The Ferguson Mansion - Online Virtual Tour

Edwin Hite Ferguson commissioned the Louisville architectural firm of Cobb and Dodd – the same firm responsible for designing the Seelbach Hotel and the new capitol building in Frankfort – to design his home in 1901. Construction of the mansion took four years (1901-1905) and $100,000 – approximately ten times the cost of the neighboring Victorian homes. At the time, the mansion was the most expensive home in Louisville. In comparison, the home would cost an estimated $2,000,000 today, which does not include the difficulty or cost of the intricate craftsmanship found throughout the building.

The mansion originally housed nine occupants: the three members of the Ferguson family – Edwin Hite Ferguson, his wife Sophie Fullerton Ferguson, and their daughter Margaret – and six servants. Ferguson made his fortune in the cottonseed-oil business and his company grew to be the 2nd largest of its kind in the world. In 1907, not long after the mansion was completed, Ferguson was ousted from his own company. From that point on his fortune began to dwindle, eventually forcing him to sell the house in 1924. The Pearson family purchased the mansion in the 1920s, and it served as the Pearson Funeral Home until the mid-1970s. The house also provided the headquarters for John Y. Brown, Jr.’s successful 1979 gubernatorial campaign. The mansion became the headquarters of The Filson Historical Society in 1986 as part of The Filson’s centennial celebration.

The Facade

The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086