WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — The old colonial style building at 415 E. Court St. needs to be preserved as a part of vital Washington Court House history, according to officials.

The building most recently known as the Morrow Funeral Home was built in 1849 and modified three times after its construction.

The house was built by Richard Smith, containing five rooms, two downstairs and three upstairs. Smith was born in Virginia in 1808; by profession, he was a traveling merchant who drove through Fayette County selling his wares. Smith became a city councilman in the 1840s. Due to financial trouble, his house was sold at a sheriff’s auction in 1855, six years after it was built.

The Smith house was then owned by William McElwain, a merchant and real estate developer. McElwain added the east ell to the house in 1860. This was the first stage of modification. This expansion added four rooms and the rear ell was the kitchen. The foundations of both the front and second edition are both made of stone.

McElwain was born in 1809 to an Irish couple who moved to Good Hope when McElwain was 2-years-old. McElwain married Maria C. Nye, settled in Washington Court House and was then appointed “overseer of the poor” in 1841. He served two terms as Fayette County Treasurer in 1850 and 1859 and was one of the founders of First National Bank of Washington Court House.

The Smith-McElwain house was then sold to Manfred Willard in October 1870. Willard transferred the house into his wife’s name and he began the second modification in 1881. Another ell was added to the rear of the house making it a U-shaped interior. Recessing the front doors and adding double wooden storm doors in the front entryway, adding a spiraling staircase in the front hallway, removing the fireplaces, and adding a slate roof were considered drastic modifications at that time.

The staircase was made of black walnut, oak, with an alternating black walnut and cherry banister creating a special effect.

Willard was born in Washington Court House in 1839. He served with the Union forces during the Civil War and was twice a prisoner of the Confederates. He was severely wounded but returned home, passed the bar exam and was later elected probate judge. After his term, he became a cashier of the Fayette County National Bank until it closed in 1875. Willard practiced law full-time after the bank closing.

In 1900, the Smith-McElwain-Willard house was sold to H. H. Sanderson, who lived there 27 years. Sanderson was born in South Plymouth, Fayette County in 1850. He was the son of Harvey (died March 1927) and Mary E. Sanderson (died October 1927) who opened and ran a small general store in South Plymouth.

Sanderson taught school until the age of 26. His ancestors were among the first settlers of Fayette County. While teaching, Sanderson studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1883 and became a prominent attorney in Washington Court House. He married Emma Drake, the daughter of Rev. Lemuel F. Drake of Bloomingburg. The Sandersons had two children, Bessie (born in 1876) and Roy. R. Sanderson (born in 1878). Bessie Sanderson married Hamer Conn. Roy. R. Sanderson married Callie Bennett of Clinton County.

H. H. Sanderson died and was buried in October 1930. Emma Drake Sanderson was born in 1856, died and buried in June 1939. After the death of H. H. Sanderson, the property at 415 E. Court St. passed to Emma Sanderson by will. In March 1936, daughter Bessie Conn was appointed guardian of her mother, Emma Sanderson, due to her illness. On Sept. 29, 1937, on petition of daughter Bessie, the court granted the order that the property at 415 E. Court St. be sold. On Sept. 30, 1937, the property was sold for $5,000, its appraised value at the time, to Noah Lambert Carr and Sarah Ella Carr.

Noah L. Carr was born in 1872 and died in November 1952. Sarah Ella Craig Carr (born 1882 – died March 1975) was the second wife of Noah L. Carr. Noah Carr built the third stage of the additions to 415 E. Court St., a concrete block section on the back of the building in the late 1930s. The back section was turned into a rest home. Noah Carr’s job was the superintendent of the County Infirmary, and his wife Ella helped him in this effort.

The Carrs had three sons and also owned and lived at the property next door at 407 E. Court St., which was also a rest home at one time. Their three children were David H., Richard L, and Alford M. Carr. Alford M. Carr is still living and residing at the 407 E. Court St. residence.

When Noah Carr died, Ella Carr was appointed executrix of his estate. Prior to Noah Carr’s death, he entered into a contract with Robert C. Parrett to sell the real estate known as 415 E. Court St. for $12,500. Ella Carr, being Noah Carr’s heir, petitioned the court to complete the sale of said property, with the sale being approved and completed in July 1953.

After Robert C. Parrett obtained the building located at 415 E. Court St. in 1953 by deed from Ella Carr, he opened the Parrett Funeral Home at that site. He continued to operate the funeral home until his death in 1981. Parrett added the carport overhang to the left side of the building for ease of the funeral procession lineups.

James R. Wilson, executor of the will and estate of Robert C. Parrett, sold the property for $75,000 to David and Shirley Morrow in September 1984. David Morrow changed the business name to Morrow Funeral Home and continued to operate the funeral home until 2005.

Morrow had previously and continuously operated the Morrow Funeral Home location on Main Street in Jeffersonville, continuing the family tradition started in 1901 from his grandfather Samuel Clayton Morrow, passing to his son, George Max Morrow, and passing to David Clayton Morrow, the business of funeral director and embalmer.

David Morrow operated two locations in Fayette County (Jeffersonville and Washington Court House) until 2005 when he sold the businesses to Keith E. Lippert of Jeffersonvile, who previously worked for Morrow as a funeral director.

Both the Jeffersonville and Washington Court House locations went into foreclosure last year. The Jeffersonville location was recently sold this year to Jeffrey L. Warner of Jeffersonville, who said that after some renovations, he will continue to operate the funeral home in Jeffersonville. Warner said he felt that Jeffersonville needed to keep the funeral home operating in his community.

The Washington Court House location is currently under the control of the City of Washington. The city would like to find a way to preserve this historical building, either through a Land Bank option or the Historical Society, due to grants that might be available for major renovations of historical sites, according to a city spokesperson.

In some genealogical societies, it is said that “to know who you are, you must know where you came from,” thus the rich history of this building is essential to the history of this town.

Author acknowledgements: thanks to the following entities for help in gathering the information for this article – the Fayette County Museum, the Fayette County Recorder’s Office, the Archive Records Room at the Armory, the Genealogy Section of the Carnegie Public Library, and L.E. Aerial Inspections, LLC for the drone photos of the exterior and roof of the building.