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The Rowley Family Living the Good Life in Springfield Well-known architect Calvert Vaux designed Wyndhurst, which was built for Sprinfield businessman Geaorge Howard in 1863. The house is in teh Victorian style called "Queen Anne" and features towers and turrets, a wraparound porch (called a "verandah"), and decorative shingles and woodwork. H. Curtis Rowley was the house's third owner; he purchased it in 1893. His family included wife, Thirza Merriam Rowley, and sons, Harold and Arthur. Despite all of its elegance and formality, Wyndhurst was home to a busy and active family. The house often sheltered three generations of Rowleys: H. Curtis and Thirza, sons Harold and Arthur, Arthur's wife Earla, and their children, Douglas and baby Earla. The children spent many happy days in their gandparents' home, playing in the house or exploring the gardens and grounds. Aunts, uncles and cousins visited often, and guests from Springfield and out of town paid calls as well. The most famous visitor to Wyndhurst was President William McKinley, who visited in June of 1899. One of the highlights of a visit to Wyndhurst was a tour of the grounds, which were designed by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Winding paths led through groves of trees. The gardens contained prize-winning roses in summer and chrysanthemums in fall. Winter snows turned the landscape into a fairy land. Buildings on the property included a stable, a greenhouse, servants' quarters and the gazebo or summer house built in a rustic stick style. The Rowley family sold Wyndhurst in the 1920s, and the new owners soon tore the house down. All that remains today is the stable, which has been converted into a private residence. However, thanks to Thirza Rowley and Springfield photographer George Van Norman, the spirit of Wyndhurst survives. Thirza hired Van Norman to take a series of forty photos of the house and grounds as a twenty-fifth anniversary present for her husband in 1899. The photos remain in the family. A few have been scanned into the computer age and are included here on this site. |  |
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Wyndhurst House: view with verandah. 
Wyndhurst House 
View of the house, rear elevation. The imposing size of the house is evident in this rear view. The lowest level was devoted entirely to housekeeping activitites, such as laundry and cooking, and was therefore not frequented by members of the family. 
The rustic summerhouse (gazebo), a delightful piece of Victorian architectural whimsy, afforded a 20-mile view over Springfield, and welcome refuge from summer heat. |
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Original photographs by George Van Norman, 1899. |
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