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Builders of 1887 historic home have much in common with today's owners years ago

Staff writer

The people who built the house in 1887 located at 204 N. Lincoln in Marion share an interesting coincidence with the people who own the home today.

Both male homeowners were named William and both have daughters named Lillian.

"We think that's kind of neat," said Michele Lundy, the current woman of the house.

Today the home is owned by William and Michele Lundy, better known locally as Bill and Mickey. But the first homeowners, 117 years ago, were Marion business and social leaders William and Anna Dudley.

That's not the only thing past and current homeowners have in common. Both have a connection to the banking business and both were involved in their communities.

Back in the late 1880s, William Dudley was president of the former First National Bank in Marion. Similarly, today Mickey Lundy is an officer with Tampa State Bank.

The Lundys moved to Marion in September 1990, when Mickey, a Marion native, decided to return to her roots. The couple met in Manhattan while attending Kansas State University. After graduation, the couple moved to Wichita before moving to Marion.

"Bill grew up in Kansas City but he likes small town living," Mickey said. "There's so many things here he likes to do — hunt, play the golf course, enjoy the lakes.

"I grew up in a bigger house and Bill and I knew we wanted to have kids and we wanted a big place," Mickey recalled. "I've always had a lot of family visiting and liked to entertain."

Initially, the young couple purchased a smaller Marion home, but quickly learned the home on Lincoln Street was available.

"The Helmers had lived here 13 years and we heard it was for sale," Mickey said. "My parents' friends, the Magees (Dr. Charles), had lived here and we knew this house had a lot of history."

"We only lived in the other house about a month," Bill added.

The original owner, William H. Dudley, was born Dec. 1, 1840, in Windsor, Vt. Dudley moved to Rutland, Wis., with his parents when he was five years old, according to a history supplied by the Lundys.

He farmed until the age of 21 when he went to Chicago and worked as a pork packer for three years. Dudley returned to Rutland where he farmed, taught school, and worked in the mercantile business before coming to Kansas.

While in Rutland, he married Anna Crane in 1862. He and his family moved to Marion in 1879 where he became connected with the bank, which was organized to succeed the former Bank of Marion Centre.

During his lifetime, Dudley owned the bank building, grain elevator, and other valuable city property. A civic leader, Dudley served three terms as mayor of Marion and the family held a prominent place in Marion society. Dudley died in 1892, while his wife died in 1936.

The original home featured a large wrap-around porch, imposing foyer, a living room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen on the ground floor. The second floor included three bedrooms.

At some point, two bathrooms were added to the home — one upstairs and one downstairs. Pastel green bathroom fixtures remain upstairs, indicating a renovation sometime in the 1950s.

The wrap-around front porch included a screened-in area while the Magee family lived there from the mid-1940s to the 1960s, according to former occupant JoAnn (Magee) Berry of Penn Rose, Colo.

"We added on the kitchen and dining room at the back of the house," Berry recalled. "Dad built a two-car garage. Our house was the gathering place of the neighborhood."

Today's home

With a huge deck off the back door — perfect for entertaining, and playground equipment outdoors, the home today still lends itself to gatherings.

During the 14 years they've lived there, the Lundys have turned it into their own family gathering place, all the while maintaining the attributes which attracted them to the house in the beginning.

Those attributes include unique dark woodwork, inside doors and entryways towering nine feet high, 10-foot ceilings, stained glass windows, and original transom windows just to name a few.

The Lundys use the back addition built by the Magees as their dining room, mud room, laundry room, and basic all-purpose room. A huge paneled wall hides cleverly concealed doors which reveal separate areas for a washer and dryer.

A portion of the front porch — once the screened in area, was enclosed before the Lundys purchased the home. Today it's used as an office, appropriately appointed with a desk and credenza which originally belonged to a judge in Andover.

To enter the office, one must first go through the family room. The room is dramatic with green and purple wall coverings which accent the home's signature dark woodwork and moldings. Large brown leather furniture pieces create a comfortable seating area.

"Putting new wallpaper in here was one of the first things we did. We live in our family room," Mickey said.

Entering the house through the front door one steps into a foyer. A huge space originally, the foyer includes the entry area, a fireplace, and wooden staircase leading to the second floor. A portion of the foyer was enclosed while the Magees owned it to create a dressing area in the master bedroom and a library area, Berry recalled.

The foyer opens to the formal living room. Original stained glass windows provide the room's focal point, while the 10-foot high ceilings and dark moldings lend to its grandeur.

"We like to put our Christmas tree in the window in the front room," Bill said. "We can put a really big tree up in this room."

Mickey indicated the large front room with its imposing windows are a joy when decorating for Christmas.

The second floor is the hangout for the Lundy children, 12-year-old Bridget, nine-year-old Wiley, and two-year-old Lily, although she often sleeps downstairs in a crib in the master bedroom's dressing area. The girls' room is blue with a dragonfly motif. Wiley's room is aqua representing the sea. The upstairs also includes Mickey's workout room, complete with exercise equipment.

While the downstairs still retains its original dark woodwork, second floor doors and moldings have been painted white to give it a wide open, airy look.

"The upstairs rooms all still have their transoms," Mickey said. "With the attic fan they work really great so it stays fairly cool in here. This house has a lot of natural ventilation."

Central heat and air keep the home temperate in all seasons. A couple window air units on the second floor help keep air circulating during the hottest weather.

During their time in the home, the Lundys worked on getting mechanical systems updated before tackling cosmetic improvement jobs.

"The house has new plumbing, new kitchen windows, new electric wiring, we painted the kitchen cabinets," Bill commented.

A toilet and sink were replaced in the downstairs bathroom, the floor was redone in the mud room, wallpaper was changed, the children's rooms were repainted, new carpet was added in most of the upstairs areas, and this summer new ceramic tile was installed in the front entryway.

When the Lundys aren't busy working on their home they enjoy its amenities.

"Usually, we use our deck on the back, but when it's raining we like to sit on the front porch," Mickey said. "We like to listen to it rain."

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