One of New Albany's leading citizens, Washington C. DePauw, had his winter home built here in 1870, in the Second Empire style. The house is of frame construction with "an imitation stone front... and bronze hardware features..." (NA Ledger, 1870). One of his companies, the Amercian Plate Glass Works - the largest plate glass company in the country at the time - provided the three sheets of glass in the bay window. Mr. DePauw was also involved with other business partnerships, as well as banking, and was a landholder of many New Albany properties. At the time of his death in 1887, DePauw was considered one of the wealthiest men in the state. Original cast iron fencing, urns and porches continue to grace the property. DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, was named for him because of his generous contributions to that institution.