1010. 1212 W. Walnut - Free Classic

Originally built by Owen J. and Daisie Thompson, this home features the original limestone foundation, historic wood windows and front entry door. The original floor plan is still seen today, and includes projected bay windows on both the front and side elevations. Daisie designed the home using architecture that is a cross between a Queen Anne style and an American four-square. The same family owned this home until Dr. John Murray Thompson (son of Owen and Daisie) donated the property to the Howard County Historical Society in 1997. Dr. Thompson said, “I loved that home. We moved into it in 1905, when I was two years old. We used to play hide and seek on the museum grounds (Seiberling Mansion) and played a bit of basketball in the grand ballroom.” Thompson said he donated his house to the historical society because, “I loved the area and couldn’t stand for it to be sold to strangers; to keep my feelings alive for that area.” The historical society renovated the home in 2004. (Free-Classic style architecture: (see diagram) this style is expressed in the Palladian center dormer window, pedimental porch line and window arrangement. It is a sub-type of the Queen Anne but has a more formal feel and is characterized by classical features applied to the asymmetrical massing of the Queen Anne house.)