Wright Morris Boyhood House

The Wright Morris Boyhood House is a vernacular style house built in 1893 in Central City, Nebraska. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places,[1][4] as the boyhood home of author-photographer Wright Morris.

Wright Morris Boyhood House
Viewed from the southeast.
Location304 D Street in Central City, Nebraska
Coordinates41°7′2.0″N 98°1′38.0″W
Built1893
ArchitectW. C. Kerr[1]
Architectural styleVernacular
NRHP reference No.80002457[2]
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1980[3]

History and description

In 1893, W. C. Kerr (owner of Kerr Investment Company) built this house. It is a T-shaped, one-story vernacular frame house with two enclosed rear porches. It has three bays across the front with a centered doorway. It has a truncated hipped roof with a paneled cornice and gabled wall dormers centered on the front and rear of the house. The gabled pattern of the roof is repeated in the window and door trims. The interior includes pine woodwork, sliding doors, window seat, and a leaded glass transom window.[1]

Its primary historical significance is its connection to Wright Morris, who was born in Central City, Nebraska on January 6, 1910 and lived in this house until 1919. The city and the house played a significant role in his literary works and photography. In a private letter he wrote: "The house in which I spent my childhood, and remains the center of all my boyhood impressions, is on the southwest corner of B and D, across from the Baptist Church. I confess I feel a great attachment for it."[1][5]

See also

References
  1. "National Register of Historic Places: Nomination Form" (PDF).
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. "Nebraska National Register Sites in Merrick County". Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  4. Kay, John, Lonnie Dickson, Robert Kay, and Kathleen Fimple (1992). "Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey Reconnaissance Survey Final Report of Merrick County, Nebraska" (PDF). Nebraska State Historical Society: State Historic Preservation Office.
  5. "Wright Morris' Boyhood Home". Lone Tree Literary Society.
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