After Durrett

The Filson Club's first permanent home at 118 West Breckinridge Street.

Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston, Filson president and major donor, as a child.

During Durrett’s final illness in 1913, arrangements were made for his collection to be sold to the University of Chicago, due to the lack of a fireproof vault for document storage in Louisville. Unfortunately, much of the Filson Club’s collections were incorporated into Durrett’s personal collection, meaning a portion of it left the state.

The Filson Club’s collections that remained after the sale were transferred to the library of Filson vice president Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston, located in the Columbia Building at Fourth and Main Streets in Louisville, and were housed there until 1929.  Thruston, and other Filson members, recognized the need for a stand-alone building.  A drive for funds was successfully conducted in 1926, and a property was purchased, remodeled, and fireproofed.  

In June 1929, the Filson’s materials, along with Mr. Thruston’s personal collection which he gifted in full, were transferred to the Club’s new home at 118 West Breckinridge Street.  The Louisville Herald Post noted: “It's handsome building is an outward symbol of the appreciation in which it is held.”  Architect E. T. Hutchings renovated two townhouses into one Georgian-style building, housing the Filson’s archives, library, museum, and offices.