James W. Hunter House, 1894
James Wilson Hunter (1850-1931) was a prominent Norfolk merchant, banker and civic leader. In 1894 he commissioned Boston architect W.P. Wentworth to design and build this impressive town home for his family on West Freemason Street. The design represents the Romanesque Revival style of architecture made popular by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson in the late 1800s. James and his wife Lizzie Ayer Barnes Hunter had three children. None of the children married and all lived out their lives in this house. James W. Hunter, Jr. (1878-1940) served as a medic in World War I and was later a noted physician specializing in the fields of cardiology and radiology. The Hunter sisters, Harriett Cornelia (1880-1958) and Eloise Dexter (1885-1965), were very active in local, state and national patriotic and genealogical societies. As the last surviving member of the family, Eloise left her family home and its collection to be used as a museum of Victorian architecture and decorative arts. A foundation created by her estate refurbished the house and administers the museum today.
Marker is at the intersection of West Freemason Street and Duke Street, on the right when traveling west on West Freemason Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
