Thornhill / Pest House - Knightstown, IN
Posted by: 
DnRseekers
N 39° 47.371 W 085° 31.213
16S E 626703 N 4405443
Commonly known as The Pest House due to its use in 1902 as a hospital for smallpox victims.
Waymark Code: WMG2YM
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2013
Views: 4
From old K town.com comes....
"This beautiful old 17 room house was built shortly after the Civil War in 1867. It is in the French Empire Revival style popular in the day. It’s had a “bad rap” as “The Pest House” for many years because it was used for a few months as an emergency hospital during the smallpox epidemic of 1902. It was built in 1868 by one of Knightstown’s leading citizens in the second half of the 19th century, Charles D. Morgan who was an Attorney and the 2nd President of the First National Bank.
Mrs. Morgan ,Alvira, became chronically ill sometime in the late 1870s and in 1883 they moved back into Knightstown so she could be more easily cared for. They bought the house at 238 East Brown St. from their brother-in-law, Dr. Henry Crouse.; see: 238 East Brown. Alvira died in 1889 but Charles continued to live on Brown St. and abondoned the “Thornhill” house. I believe it remained vacant for many years.
The house was purchased for a fraction of its worth by the town of Knightstown in 1902 and used as a Hospital during the Smallpox Epidemic of that year. It was given the nickname “Pest House” during the epidemic and the name and stigma stuck. Probably as a result, the house was boarded up and again stood empty for many, many years."
As of 2013 there is a Facebook page active for the house with lots of pictures of the interior and exterior in various stages of restoration as well as articles covering its history. It can be found at (
visit link) as of 2013
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