A. Taylor Ray House - Gallatin, MO - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

County of house: Daviess County
Location of house: W. Van Buren St. & S. Daviess St., Gallatin
Built: 1896
Architect: George Tuggle
Architectural Style: Queen Anne

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" The A. Taylor Ray House is significant as the finest example of the free classic mode of the Queen Anne Revival in the town of Gallatin, Missouri. Moreover, it holds additional significance as the former home of the Ray and Tuggle families, both prominent in local and state affairs and government.

The free classic mode has been designated by Marcus Whiffen as the second phase of the Queen Anne Revival style, succeeding the Shavian Memorial phase of this style. Because the Shingle Style, a progressive movement which : developed from the Queen Anne Revival, attracted many trained architects who might have been drawn to the Queen Anne Revival in the late nineteenth century, the free classic mode became an often unorthodox, often exhuberant development of less philosophically disciplined designers and builders.  In the A. Taylor Ray House this exhuberance is seen in several details. The most notable of these are the anthemion relief on the cavetto molding above the curving bay on the west, the acanthus molding relief on the cavetto molding above the tripartite bay to the east, the carved sunburst in the gable of the primary façade, the distinctive woodwork of the encircling veranda and the rich interior carving and iron work

The house was constructed by Mr. and Mrs. A. Taylor Ray, prominent members of the First Baptist Church of Gallatin, with a family member, George Tuggle, acting as architect. The Rays were both teachers and are noted for their generous financial gifts to their church and to William Jewel! College, near Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, their gifts to benefit the children of the poor of Gallatin are well remembered. After the Rays passed away, Helen Weiser Tuggle, a niece of the Ray family, and her husband, Floyd Tuggle, lived in this house until 1950. Tuggle was a farmer who was instrumental in the organization of the Daviess County Extension Program and the Daviess County Soil and Drainage Districts. In addition, he served as president and chairman of the board of the First National Bank of Gallatin, a representative in the Missouri State Legislature for four terms, as a member of the local school board for twelve years and as a Rotarian for over thirty years." ~ National Register Nomination Form