Watson-Curtze Mansion History

The mansion, built in 1891, was the residence of the Watson and Curtze families before it became a museum in 1941.

H.F. Watson, his wife Carrie Tracy Watson and their daughter Winifred moved into the house in 1891 upon its completion.  Harrison Watson was president of the H. F. Watson Paper Company, which manufactured building, roofing and lining papers and materials, as well as steam pipe and boiler packaging and coverings.

In 1923, Winifred and her husband Ely Griswold sold the house to Frederick Felix Curtze. Mr. Curtze was president of the Erie Trust Company, Heisler Locomotive Works, Union Iron Works and the Keystone Fish Company.

Fredrick, his wife Caroline and his two children Lousie and Fredrick, lived in the mansion until the death of Mr. Curtze in 1941.  His family offered the Mansion to the School District of the City of Erie to be used as a museum. The Museum Department of the Erie Public Library moved into the mansion, which then became the Erie Public Museum and then the Erie Historical Museum in 1979.  In 2000 the Erie Historical Museum and the Erie County Historical Society merged.  Today, the mansion is a fully furnished Victorian that offers a glimpse into these families’ lives and the sumptuous living available to them.

The architectural style of the house is known as Richardsonian Romanesque, named after the famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson. The firm of Green and Wicks, Buffalo, New York, designed the house in 1889. This style is characterized by the use of massive geometric shapes, straightforward treatment of stone and broad roof planes. The overall effect depends on mass volume and scale, rather than decorative detailing.

The mansion has 24 rooms, 17 closets, 5 bathrooms and 12 fireplaces. Most of the rooms are very different in design and style and upon close inspection; many unusual building materials and features can be found. There are mosaics (inlaid patterns made of bits of stone, glass or other material), friezes (hand-painted oil paintings on canvas that are attached to the upper portion of a wall), decorative woodwork, stained glass windows, Rose Carnagione marble, onyx and red sandstone.

For even MORE information, join us for a tour of the Watson-Curtze Mansion.