Wisteria Cottage (Judge John W. Wright Cottage)

The main residential section of the town lies east of the springs in the valley and up the slopes of a hill far less rugged than Warm Spring Ridge to the west. Here several mid- and late-nineteenth-century cottages, some converted to bedand-breakfasts, give a modicum of Victorian-era flavor. As would be expected in a summer resort, all have generous porches. Because of the terrain, most are built on high foundations, and their porches are approached by steps. This example, with board-and-batten siding, has a simple hipped roof supported by a modestly bracketed Italianate cornice. An encircling veranda and a once separate kitchen, also board and batten, make it appear larger than it is. The original owner, who had been a friend and political ally of Abraham Lincoln, was living in Washington when he built his summer retreat. Architecturally, Wisteria Cottage is a late example of a type that authors such as Andrew Jackson Downing promulgated in pattern books of the 1840s and 1850s.