"One of the oldest remaining structures in Scotland County, the Downing House is an important northeast Missouri example of a house incorporating architectural elements of both the Greek Revival and Italian Villa styles. The home was built ca. 1858 for William G. Downing, Scotland County pioneer and prominent Memphis citizen. Recently acquired [1978] by the Scotland County Historical Society, the house has become the focal point of an enthusiastic local preservation effort.
One of Scotland County's earliest settlers, William G. Downing (1821-1901) came to Missouri from Fauquier County, Virginia, with his father and brother in 1837. Reaching Scotland County, the family settled in the Smoot neighborhood about eight miles west of Memphis, in an area known as the "Pulled Tight" district. There Downing taught school, later moving to Memphis and establishing a thriving mercantile business. In 1853 he was appointed one of the original trustees of the town of Memphis, and in 1884 he was appointed a member of the Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners of Missouri, serving in that capacity until 1891.
Downing built his house ca. 1858, utilizing the labor of slaves he brought with him from Virginia. Thomas J. Broadwater, also, a Virginian, was hired as contractor and Solomon Jenkins, architect of the Scotland County Courthouse (1858), is thought to have been the architect. Although Jenkins' earlier known works, such as Westminster Hall, the State School for the Deaf, and the State Mental Hospital (all in Fulton, Mo.) were wholely Classical in style, his Brannock Hall (1856) at Central Methodist College in Fayette was an experiment in the Italian style, with two assymetrical towers flanking a central, pedimented bay. A similar, square, flat-roofed tower adorns the Downing House, suggesting the hand of Downing in the second stage of construction at least. In addition, Jenkins, Broadwater and Downing were all involved in the construction of the Scotland County Court house, as is evidenced in the court records. Downing may well have provided some of his slaves for hire in the construction. At any rate, he was certainly acquainted with Jenkins, and the Downing House bears such similarities with Brannock Hall as to suggest Jenkins as the architect or consultant in the design and construction of the Downing House.
A variety of romantic legends recall the Downing House during the Civil War years. According to one story. Downing, a southern sympathizer and slave owner, traded houses with his friend and neighbor H.G. Pitkin, in order to spare his newly-built house from destruction by Union soldiers. The house changed hands several times after it was sold by Downing in 1865, and eventually fell into service as the Park Hotel, a rooming house for salesmen and theatrical people. Following its use as a hotel, it changed hands again and eventually was purchased by Dr. A.M. Keethler, a prominent local citizen who owned the house for many years.
On September 1st, 1978, the Scotland County Historical Society obtained ownership of the Downing House. The Society hopes to remove the exterior and interior alterations which detract from the building's original integrity and to restore it as closely as possible to its nineteenth-century appearance. Undoubtedly the most architecturally and historically significant building in Memphis, the house will be a choice location for a museum and civic/cultural center." - National Register Nomination Form
The Historical Society has restored the house to its original integrity and now operate it as a museum and is open mostly during summer months.