History of the Yellow House
The
Yellow House itself is an historic building. The premises which house
the Community Arts Center have a rich and colorful history. Our account
of this history dates back to 1853, when President Franklin Pierce granted
to the widow Mary Maddox a tract of land which included the property where
the Yellow House now stands. In 1858, Josiah Howell, for whom Howell
County is named, purchased the land to establish a county seat.
Twenty-eight years later, the plot of land was purchased by another founding
father of West Plains, William J. Zorn. Zorn was a prominent merchant
and banker, and contributed immeasurably to the cultural life of the fledgling
settlement. He managed an opera house for more than twenty years. He
also owned one of the area's first newspapers. In 1903, William
Zorn built the house which is now home to the Community Arts Center. Since
the time of his ownership, the Yellow House has been a landmark in the
downtown area.
"...we should speak a little about the Zorn family. They lived on Cleveland, in an old house of antique design. It's still there, and has a kind of Victorian look to it, sort of a lot of gingerbread, you might say. It's a real nice place still, and it has gone through a number of hands lately. It's the first house west of the parking lot there on Jefferson and Cleveland. Now it's painted bright yellow, and it houses the Yellow House Community Arts Center."
From West Plains As I Knew It, by Robert Neathery.
Elder Mountain Press, 2001
Blasts From the Past
Yellow House Events Through the Years
The Yellow House is a project of Ozarks Resource Center, a not-for-profit organization