William W. Gray House Grayville, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 15.506 W 087° 59.766
16S E 412851 N 4234958
William Gray the founder of Grayville.
Waymark Code: WMZHBH
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/13/2018
Views: 0
County of hose: White County
Location of house: Court St. & E. Mill St., Grayville
Built: 1885
Architect: George Franklin Barber
Architectural Style: Queen Anne
TYPE OF STRUCTURE:
"The William Gray house is design of George Franklin Barber built around 1885, according to Gray family descendants. Another of Barber's homes the James Williams home, is located 12 miles south of Carmi, Illinois, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. This home was built in 1895. The Gray home is typical of many designs by Barber in that it is a basic Queen Anne structure with some Classical inspired detailing.
BUILDING PLACEMENT
"This structure faces west on Court Street (ILL. Route #1) in Grayville, four blocks from the Wabash River to its east, and 1½ miles from interstate #64 to its south. Its land occupies ¼ (150'x 150') of a city block. The main house sets centered on this block of land. The carriage house sets on the southeast extreme corner of the land (See plat and city maps attached).
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
"Overall Plan
The house, an example of balloon framing, is basically (excluding porches, bays and alcoves) rectangular in shape. The house has two stories with a raised basement and tall attic. The two stories are finished living spaces. The tower, which is on the third level is accessed through the attic.
"A steep pitched hipped roof, the ridge of which runs east/west has a north gable cresting ten feet below the main ridge. This gable face is composed of patterned wood shakes in the upper third of the gable. The lower two thirds is composed of masonry formed from the Wabash River sand and mussel shells divided by "Jacobean" timbers.
"A south gable rests six feet below the east/west ridge. This gable facade is clapboard on the lower two-thirds, wood shakes on the upper third. A double window is center in this gable. The western half of the window is a decorative blind window employed to hide the chimney which sets within the attic directly behind the blind window.
A west facing gable peaks twelve feet below the east/west ridge competing for attention with the eight-sided tower and gablet located on the same west facing. The gable is composed of a decorative bracket at the ridge, the face of the gable is composed of hatching with rosette centers. The bargeboards of this gable are scored with a Barber design classical pattern. This gable protrudes eighteen inches from the house body plane and is supported -- as is the south gable -- by decorative brackets. The east roof surface is broken by a single dormer window." ~ NRHP NOmination Form