Dresden Enterprise Apr 24 1896 - The Illustrated Edition Part 20 "Some of Our Elegant Homes"

This is the twentieth in a multi-part series featuring the April 24 1896 edition of the Dresden Enterprise.  If you missed the previous posts you can find them here: part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten, part eleven, part twelve, part thirteen, part fourteen, part fifteen, part sixteen, part seventeen, part eighteen, part nineteen.

Some of our Elegant Homes

The handsome brick residence of Hon. John R. Thomason and wife, formerly the old Gardner homestead, was built by Major Alfred Gardner, deceased, and which has in days gone by been a place where a large family amid social pleasures reigned supreme.  It has been thoroughly remodeled, and is described as follows:

The entrance to the grand hall is beautifully frescoed in pale tints; the hall divided in the center by silken portierrers; stairway heavily carved, with handsome newel posts; the whole being lighted form a skylight.  On the right you enter the drawing-room or parlor, done in pink and white; furniture heavily upholstered in brocade satin in light shades, no two pieces alike, which is quite novel; cabinet mantel, large mirror with brackets in the sides; wood-work, maple; Aixminster carpet, pink, shaded roses, on cream ground.  Dining room--soft shades of green and red; wood-work, English oak, heavily carved; table, chairs and sideboard to match; Royal Wilton carpet.  Family Room--Furniture and wood-work, walnut; large extensive bay windows, giving a fine southern exposure and a beautiful view of the lawn.  Guest Chamber--Rich mahogany furniture and wood-work to correspond; Aixminster carpet in Persian color, very handsome.  Guest-Chamber--Furniture and wood, red oak; blue and cream carpet, draperies to match; cabinet mantle with mirror.  Bed Room--Birch furniture and wood-work; carpet and trimming, red and gold.  Library--Lower room green and red; book cases, table and chairs, oak.

Thus, with porches without number, a commodious bath-room, closets, pantries, a large kitchen, with all the modern improvements, make this one of the handsomest homes in West Tennessee.

As will be seen from the cut, J.W. Moran, president of the Dresden Bank has a magnificent residence--not completed yet, it is true, but an inspection of the interior--which consists of thirteen rooms, including large reception room, front parlor, library and dining hall--will show their beauty and utility.  All these rooms are connected by double doors, and will be handsomely finished in oak, with cabinet mantels.  Besides these, are the large living room down-stairs, little Miss Marion's room (this was actually J.W. Moran's room, Marion was upstairs), and many closets and other conveniences.  Leading up from the reception hall is a wide staircase, that adds much to its beauty.  Up-stairs are a number of bed-rooms, set apart for certain members of the family, and a large airy guest-chamber in the northwest corner.  In the attic is an immense tank, which will supply water for the bath-rooms.  The house has double floors, double walls besides the plastering, and is in every way more substantially built than are the houses of to-day.  there are forty-five windows in the building, and the whole structure rests on a firm foundation.  It will be expensively and tastily furnished throughout, but will not be ready for occupancy before fall.  Mr. Moran is worth much to the town, and we wish we had more men with his financial ability to adorn Dresden with such homes.

Continued on page 9.   Unfortunately, that part of the newspaper is missing.  Hopefully I will come across at a later time.

The complete list of links in this multi-part series:

part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven, part eight, part nine, part ten, part eleven, part twelve, part thirteen, part fourteen, part fifteen, part sixteen, part seventeen, part eighteen, part nineteen, part twenty, part twenty-one, part twenty-two, part twenty-three.

Early Postcard Picture of Moran Place, circa 1900

I never get tired of seeing pictures of Moran Place.  This one is on a postcard and is titled "Residence Street Scene Dresden, Tenn."

Architectural and Design Elements, Moran Place

Early photo, grand staircase, small sitting nook
and fireplace. 

Moran Place is a feast for the eyes. Construction began in 1895.   It is a modified version of George Barber's design no. 36 from the book Cottage Souvenir no. 2.   The book was loaned out to another branch of Moran's and does not seem to have been returned.  Several Moran relatives built magnificent Victorian homes perhaps based on George Barber's designs.  Ida Moran and her husband Will G. Timberlake built a huge Victorian home near Jackson Tennessee.  Some of the Texas relatives had majestic Victorian homes as well.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  Taken from inside the attic
looking out.  It very much looks like a rainbow.

The first floor of Moran Place has a Master bedroom with huge closet and a private room off the side.  One bathroom, a front parlor, sitting room also called the library, a large formal dining room, large kitchen with a laundry room, huge entrance which includes a small cubby area under the main grand staircase (seen in the photo above) and a sitting area in the main hall.  The narrow servants stairs are in the back.  There are six fireplaces on the first floor alone and there is a large wrap around front porch.

Wallpaper from an upstairs bedroom.

The second floor has four bedrooms, one bathroom, a large sitting area, a turret room, four fireplaces, a small outdoor space overlooking the front yard. Some of the rooms were painted while others had wallpaper, even the ceilings had wallpaper. At one time plantation shutters covered the windows.  The windows at the top of the house are done in beautiful stained glass as is the window in the dining room.

The narrow servants staircase.

The Victorian was not the original Moran home.  The Moran lot was large enough that the "old" house stayed in place while construction of the "new" Victorian house was in progress.  While the original furnishings probably came from the "old" house family lore says that most of the large ornate furnishings came a bit later from the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.

The huge third floor may have at one time been used as a sewing room and most definitely as storage space.

Moran Home, Interior Picture. First Floor

This sitting area is on the first floor near the front door.  The architectural features remain the same to this day.  At some point the wall-to-wall carpet was taken up and and it's now hardwood floors with area rugs.

This looks like an urn atop the railing of the stairs but it is wood and part of the ornate staircase.  You can see another  one on the next landing in the above picture.  The "urn" feature could come be removed and the Moran children would use it as a hiding  place for their letters to Santa Clause.

Possibly a Timberlake Home, Madison County TN

Ida Moran and William G. Timberlake were married in 1902.

And what's really nifty is finding surprises like this.  I zoomed in on the scanned image and found a woman standing on the porch.