3 Ward Place

This house was probably built by Dr. Edward Southall sometime between 1886 and 1903. Ward Place was a mere lane until it was opened and developed after the large American Hotel, situated on the corner of Main and Ward, burned in 1885. Dr. Southall lived on the opposite corner of Main and Ward and was responsible for the construction of about 28 houses in Geneseo including several on this street.

He sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Clapper in 1903. Mrs. Clapper died in 1920. After Mr. Clapper’s death in 1928, their daughter, Mrs. Walter (Amy Clapper) Dunn, sold it to Bertha Smith. She sold it to Thomas and Florence Brown in 1945, and in 1961 it was sold to Charles Layton.