Architect Sue Ousterhout plans to refurbish East Washington Street National Register property
Speculation about the possibility of a new owner for the Brown house can stop. Ownership of the historic home, located at 200 East Washington St., is remaining in the family.
Sue Ousterhout, daughter of prior owner Polly Brown, has just closed on the property which is listed on the National Register of historic homes.
Several months ago a realtor’s “For Sale” sign showed up on the lawn at the Brown home, adjacent to Kosciusko City Hall. Some locals were immediately concerned for the future of the historic home.
On a recent visit to Kosciusko, Ousterhout, a resident of Bethesda, Md., told The Star-Herald that she plans to retire here.
“It’s official – I now own my mom’s house. I hope to start some renovations soon,” she said.
Her mother, Polly Brown, who inherited it from her parents — Mr. and Mrs. Lester Brown — was living in the home until she moved to Maryland in recent years to live near her children.
The Queen Anne-style home, designed by a Tennessee architect, was constructed in 1900 for David Lockett Brown and Virginia Niles Brown. David Lockett Brown was a hardware merchant conducting business from D.L. Brown Hardware on the east side of the Courthouse Square, now a part of Skylight Grill.
Ousterhout said she plans to “update and refresh” the home. In moving back, she said she looks forward to enjoying the gracious hospitality and welcome she always receives on visits to Kosciusko.
The National Register nomination application stated that when David L. Brown died in 1936, ownership of the property passed to Mr. and Mrs. Lester Lockett Brown, his son and daughter-in-law. Following Lester Brown’s death, his widow, the former Lillie D. Reynolds, occupied the home until her death several years ago. Following retirement, her daughter Polly, who grew up in the home, returned to Kosciusko and lived there until her recent move to Maryland.
Ousterhout’s cousins Sam Guyton, Lockett Guyton, Pat Guyton and Steve Guyton all had a special interest in the home remaining in the Brown family. Their mother, Eulalia Reynolds Guyton, and Lillie D. Brown, Ousterhout’s grandmother, were sisters.
Steve Guyton said he and his brothers grew up visiting the home and they have fond memories of times spent there.
“We always gathered at 200 East Washington St. for reunions and holidays,” he said.
The property upon which the Brown house stands is significant in the history of Kosciusko. It was the site chosen for a homestead byJudge Jason Adams Niles, a prominent settler and political figure of 19th Century Kosciusko. His small Greek Revival cottage was moved from the site to the rear to allow construction of the new house. It was moved again in 1905 to 300 North Huntington Street, where it was enlarged and became the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Thornton.
The Niles connection to the home comes through Virginia Niles Brown, wife of David Lockett Brown, who was the daughter of Judge and Mrs. Jason Niles.
A desk used by Judge Niles during his law practice in Kosciusko occupies a place of prominence in the Brown home, according to Ousterhout.
Niles died in Kosciusko in 1894, and in 1911, his children gave the land for Jason Niles Park to the City of Kosciusko as a lasting memorial to their father.
In remembering times spent in the home, Ousterhout said she looks forward to many more reunions in the home.
“It has always been a great place to gather,” she said.
