A walk on a fine evening last summer took the blog down Winston-Salem's "Millionaire's Row." The Washington Park neighborhood has many fine examples of mansions dating from the early 20th century, including this lovely two-story Georgian brick house on Cascade Avenue. Unlike many of the other mansions in this area, "WinMor" is clearly a lived in home in fabulous condition. But who or what is "WinMor"? The blog spent much of the winter looking for this name in corporate histories of North Carolina, and even entertained the notion that the house had been won in a horse race or a poker game. But the mystery has been solved, with help from the Winston-Salem Monthly magazine. The current owner purchased the house in 1985 and undertook the necessary restorations with care and a sense of history. He then renamed what had previously been known as the Gilmer House in honor of his two sons, Winfield and Morgan. Who were the Gilmers? In the 1920s this family owned the largest department store in Winston-Salem. It was located at Liberty just north of 4th St.
So glad to have this information - I walked around the neighborhood today for the first time and was fascinated by this house but could find no information. Thanks! (And it still looks gorgeous, and the lawns are incredible.)
Jon and Susan are professors at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. Jon is in the Department of Theatre and Dance. He has lived in Winston-Salem for 25+ years. Susan is in Biology, and has lived in Winston-Salem for 5+ years. Jon's neighborhood is Sherwood Forest; Susan's neighborhood is Ashley Forest. Maurice, who lives in the District of Columbia, serves as occasional capital correspondent.
"The reality is the reality."--Pedro Martinez
"It's only gonna get funner."--Roy "Doc" Halladay
"I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it."--Paul Krugman
"Nobody is going to come out of this looking good."--Maggie Christman
A walk on a fine evening last summer took the blog down Winston-Salem's "Millionaire's Row." The Washington Park neighborhood has many fine examples of mansions dating from the early 20th century, including this lovely two-story Georgian brick house on Cascade Avenue. Unlike many of the other mansions in this area, "WinMor" is clearly a lived in home in fabulous condition. But who or what is "WinMor"? The blog spent much of the winter looking for this name in corporate histories of North Carolina, and even entertained the notion that the house had been won in a horse race or a poker game. But the mystery has been solved, with help from the Winston-Salem Monthly magazine. The current owner purchased the house in 1985 and undertook the necessary restorations with care and a sense of history. He then renamed what had previously been known as the Gilmer House in honor of his two sons, Winfield and Morgan. Who were the Gilmers? In the 1920s this family owned the largest department store in Winston-Salem. It was located at Liberty just north of 4th St.
nine years after this blog post, the house and grounds still look gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have this information - I walked around the neighborhood today for the first time and was fascinated by this house but could find no information. Thanks! (And it still looks gorgeous, and the lawns are incredible.)
ReplyDelete