05/26/2026
This week's Wayne County Collects theme is Square, and MRL will share some recent research regarding a fairly prominent piece of real estate. From Richmond's earliest days, Jonathan Roberts owned a farm that encompassed approximately what is now Main to South E and 11th to 16th. By the mid-1870s the city was growing out to it, and much of his farm was subdivided into dwelling lots. In 1874 James Starr, of Starr Piano fame, purchased the block from Main to South A, and 14th to 15th, intending for the city to erect a school. He called it University Square, but those plans did not pan out. About 1880, after John Westcott moved the Hoosier Drill Company from Milton to Richmond, he purchased the block and named it Westcott Square. He built his own house facing Main, then built homes for his children. Years later, Central United Methodist Church purchased much of the north half, and much of the southern half is occupied by the Henderson Apartments. The only remaining Westcott houses are at 51 S 14th and 52 S 15. This latter was built for Burton Westcott about 1895, and is now home to the B&B Westcott Mansion.
