This eclectic Queen Anne house was built by Miles Virgil Wilsey (1835-1925), one of the first settlers of Fitzgerald, who came from Indiana and bought this land in 1895. Wilsey had served as a 2nd Lieutenant in an Indiana regiment in the Civil War. It was sold to Charles William Kimball (1859-1937) by 1902. Kimball, a native of Pike County, Illinois, was also a Union veteran. Reverend C. W. Smith and family were the owners from the 1940s through the 1990s. Many thanks to Rebecca Blake for sharing the history of this house.
National Register of Historic Places
My husband is Charles Howard Kimball Jr, a descendant of this family. Is the house still standing and if so where is it located?
It is, Gayle. It’s on Hudson Road, near Fitzgerald.
The house was also painted white when we owned it, and for a time the south porch was walled in and converted to additional bedrooms. I believe my mother filed at least some of the paperwork to have it registered in the National Registry, but I’m not sure if she completed it or if was completed after her death.
Well, the land was purchased by a civil war second lieutenant from Indiana in 1895 and sold in 1902. His name was Miles V. Wilsey (this was right before Fitzgerald was established) As far as the other civil war veteran Charles W. Kimball, I’m not sure- It may have something to do with why there are 2 front doors and the house can be separated into 2 parts by the pocket doors in the front 2 parlors. I am going to the Blue and Gray Museum tomorrow and the Library to see what else I can find out. The house is also known as the C.W. Smith house to some ( He was the owner throughout the 40’s from what I understand and he was a preacher and school teacher, so more people probably called it that in recent years). I will let you know if I find out any more of the history.
This is this house I grew up in from 1967-1985. My family owned the house until the mid 1990s and sold it shortly after my mother died. Thanks for the wonderful photo, Brian (and thanks for the history R.Blake!).
Thanks for the information, Alton. I never knew that you were the “Smith” in the Kimball-Smith farmhouse…
Actually the Historical name of the house under the National Register of Historical homes is the Wilsey-Kimball House
Thanks for the information! Do you know when the house was built, or any other history of it?
Wow- I’m quite surprised to find a photograph of my home on this site…