From the CARTHAGE WEEKLY PRESS  12/17/1891:

Curtis Wright is to day moving into his new house at the corner of Macon and Lyon streets.

This simple sentence was one of the news items in the Carthage Weekly Press on December 17, 1891.  The realization that 120 years ago today Curtis Wright and his family were moving into our “Queen Anne Mansion” is thrilling beyond belief. What excitement they must have felt walking into the grand hallway and up the stairs, perhaps laying claim to bedrooms and parlors. With eight children and frequent house guests  the organization of the household had to be a daunting and necessary task.  Meals, laundry, cleaning and bathing all required many hands and long hours.  As our guests tour our home today, the last day of the 2011 season, we acknowledge with respect the Wright family and their legacy; for it is truly a privilege  to be able to present to the public the Mansion and it’s history.  Today we honor a true American Family and their dream of prosperity, success and happiness.  To all of our fans we most sincerely wish the same to you in 2012.  Thank you for your support and appreciation!

The Queen Anne Mansion was host  for two very special nights to the elusive Mrs. Claus (aka Becky Ross). Mrs. Claus was in town on Dec. 3rd and 10th to share in storytime at The Queen Anne, reading Christmas stories to young guests as their parents toured the candlelight mansion. Pictured here with the owner of The Queen Anne Mansion, Lata Lovell, Mrs. Claus also enlisted the aid of Lamp Chop as she entertained the children. After storytime and tours, the families met down in the Gallery Level for a meal of Chicken & Dumplings and Peach Cobbler provided by local restaurant Simply Scrumptious Tearoom.

These events were part of “A Queen Anne Christmas” this year, and gave the public an opportunity to tour the mansion at night with candles and tree lights aglow. Our last day open for tours for the 2011 season is December 17th; we at The Queen Anne would like to thank all of our guests who toured the mansion and paid us such wonderful compliments both verbally and on tripadvisor.com. It has truly been a pleasure welcoming you into our home and sharing this marvelous treasure with you. We thank you for sharing your own personal stories of restoration, antique collecting and family histories.

From the staff at The Queen Anne Mansion, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happiest of Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

Queen Anne's Lace Bedroom

Yes, we are officially decorated for Christmas! Although the Curtis Wright family did not usually decorate their home in 1891 with a Christmas tree (see related story here) we have brought a Victorian Christmas to life here at The Queen Anne Mansion. A house this big needs a lot of decorations and trimming to spread glad tidings and great joy so we have not one, not two, not three, but (at last count) FOURTEEN trees throughout the house. We challenge you to come and visit and try to find them all!

Along with our trees and other finery, we have on display a collection of Santa through the Decades; a charming exhibit of Santa figurines costumed in historic garb from 1800 through 1920. The Queen Anne Mansion will be open for tours through Saturday, December 17th, open every day but Wednesdays. In addition, we will have two special evenings (Dec. 3rd & Dec .10th) featuring Mrs. Claus reading Christmas stories to young visitors while parents tour the candlelight mansion. These events will feature a Hot & Hearty Snack of Chicken & Dumplings, Hot Bread, Gingerbread Cookies and Peach Cobbler in our Gallery Level. Cost for event is $22.50 for adults; children 12 & under free.

The Phelps House as seen today

Happy Halloween! We wanted to share the following bit of history from 1900, a description of the “Halloween Ragtime Ball” held at the Phelps House in Carthage. Marian Wright, daughter of Curtis & Nira Wright is telling her mother about a party given by her friend, Helene Phelps. Marian had just graduated from the Carthage Collegiate Institute where she was studying music and had not yet married her future husband, Dr. Everett Powers.

Carthage Press, July 5, 1900

1900 Halloween-Ragtime Ball at Phelps House
Excerpt of a 1900 letter written by Marian Wright to her mother Nira Wright outlining some of the activities at the Halloween Ragtime Ball given at the Colonel W. H. Phelps House at 1146 Grand Avenue.

“Now… the Ragtime Ball at Helene [Phelp's]…. The Halloween party was a great success. All over the house there was not a single bona fide light — all jack-o-laterns some cut from brown meat paper with red tissue paper underneath. In the ball room two old brooms were crossed on the chandelier with a stuffed black cat on one handle — wires stretched crossing the room at different heights on which were large bats cut from black cloth. We were marched through three pairs of folding doors from each of which were hung strings of apples, pickles, etc. which everyone tried to bite as they marched under. Then we went into the dining room and on the big round table was a chopping bowl full of popcorn, two immense platters of taffy, eight or ten big pumpkin pies, nuts, doughnuts, etc. On the floor was a tub of red apples…After the party festivities, the attendees went to the third floor ballroom for dancing.*”

*The individual or ensemble providing the musical entertainment is unknown.

Today when visiting Carthage, the Phelps House, now owned by Carthage Historic Preservation, Inc., is open for tours in season on Wednesdays. For more information contact 417-358-1776.

Excerpt from the former exhibit of first-person accounts of selected seasonal events in Carthage.
Courtesy of The Powers Museum
PO Box 593, Carthage MO 64836

Designed by the Lovells and Steven Marquardt of Marquardt Ironworks, the gold Fleur de lis toppers reflect the stateliness of The Queen Anne.

The Fleur de lis is said to signify perfection, light and life; a very appropriate symbol for the Estate.

Sean-Paul and Juliane at the LifeLong Learning Expo

Save 20% off ticket prices when purchasing Tour tickets and Intrigue Theater tickets together. You must purchase your tickets at our Box Office or over the phone by calling 1.800.Mansion in order to receive the combo package.

Check out the reviews for Intrigue Theater on Tripadvisor.com:

The Bradley Mural

The mural at the top surrounding the sky light was painted by Chris Bradley after the mansion was brought to Eureka Springs; it represents the four seasons of the Ozark Mountains. Chris came and touched up the mural during the most recent restoration of the home.

Looking up at the sky light and mural.

The story of Curtis Wright begins in Canton, Illinois on March 6, 1844. In 1862, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twelfth regiment of Illinois volunteer infantry to join his father, Captain William W. Wright and fought with the union side as part of the army of Ohio and later with the army of the Cumberland until the battle of Resaca, Georgia in May of 1864.  His father was wounded in this battle and died a few days later. Curtis was given the opportunity to serve as chief clerk in the subsistence department in Knoxville, Tennessee and subsequently put in charge of a division station at Greenville, Tennessee until the end of the war. Curtis left his service on June 28, 1865.

Curtis Wright then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he accepted a position with the Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayette Railway Company. He worked for them in various positions, from bill clerk to superintendent of telegraphs. After nine years he resigned and moved to Connersville, Indiana where he met and married Nira Koogler on November 4, 1869. They had eight children; Bessie, Nira, Anne, Curtis Jr., Nathaniel, Marian, William and Robert. During this period he was part-owner with his brother of the Cooley-Morrison Furniture Company, later to be renamed Connersville Cabinet Company.

In 1888, at the age of 44, he traveled to Carthage, Missouri and became an investor in the Troup Mine at Prosperity, Missouri, selling his interest in 1892 and establishing the Carthage Stone Company. He enticed his wife to move to Carthage by promising to build her a fine home in town. He wrote, “Bring our children to this Queen City, and I promise to build for you the most majestic house in a town of elegant residences.”

When construction of the mansion began in 1891, Curtis had his European furniture craftsmen come to Carthage and create the highly carved trim and molding on the main level of the home. This unique woodwork still exists in the house today and has been painstakingly restored to its original splendor. The interior originally contained 21 rooms, with Italian marble fireplaces and huge circular windows. Total cost to build the house in 1891: $21,500.00.

Curtis was very involved in civic and social affairs in Carthage, serving as a ruling elder at the First Presbyterian Church and working with the YMCA. Nira was active in literary and music guilds and other volunteer societies. The Wright house became the place to meet for club meetings, parties and receptions. The Wrights were hosts to many famous people of the day; Buffalo Bill and Harold Bell Wright, the author were among their guests. The children grew and prospered as well, and their daughter Marian in particular flourished as an Opera singer. Her daughter, Marian Louisa Powers Winchester, established the Powers Museum in Carthage, Missouri in 1981 as a tribute to her parents and grandparents. Much of the Wright family history is preserved here.

Wright Children as adults

source The Wright House by Nancy Jane Sneed
source Powers Museum Carthage, Missouri
source Genealogical and Biographical Notices of Descendants of Sir John Wright of Kelvedon Hall, Essex, England by Curtis Wright

DG Womack and "Sweet Spirit"

It’s hard to believe that it’s Friday already; we had a very busy Memorial Weekend that saw the end of the Invitational Art Show on May 31st. On Thursday, Mayor Pate was on hand to present the Viewer’s Choice winner, DG Womack with a check for $1000.00 for her painting “Sweet Spirit”. Honorable Mention winners Cindy Galvan, Diana Harvey and Larry Mansker were presented with monetary prizes as well. The remainder of the day was spent dismantling the exhibit and sadly watching the fantastic artwork go out the door. It was our pleasure to share so many fine pieces of art with our tour guests.

This morning we met the public at Myrtie Mae’s for a brief sampling of our Intrigue Theater performance. Sean-Paul was at the restaurant and his wife and show partner, Juliane, was at KESA radio station. She was able to mentally “see” objects from the patrons and describe them………..even down to a credit card number (no, not the whole number; the patron did not want to buy breakfast for the crowd!) Then Linda Caldwell from the Carroll County News was on hand to open the headline prediction CD sent to her two weeks ago by Sean-Paul; we all listened to his recorded prediction as he accurately described the mudslide on Spring Street and she showed us the newspaper for Friday, June 3rd……indeed the headline was all about the slide. Our Intrigue Theater presentation “The Ghosts have Answers” premiers next Friday, June 10th at 7:00 PM…..and runs through July 3rd, Thursday through Sunday weekly.

Then it was back to The Queen Anne Mansion to finish the radio interview with Ken Rundell and set up our rotating exhibit of photographs of the Mansion move to Eureka Springs from Carthage, Missouri in 1984. If you haven’t seen the Mansion yet, put it on your “can’t miss” list for your trip to Eureka Springs!