Page 10
University Daily Kansan, August 18, 1983
Steven Purcell/KANSAN
This cherub fountain spouts water into a circular pool located behind the house.
The elegance of the backyard is enhanced with a 1954 Rolls Royce and 1934 Pierce Arrow. Both cars are owned by Maupin and Mecaskey.
Steven Purcell/KANSAN
With a Rolls Royce sitting in its courtyard, old Victoria, which is more than 100 years old, assumes the character of a home of long ago.
Past glory alive in house
By DOUGLAS FARAH Staff Reporter
Many Lawrence residents know it as the Maupitt house. Its owners, local businessmen Neil Mecaskey and Tom Maupin, call the house Victoria.
Whatever it is called, the house at 1613 Tennessee St., offers a glimpse of the glory and elegance of Lawrence's past.
THE HOUSE WAS BUILT in 1861 by Reuben Ludington, owner of the Eldridge Hotel, and designed by John B. Haskell, who also designed the Statehouse in Topeka and KU's old Fraser Hall.
Judge Solon Thacher, who was chairman of the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention, which brought statehood to Kansas, bought the house in 1869. He called the property "Fort Thacher Place."
Thacher was appointed first U.S. ambassador to Central and South America by President Chester Arthur.
tre took his entire family, except his daughter and son-in-law, to South America in 1873, where he remained for several years.
While he was gone, his son-in-law, Peter Emery, had the rear wing added to the house. When Thacher returned, he was so angry with the addition he reportedly refused to pay the $13,000 he was threatened with a lawsuit.
Thacher died in 1897 and his widow continued to live in the house until her death in 1913. Her daughter, Mary Thacher Emery, inherited the house and passed it on in turn to her son, Solon.
SOLON EMERY LOST the house in the 1940s because of $15,000 in back taxes, and the house was sold to Paul Snyder of KU's School of Fine Arts. Snyder sold the mansion to Maupin and Meacaskey in 1959.
The 22-room mansion sits far back from the traffic of Tennessee Street. protected by a wrought iron fence and
mancured grounds. The winding driveway is illuminated by gas lamps and there is a round swimming pool in the rear of the building.
In addition to the house, Maupin and Mecaskey own several vintage model cars, including a 1927 Packard, a 1934 Pierce Arrow and a 1945 Rolley Convertible. There are also several other antique cars in their collection.
Maupin and Mecaskey are co-owners of Maupaint Intec, one of the largest travel agencies and guided tour operations in the United States. Since they bought Victoria they have done extensive remodeling to restore it to its original grandeur
MAUPIN AND MECASKEY conducted casual tours of their home for several years, but no longer do because of the strain of having so many people coming to the house. However, even from the outside, Victoria still is one of the grandest of the grand old houses in Lawrence.
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