Lebold Mansion
by Lynn Sprowl
Title
Lebold Mansion
Artist
Lynn Sprowl
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Lebold Mansion by Lynn Sprowl.
On the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, it reads in part, “In an 1883 Kansas history, Lebold’s house was termed the finest dwelling west of Topeka.”
“The Lebold Mansion was voted one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Architecture because it is a rare surviving example of the architectural style known as ‘Italianate Tuscan Villa.’” The home features a 65-foot tall entrance tower constructed over a stone dugout built in 1857 by Tim and Eliza Hersey, the founders and some of the earliest residents of Abilene. The stone dugout is preserved in the house today.
The home, once a popular attraction for visitors in Abilene, was sold May 6, 2019, in a sheriff’s sale to the highest bidder at the Dickinson County Courthouse in Abilene. The Lebold Mansion and another Abilene property were auctioned together and sold for just over $380,227 to Dickinson County Bank of Enterprise, said Keli Reid, a clerk at the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department.
It was not the first time the Lebold Mansion was sold at a sheriff’s sale. In 1889, Conrad Lebold’s bank failed, and he declared bankruptcy. According to the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, the home was sold in a sheriff’s sale in 1894 to George Sterl, a local merchant who lived in the home until his death in 1918.
In the 1970s, Kurt and Kathy Kessinger, and later Merle and Fred Vahsholtz, each owned the property and began the restoration process for the storied home. In 1973, the mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Uploaded
February 5th, 2020
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