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Waitman T. Willey House

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1839–1840. 1946, John Volk. 128 Wagner Rd.
  • Waitman T. Willey House (State Historic Preservation Office, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Rodney Collins)

This one-and-one-half-story brick mansion is one of West Virginia's most accomplished and unusual Greek Revival houses. An impressive Doric front portico is by far the most striking feature. Instead of the usual four or six columns, it has five. The arrangement of openings in the front wall behind the portico—two doors flanking a pair of windows—is also unusual and dictated the rare pentastyle portico. The frieze of the portico contains triglyphs and metopes, while the pediment has an elaborate glazed oculus added in 1946 when Volk, a Florida architect, renovated and enlarged the house.

Waitman Willey (1811–1900) was instrumental in West Virginia's formation and served as one of the state's first two U.S. senators. He had previously served as a senator from the Restored Government of Virginia and had the honor of presenting the petition seeking approval of the new state to Congress.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.
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Data

What's Nearby

Alexander Wade House
Morgantown High School
C. L. Chenoweth House
Monongalia Arts Center (Morgantown Post Office and Federal Building)
Judge Cox House

Citation

S. Allen Chambers Jr., "Waitman T. Willey House", [Morgantown, West Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-ML16.

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