Near South Story: Aunt Hill - Watson Family House

In conjunction with the NSNA Annual Meeting, NSNA founding member James Young shared a neighborhood story about the “Aunt Hill - Watson Family House” at 17th and Sumner: 

Sometimes a passing comment will evoke long-shelved memories. Such was the case in Jim McKee‘s column in the Sunday Journal Star from June 22, 2025. McKee refers to Joseph Briscoe‘s mansion at 17th and Sumner. Vivid memories came back with a photo taken at Christmas 1949 of my brothers, Tom and Jack, my cousins and myself. I’m the little boy in the front row (photo below) with the snowball. In the background of the photo is the Briscoe mansion. As a boy, I remember it being a ruin. 

According to the Near South Walking Tour Book Volume 2, the house was razed circa 1962. By the summer of ‘64 the lot had been covered in asphalt, and it was there I learned to skateboard with Ivars Augstums and Buzz Duffek. When I showed up for track practice late that summer, LHS track coach Harold Scott didn’t approve of my scabbed up knees and elbows or my longish hair.