The W.C. Vaden House

This house at 711 E. University Ave.  has several interesting connections to Southwestern University. It was originally built in 1908 for classics professor Wesley Carroll Vaden, who was Southwestern's longest-serving professor until recently (that honor is now held by retired math professor John Chapman). Vaden was married to Kate Lockett, the daughter of prominent businessman Melville B. Lockett. An interesting historical tidbit is that Lockett moved to Georgetown so his daughters could attend Southwestern University. Three of his daughters ended up marrying professors at Southwestern.

After Vaden died, Kate (Lockett) Vaden rented out one of the rooms in the house. Among the people who lived in this room was Iola Bowden, a very famous Southwestern professor in her own right. Bowden taught piano lessons to the young Ellsworth Peterson, who went on to become a distinguished music professor at Southwestern. Peterson himself lived in this house for six years before purchasing the house across University Avenue.

This is one of the houses in Georgetown that was built by Charles Belford. It is currently occupied by a business, but they plan to sell it soon because they have outgrown the space. So if anyone is looking for an unusual Victorian house, look for this to go on the market in 2014.