Willard Carpenter House

Willard Carpenter House
Front of the house
Location: 405 Carpenter Street,
Evansville, Indiana
Built: 1849
Architectural style: Greek Revival
NRHP Reference#: 78000057[1]
Added to NRHP: February 10, 1978

The Willard Carpenter House, located at 405 Carpenter Street, Evansville, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, is one of two landmarks recognized as memorials to one of the city's most influential pioneers, philanthropist Willard Carpenter. The other is Willard Library which he built, endowed and gave to the people of the area.[2] Willard Carpenter, born on March 15, 1803 at Strafford, Orange County, Vermont, was a son of Willard, Sr., and Polly (Bacon) Carpenter, and a descendant of the noted Rehoboth Carpenter family.[3]

Construction on the Carpenter Home began in 1848 and was completed in 1849. The home is one of the finest examples of pure Greek Revival-Georgian Revival architecture in this area. The home passed from Carpenter ownership in the Depression years when the property was purchased by Funkhouser American Legion Post. In 1956, they sold the property to WTVW/TV7. Medco purchased the mansion in 1974 and restored the home to as close to original condition as possible. Medco stayed in the home until 1985 when it was purchased by WNIN TV. It now houses the offices and studios of WNIN TV and WNIN 88.3 FM.[4]

References

  1. ^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. http://nrhp.nps.focus.nps.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2010. 
  2. ^ WNIN Tri-State Public Media, Inc., 405 Carpenter Street, Evansville, Ind.: The Historic Carpenter House, http://www.wnin.org/about-us/history.html, accessed 6 Oct 2009.
  3. ^ Early Evansville Portraits and Biographies from History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1889, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/in/county/vanderburgh/portraits/pages/carpenter.htm, courtesy of John R. Carpenter of La Mesa, Calif.
  4. ^ WNIN Tri-State Public Media, 6 Oct 2009.