County of house: Cooper County
Location of house: Main St. & South St., Boonville
Built: 857-1860
"The Juliet Trigg Johnson House, 1304 Main Street, is significant
under Criterion C in the area of ARCHITECTURE. One of three surviving Gothic Revival residences in Boonville, two of which are brick and are located outside of historic districts, the Juliet Trigg Johnson House retains the distinctive details and features of the style, which was never prolific in Boonville (see "Historic Resources of Boonville: The Steamboat Era, 1826-1870" and "Historic Resources of Boonville: Additional Architectural Contexts--Gothic Revival Residences"). It shares with the surviving examples of the style in Boonville the steep roofs, centered cross gable, and decorative wood ornamentation which
characterized the style.
"The Juliet Trigg Johnson House was constructed circa 1857-1860 by
Dr. William H. Trigg, a Boonville financier and merchant, as a wedding gift for his daughter. A house identical in scale and style, but with reversed floor plan, was constructed for a second daughter, Josephine, at 1307 Sixth Street, also as a wedding gift. Both the Juliet Trigg Johnson and Josephine Trigg Pigott Houses are the earliest examples of Gothic Revival residential architecture in Boonville. In 1883, the Johnsons constructed a new house, and Dr. Trigg sold the house he had built as a wedding gift. From 1888 until 1895, Josephine, Juliet's sister, and her husband, William, owned the house. Subsequent occupants included Joseph F. Rutherford, later a leader of the
Jehovah's Witnesses, who allegedly filled with brick the windows on the gable end of the north elevation of the house to avoid seeing the wicked night lights of Boonville. Although a number of owners followed, the house has remained a single family dwelling." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Built: c. 1857-1860
Style/Design: Gothic Revival
The front open porch is supported 3 square wooden posts on each side. It has a brick ballustrade & a shallow pediment with dentil work and caps a double leaf entrance with transom set in a panelled embrasure. The porch is not original to the structure. Windows are generally 4/4 however some are 1/1 or 6/6. The attenuated openings have straight side arch headers with label stops on the primary facade & segmentally arched soldier course headers on the other facades, There is a polygonal bay to the N. Two windows on this
facade have been bricked in, The bay window on the S was removed and replaced with rectangular paired windows, On each side of the rear ell are 2 gable roof dormers which are very narrow. A N door has been converted to a window, The roof line of the structure is accented by a boxed cornice which has brackets and forms returns at the gable ends. On the S facade is an open porch and entry, A gothic patterned bargeboard embellishes the porch which is supported on 3 octagonal columns, The interior newel repeats this octagonal motif. The staircase and newel are walnut, The floor plan has been altered. Some of the original black walnut woodwork has been retained, Two of four original fireplaces are in working condition. The 2nd story is in near original condition, There is a frame attached pent roofed garage on a stone foundation, It is on the E end of the rear ell.
"The house was built c. 1857-1860 by Dr. William H. Trigg, Boonville financier and merchant as a residence for his daughter, Juliet Trigg Johnson, upon her marriage. In style and detail it is the same as 1307 6th St., which was built for Juliet's twin sister Josephine, except that the 1st story floor plans are reversed. The structure is significant in that it was built by Boonville's wealthiest citizen of the era and is one of a pair of houses that represent the earliest examples of residential Gothic architecture in Boonville.
"The use of segmentally arched window and door openings are among the earliest examples in Boonville, Trigg, a man of means and culture, purchased a large tract of land beyond the southern boundary of the city which became known as "Trigg Hill." On this hill, which is the highest point in the area, Trigg built at least four residences
for his children and one for himself. Originally the "twin houses" had grounds landscaped in the Andrew Jackson Downing manner and commanded a fine view of the city to its north.
"Although the 1304 Main lot has been subdivided in the 1930's, 1307 6th St. still retains the original lot size. From this vantage point General Parsons of the Missouri State Guard surveyed the routing of the State Guard by Federal troops during the first Battle of
Boonville, June 17, 1861.
"The masonry of both structures is believed to have been contracted by Andrew Gantner, a master immigrant brick and stone mason and personal friend of Trigg. Gantner was the only non-family member residing on Trigg hill and his sandstone homestead at 1308 6th St, still survives. Juliet and her husband, William M. Johnson, a prominent Boonville merchant, resided in the structure till 1883 when they moved to their home at 720 6th St. In 1887 Dr, Trigg sold the house to Nancy Davis, who sold it to John and Josephine Trigg Pigott in 1888. The Pigotts, who had earlier lived in the other twin house, retained ownership till 1895 when it was sold to "Judge" Joseph F, Rutherford, court
reporter, Prosecuting Attorney and stand-in Circuit Court Judge.
"Rutherford is credited with the bricking-in of the two NW windows because he did not want to view the wicked lights of the city by night." Rutherford sold the residence in 1910 and in 1916 became the
successor of Charles Taze Russell, organizer of the Russellites. As leader of this religion he is credited with changing the organization's name to the Jehovah's Witnesses, coining the phrase "millions of people now living will never die", and in furthering their doctrine by writing four books on church philosophy.
"The next owner, Lafayette Coulter, a supervisor at the telephone company sold the house to Charles W. Powell in 1916. In 1917 William
L. Koenig, county collector (1909-15), owner of a local bus and transfer company and the Koenig Auto Sales Company, purchased the house. The next owner, Maude Huckabay, 1919, was foreclosed upon in 1924 and Eugene Windsor and Crockett Hickman became the recipients,
possibly converting the house into 3 apartments. In 1927, Lon Wendleton became the owner, made alterations to the house& subdivided the large lot on which he built the 3 houses to to the north, The 4 houses were dedicated to the City as Wendleton's Addition in 1928.
Also in that year the house was sold to Dr, K.L. Frazier, a local chiropractor. The next owner, Charles T, Babbitt, 1945, was the owner of a large and successful poultry farm near Pilot Grove, In 1946, Hensley Hall, a county extension agent, purchased the house as his residence
"The next owner, Thomas J. Miller, President of the National Bank
of Boonville, converted the structure back into a one family dwelling, installed a new heating system and lowered the 12 foot ceilings to 10 feet. In 1978 Howard Kelley and his wife Meo, an artist, bought the house, In 1979 James and Tia Higbie bought their "dream house" with the purpose of restoring it to its original opulence. Higbie, past director of Chemical Abuse Rehabilitation and Education (CARE) Inc., 1974-79, and current Director/ Historian of the Friends of Historic Boonville's Historic Survey Office, is active in civic affairs being a proponent of issues both popular and controversial.
"Tia Higbie is currently the Director of the Boonville Planned Parenthood office, a post she has retained since 1979. The structure is significant architecturally on a local level and historically
on both a state and local level due to its association with J.F. Rutherford and William Trigg, respectively." ~ Boonville Historic Survey PDF pages 2089-2094