The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Edwin H. Ferguson Residence Architectural Collection, 1902

Title

Edwin H. Ferguson Residence Architectural Collection, 1902

Subject

Architecture--Designs and plans

Architecture
Blueprints
Ferguson, Edwin Hite, 1852-1924
Old Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)
Residential architecture

Description

Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) was a Louisville industrialist who made his fortune in the cottonseed oil business. His company, the Kentucky Refining Company, was the first cottonseed oil refinery in Louisville and grew to be the second largest of its kind in the world. In an article in the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1902, Ferguson is described as the richest man in the city. In 1901, Ferguson commissioned the Louisville architectural firm Cobb and Dodd—the same firm responsible for designing the Seelbach Hotel and the Kentucky capitol building—to design him what would be the most expensive home in Louisville.

Construction of the mansion took four years (1901-1905) and $100,000, approximately ten times the cost of neighboring Victorian homes in Old Louisville, which today has the largest contiguous collection of Victorian mansions in the United States. In today’s money, the home would cost an estimated $2 million, not including the labor required for the intricate craftsmanship found throughout the building. The mansion was built with every modern convenience, including gas and electricity, and had the first central heating system in a Louisville residence.

The lavish mansion originally housed only nine occupants: the three members of the Ferguson family—Edwin, his wife Sophie, and their only child Margaret—in addition to six servants. But despite the enormous cost and effort of building the home, the Fergusons only lived there for less than 20 years, from 1905 until 1924. In 1907, Edwin was ousted from his own company, leading a dwindling of his fortune over the next few decades. In early 1924, Margaret suffered the birth of a stillborn child, and they sold the house soon after. Edwin Hite Ferguson died just two weeks after moving out of the home. Margaret died of meningitis at the age of 29 in 1929, and Sophie died in 1951 at the age of 78. All three funerals were held in the Ferguson Mansion.

The mansion’s next owner was L. D. Pearson & Son, Inc. Funeral Home, which operated there from 1924 to 1976. Over the following decade, the property had several more owners, including John Y. Brown, Jr., who used it as headquarters for his successful 1979 gubernatorial campaign. Since 1986, the mansion has been home to the Filson Historical Society.

This collection contains reproductions of original blueprints for the Ferguson Mansion, located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street). Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.

Also check out this collection of interior photographs of the Ferguson Mansion taken in 1912: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/collections/show/23

Creator

Dodd, William, 1862-1930
Cobb, Arthur, 1860-1951

Source

Mss. AR D, Dodd, William and Arthur Cobb. Edwin H. Ferguson residence architectural drawings, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky

Publisher

The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky

Date

1902

Language

eng

Type

Collection

Identifier

Mss. AR D

Coverage

20th century
1900s

Collection Items

  • fergman011.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman006.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman008.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman007.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman009.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman002.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman004.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman005.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman013.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman014.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman003.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman001.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman015.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman016.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman012.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman019.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman020.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman021.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman017.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.
  • fergman018.jpg

    Reproductions of blueprints for the residence of Edwin Hite Ferguson (1852-1924) located at 1412 Third Avenue (today's 1310 South Third Street) in Louisville, Kentucky. Drawings include floor, section, and detail drawings of the mansion and carriage house.