Kenan House: Official Residence of the UNCW Chancellor--History and Information

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Rosemary DePaolo Ph.D., Chancellor Emeritus (Creator)
Jennifer Rich, Executive Assistant (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Abstract: This stately home was constructed in 1911 for Thomas Emerson, the president of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. When Emerson died in 1913, his widow rented the dwelling to Lyman Delano, executive vice president of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and a cousin of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1923, it was sold for $36,000 to Mrs. Sarah Graham Kenan, a Wilmington native known as “Miss Sarah.” Mrs. Kenan, a widow, bought the house in order to live closer to her sister, Jessie Kenan Wise, whose home was located nearby at 1713 Market Street, now the historic UNCW Wise Alumni House. Mrs. Kenan affectionately called the neoclassical-style home “Sunnyside.” Following a disastrous fire in 1931, it underwent extensive renovations. Upon Mrs. Kenan’s death in 1968, the house was donated to the University of North Carolina Wilmington by her nephew, Mr. James Graham Kenan II.

Additional Information

Publication
DePaolo, R., & Rich, J. (2011). Kenan House: official residence of the UNCW Chancellor--history and information.
Language: English
Date: 2011
Keywords
Kenan family, Architecture, College presidents, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Subjects
University of North Carolina, Wilmington
Official residences
College presidents
Architecture--Conservation and restoration
College buildings
Dwellings
Kenan family

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