Willis House (Grand Encampment, Wyoming) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Willis House
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The Willis House, August 2012
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 Location in Wyoming
Location in the United States
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| Location | 621 Winchell Avenue Encampment, Wyoming United States |
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| Area | 0.4 acres (0.16 ha) |
| Built | 1908 |
| Architect | Ball, Harry |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000300 |
| Added to NRHP | March 29, 2001 |
The Willis House is a historic residence in Encampment, Wyoming, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
Lydia M. Propst was born in about 1846 in Pendleton County, Virginia (now West Virginia). Following the death of her husband Edward after the American Civil War Lydia and her son Lee, another son and a daughter moved to Rawlins around 1886, where she married S.L. (Jerry) Willis. The Willises settled in Encampment, which was near the center of the Grand Encampment copper mining boom of the early 20th century, with a ready supply of miners seeking entertainment.
The end of the copper boom in Encampment apparently caused the house to remain largely unfinished within, and the Willises left Encampment sometime between 1916 and Lydia's 1926 death in Brighton, Colorado. Her son Lee operated a gas station in Encampment until his death in 1941. The house changed hands 18 times before 1931, until it was purchased by rancher, merchant and miner Charles Deo Terwilliger. Terwilliger had made his fortune in Nevada by selling supplies to miners. After some setbacks to his ranching business he and his wife Laura bought the Willis House for $800 in 1931, adapting the house as a boarding house for teachers. The house remained in the hands of Terwilliger's descendants into the 21st century.
The Willis House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 29, 2001.
