White Day Place
You are here
Old Watson Homestead (White Day Place)
c. 1803. c. 1843. c. 1855. South side of WV 73 at the crossing of White Day Creek, east of the MonongaliaMarion county border
This large brick mansion stands close to the road and White Day Creek near the boundary between Monongalia and Marion counties. The homestead is the product of several building campaigns, the earliest represented by the fivebay facade with Federal style fanlight over the central entrance. The cornice, with double reverse-curve brackets evenly spaced between every three modillions, dates from the 1850s, when the house was enlarged and embellished with Italianate details. An enormous wooden belvedere standing guard over the hipped roof dates from the same time. Portions of the sides and rear were earlier alterations, dating from the 1840s.
An impressive antebellum house for its time and place, this ancestral home of the Watson family remained in the hands of the builder's heirs until 1937. The Watsons were largely responsible for the development of Marion County's coalfields, and Fairmont contains numerous examples of the family's affluence (see WesBanco, formerly the Watson Building [ MA7], and High Gate [ MA12]). A two-story log house to the east of the homestead was moved to the site in the 1980s.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.