RECOGNIZED BY THE KANSAS PRESERVATION ALLIANCE
for the 1988 year with an award in the residential
category for Preservation.

The Leach House was built in two parts, the 2-story section on the east around 1890 and the 3-story on the west around 1904, by Louis B. Leach, a prominent, early-day Wamego businessman who, with George Trout, formed the Trout and Leach partnership whose holdings included the Iron Clad Store, Iron Clad Lumber Co., Leach's Opera House and the Wamego State Bank.

On the back of a post card dated 1907, Leach described his unique dwelling place;

"We built our home on a central piece of the original townsite of Wamego, 150 feet square, which slopes gently to the southeast. The house was fashioned and made from memory to appear and look like a Villa in the suburbs of Messina, on the island of Sicily, where Ella and I were entertained for a few days by a Sicilian family with the delightful urbanity of the people of that country."

"Some of the peculiarities of the house are: There are 14 gables and 15 outside doors. Porch to the south 10 feet deep, with parapet stone wall, cement floor and 25 columns, and on the north a porch 6 feet deep. There are 15 practical living rooms above the basement, with 9 closets, bath room and linen room."

"'I'he basement is divided by stone walls, into five apartments, including a hot water heating plant, laundry, ample cellar and storage for a year's fuel supply. A wealth of electric light in every room, and .sparkling water from our most excellent city system-"

Supposedly, an under-ground tunnel ran from the structure southeast to Leach's Opera House and Sanitarium built by Leach in 1881-82.Purportedly, Leach used the tunnel to get to and from his Opera House during inclement weather and entertainers were said to have used the tunnel to get to the Leach House, where they sometimes stayed after performing. There is also a legend of an underground tunnel which ran north to the home Leach built for his sister.Yet another legend, was the existence of a "spirit room" in the house utilized by Leach in his later years when he was said to have become quite eccentric.

THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS

The stained glass art windows located within are some of the finest examples of "mass produced" glass between the years 1885-1915. During this time there was a demand due to the interest of glass as a decorative and functional addition to the decor. Changes in the manufacturing of glass due to Tiffany, LaFarge, etc., and economical conditions of the time created this added interest in glass. Classic victorian is seen in the dining room with the colors to match as typically seen in panels during the early I 900's. Especially notable in the master bedroom is the pink glass, made by using gold salts intead of selenium, ordinarily used for hot glass-red, pink, orange, and yellow.

Elegance is reflected in design and materials selected for the breakfast room include 3/16" hand ground bevels which account for the intense prism effect. The standard now is 1/4" machine ground.

Again gold pink is used as an accent and red "antique" used as ribbons. This red glass is especially made by blowing into cylinders five feet or more, which are afterwards split open, flattened and annealed in a kiln as opposed to the background glass made by forcing liquid glass between rollers which impress a texture- This texture used throughout the house is now unavailable. Please note the shading in the background glass-extra layout time and special selection of glass!
The stained glass windows on the second level as well as the breakfast room are exceptionally intricate which indicates they were made in the early 1900's.

The entry panel contains mottled red, a process not widely used until a little later. Also noticeable are the less complex pieces, a trend by 1908.

In 1911 the average wage of an art glass glazier was $3.00 a day and by the middle of World War I wages had fallen victim to the economic situation, thus ending this "boom" which has never regenerated.

NOW

The restoration / reconstruction of the Leach House began with the planning stage in the spring of 1987. Dr. Bill Ditto with the help of Mr. Walt Shoemaker did the planning of what to keep and what to change with this objective in mind- To restore the splendor and craftsmanship of the period of the original construction along with making the house energy efficient and in agreement with today's lifestyle for family living in the present and future years. With this
goal in mind the house was insulated and the electrical/plumbing systems totally replaced to meet present day standards.

Only one wall was removed between the two fireplaces in the present living room in which the two large entry doors were
previously used as pocket doors. Original interior items are the stained and leaded glass windows, living room fireplace fronts, most of the downstairs windows, the old safe, stairways, maple front of the large kitchen/family room cabinet, light fixtures in the dining area and kitchen, upstairs woodwork, upstairs balconies, and much of the brass hardware.
An addition of a garage on the west end helped the house to look complete and Dr. Ditto designed it with gables to match the roof design. Mr. Shoemaker had columns duplicated to extend the porch. The exterior of the house is restored in similar materials as the original. The stucco material is called "Stolit" which is an exterior resin material that will not require painting. The craftsman's expertise and time is noticed in the duplication of moldings and detail work.

The square footage of the finished house is 5600 sq. ft. approximately. There are 60+ windows including 14 stained and leaded glass windows, 2 1 gables, 41/2 baths, and 3 fireplaces.

The craftsmanship of Mr. Shoemaker and others is evidenced when observing the crown moldings qnd other forms of woodwork that duplicate the artistry that was produced 100 years ago with much time and patience.
Decorating was done to enhance and dramatize the skills of the carpentry and artistry of the windows.

A special thank you to all those who gave the extra efforts that are required to successfully restore and reconstruct this historic landmark of Wamego to a condition of beauty which truly exemplifies the pride of this community.
-Bill and Rose Ditto