Menu
Fort Scott's Wilder House turns 150
Fort Scott is often known for its historic downtown buildings, and one of those structures is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year.
The Wilder House, which turns 150 this year, is the oldest building in Fort Scott. The Lowell Milken Center, 4 S. Main St., which is currently housed in the building, hosted a birthday reception Tuesday afternoon for the building, which was built in 1863 during the Civil War.
"The center felt honoring historic buildings downtown is one way to bring out the importance of our historic buildings," Lowell Milken Center Executive Director Norm Conard said. "We felt as a center this is something we should do. Plus our projects on unsung heroes fits right in with that."
The event, attended by about 50 city officials, business owners and other community members, included remarks by Conard, several historic photographs of the building available for viewing, refreshments and a drawing for prizes.
Local historian Fred Campbell, who attended the reception, said he learned through some research that the Wilder House got its name during the mid-1800s "from the great parties there because of the large saloon."
Campbell said the saying went that "there was no wilder house on the frontier than that."
The Wilder House is currently the oldest building in Fort Scott by several weeks. Campbell said that at one time, the nearby Miller Block was the oldest building in Fort Scott, built in 1861, prior to being destroyed in a disastrous March 2005 downtown fire.
The Wilder House was built during the summer and fall of 1863, also the time of Civil War battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg.
The building served as a hotel through the beginning of the 20th century and had several different owners. Many dances, cotillions and dinner parties took place in the hotel.
Campbell said the building served as a hotel through much of its existence.
"The lower part became a drug store in the 1920s," he said. "The upper part was let out as rooms for rent. Then the upper rooms were turned into small businesses."
Across the street from the Wilder House, where the Milrose Block is today, was the site of the Wilder House stables. Guests were able to house their horses and carriages overnight. Campbell said the stables lasted until about the late 1800s. The Wilder House closed as a hotel in the early 1900s.
"Then it became a commercial house," Campbell said. "It has housed local businesses since that time, for the most part, a drug store."
Connie Banwart, of the Historic Preservation Association of Bourbon County, said the Wilder House is part of the Downtown Historic District, an area that includes 83 buildings and brick streets that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Banwart said she had previously received a grant to conduct research on 139 buildings in Fort Scott, among them the Wilder House.
Among the changes to the building over the years include the brickwork on the front of the building, which Banwart said is not the original bricks used for the building. She said the brickwork was redone "in the 1930s or 40s." However, the brick on the back of the building is the original brick, she said.
Conard said center staff discovered last year that the Wilder House was turning 150 years old and is the oldest building in Fort Scott so they decided to host a reception to recognize it.
"We had some nice comments from the community about doing something like this," he said. "And with our expanded space, we can house receptions much easier now. It was a nice crowd; they were very appreciative."
Established in 2007, the Lowell Milken Center discovers, develops and communicates the stories of unsung heroes who have made a profound and positive different in the course of history.