, came equipped with the standard, full-fledged carriage
house. Built of brick and wood, with wood shingle siding to match that of the
residence, the building was replaced by a garage (attached to the Richards
House), and then remodeled into a residence sometime after 1920. Built for a
single purpose, the building’s lines and detailing were spare to begin with;
refurbishment across the decades has yielded a structure that, today, appears
sleek and ironically modern. Yet the exterior has seen only minor, superficial
changes, and looks today much as it did in 1904, when it was home to the
Richards’ horse, buggy, and (perhaps) Model T.
McWhinnie House
The McWhinnie House was built for a British immigrant of Scottish descent,
Campbell Holt McWhinnie. After serving aboard a sailing ship in England’s
merchant marine, he came to America, and thence to the Wyoming Territory,
eventually homesteading along the North Platte River. In 1906, he moved his
young family into the newly-constructed 4th Street house, where they lived for
the next 17 years, until 1923, when McWhinnie was appointed State Land
Commissioner and the family relocated to Cheyenne. The house is distinctive for
the canted main entryway, and for the central tower, crowned with a pyramidal
roof, that emerges from the junction of the gable-roofed projections at the
second floor. These two features lend the building a subtle Victorian air,
consonant with McWhinnie’s heritage. One other detail attracts the eye: the roof
above the projecting bay window on the west facade is a level surface surmounted
by a low railing—the whole assemblage looking, in its own quaint way, not unlike
the deck of a merchant marine sailing ship. The house has undergone no
fundamental outward changes since its construction, apart from replacement of
roofing, siding, and window frames. A large cottonwood tree that dominates the
front yard might be by McWhinnie’s hand; anyway, a multitude of the same also
grace the Douglas State Fairground, thanks in large part to the program of
planting initiated by the ex-merchant marine during his four-year tenure on the
Fair’s managing board, beginning in 1908.
Kidwell House
The Kidwell House, built for the early Douglas postmaster, Joseph Kidwell, is a
conglomerate of architectural elements derivative of the Gothic and Classical
styles—both of which were “revived” from their ancient origins during the 18th
century. One hallmark of the former, exemplified here, are the twin,
steeply-pitched gables that dominate the front facade, with the broad barge
boards, complete with ornamental apex pendants, emphasizing their geometry.
Small rectangular windows are installed at the top of the gables, where one
would normally expect to find air vents, and these admit light into the attic
area. The broad, decorative entablature across the porch roof is a Classical
element, as are the four supporting columns, which are octagonal in
cross-section, and equipped with bases and capitals of similar configuration.
And the projecting bay window on the south facade, roughly constituting one-half
of a decagon, is similarly derivative of the Classical tradition. The work of
assembling and unifying these various elements fell to the early Douglas
architect, J. Bevan Phillips, who trained in Europe, served an apprenticeship
with the Victorian architect, Alfred Waterhouse, and is credited with the design
of several other early Douglas buildings, including the Florence Hardware
Company and the Bolln Grocery, both in downtown Douglas; neither, however,
exhibits the disparate range of styles manifest in the Kidwell building.
Phillips died in early 1912; hence the Kidwell House was almost certainly one of
his last designs.
Blaine House
George Washington Blaine, born in England in 1854, emigrated to America later in
the century, and worked at sheep ranching for a time, as a pioneer settler along
the banks of the Cheyenne River. After wedding in Iowa, he and his bride
traveled back to Wyoming in a covered wagon and into the tent town called
Antelope, in the early to middle 1880’s. Built near the turn of the century, the
Blaine House served as the family home in Douglas until at least 1955, when
Blaine’s wife, Mary, affectionately known in Douglas as “Grandma Blaine,” died
at the age of 96. Hers is the oldest house on the tour, and the second-oldest
house in the North Douglas Historic District. At the time of its construction,
the local press heralded the Blaine House, with its nine rooms and running hot
water, as “the best and most expensive building in town.” Blaine’s, then, was
one of the earliest substantial homes to be constructed beside the dirt streets
along which Douglas was expanding, block by block—and was sited within an area
that the press referred to as “Aristocracy Hill,” a precursor, perhaps, to what
became “mansion row” along North 6th Street. The architecture of the house
exhibits details of the “Classical Revival” style, as evidenced by the central
pediments crowning the roofs at the front, the tapered columns set atop
rectangular wood bases, which support the porch roof— and, above all, in the
perfect symmetry of the main facade. While the flat at the apex of the hipped
roof may once have borne an iron railing, and thus constituted a traditional
“widow’s walk,” apart from that and the refurbished siding, the exterior of the
house appears now much as it did at the time of its construction, over a century
ago.
Rice House
The Rice House is a modest, vernacular dwelling of a size and character not
unlike those packaged and sold as complete homebuilder’s “kits” by companies
such as Sears-Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Alladin, beginning in the first
decade of the 20th century. Precursors of the modern “pre-fab” homes, which are
constructed off-site and shipped in a few separate, essentially complete
sections, kit homes were shipped by rail as packaged collections of separate,
numbered pieces—in some cases, as many as 30,000— and were then fit together,
piece-by-piece, on-site. An estimated 500,000 such homes were packaged and sold
during the century, and the Rice House may be one in that half-million.
Pre-manufactured or not, it is a tidy and compact piece of work, distinctive for
its arched gables and Classically-inspired entrance portico, which is set off by
Tuscan-style columns—the latter “mirrored” by decorative pilasters affixed to
the surface of the front facade, along either side of the main entryway. The
porch at the front is fully enclosed, extensively fenestrated, and blends
seamlessly into the walls of the house proper. History records this building as
the “Rice House,” since it was inhabited for an extended time by prominent local
businessman, Alva C. Rice, who helped run the family business, Rice Lumber and
Hardware and, later, Rice Hardware and Motor Company—the latter being one of the
earliest automobile dealerships in Converse County.
Werner House
What is historically known as the “Werner House” was not actually built for its
locally-known namesake—Edmund Werner—who acquired it some 17 years after its
original date of construction. In fact, the identity of its initial owner
remains unknown. But Edmund Werner, the son of a Wyoming pioneer, and himself a
rancher along Lightning Creek, reportedly purchased the home in 1927, primarily
to ensure his children access to the schools of Douglas. The house did not
change owners again until the death of Werner’s wife, Margaret, in 1965. The
house is noteworthy, then, owing mainly to its architectural features, which
make it locally unique—if not altogether incongruent—within its context. There
are, for example, the broad, boxed eaves, which include bold horizontal returns
that suddenly terminate at the upper corners of the windows—in mid-air, as it
were. The fully enclosed front porch with the continuous band of double-hung
windows, however attractive, appears equally anomalous. And finally, the overall
proportions and massing of the building—including the projecting, semi-circular
window bay at the southwest corner—seem more suited to a New England, a Great
Lakes, or perhaps even an Old South setting, not one of the High Plains. One
architectural historian describes the house as “displaying a blend of Colonial
Revival and Shingle Style design attributes”—which is a blend of styles
completely unique on the current walking tour, and probably one that is all but
unique to the region
Knittle House
From the exterior, the Knittle House is distinguished by the
elegantly-proportioned octagonal turret attached to the southwest corner of the
building. This vertical element is capped with what is called a “bell”
roof—so-called, because of its resemblance to the instrument. The apex of such a
roof nearly demands a finishing touch, which in this case consists in a sizeable
weather vane (that may not, however, be original to the house). Each of the two
floors of the turret are equipped with double-hung windows, one at each surface
of the five exterior facets, that drench the interior with light. The cornice of
the main roof is continuous around the perimeter of the turret, and constitutes
a visual tie between the vertical and horizontal lines that characterize the
building. The wood shingles on the upper story of the house and turret were
originally finished with a natural stain, and have since been repainted a
uniform color, as have the textured stucco surfaces at the lower floor. The roof
lines of the house are low, emphasizing the horizontal, and hence reminiscent of
the “Foursquare” style (which is also exemplified on the present tour in the
Williams House); and the full-length, low-ceilinged porch reinforces the
stylistic association. The house was originally built for Frank Knittle, a civil
engineer and surveyor who, with his wife Mary and seven children, resided in it
until about 1920.
Cook House
Tom Cook’s 3rd Street house represents an incomparable advance over the log
cabin in which he and his wife, Nellie, lived after their marriage in 1886. At
the time, Cook, the son of a Scottish immigrant coal miner, was himself mining
coal for the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad, along Shawnee Creek,
just east of the new town of Douglas. In the spring of 1887, Cook built a
“better cabin” for his bride—using plaster in lieu of mud at the log
interstices. When the mine closed in January of 1888, the Cooks moved to
Douglas, which was then in the throes of infancy. “Our water,” Cook’s
sisterin-law, Florence Hartman Cook, reports, “was hauled from the Platte River
and cost us 35 cents a barrel.... Except for the abundant game and the wild
small fruits, the living expenses were high, as there were no gardens.” And the
infrastructure, too, left something to be desired: “[O]ur streets all sparkled
with bits of broken bottles from the 13 saloons we were reported to have had at
that time.... There were no fences ... and the herds of range cattle driven past
the town to the shipping pens were a menace to our small children.” By 1904,
Cook had the wherewithal to begin construction of the house on North 3rd Street,
using locally-manufactured brick, his own labor, and—probably—a set of standard,
store-bought plans. Except for the modern window treatments, the building
appears today much as it did then: spare, sturdy, and redolent of Scottish
thrift. The broad, low-hipped roofs, the expanses of red brick, and—above
all—the massive chimney that ascends from the basement up through the center of
the house are all emblematic of Cook’s victory over the days when, as Florence
Cook recalls, “During the blizzards we had to hang our surplus carpets and
blankets on the walls to keep out the snow.”