198 Main Street - Frank D. Lawton House

1912 Queen-Anne Victorian/Colonial Revival Style

Having an asymmetrical floor plan and facade with multiple dormers, and a veranda porch with classical columns, this house contains details from the Victorian era of the late nineteenth and the newer Colonial Revival era of the early twentieth century. A large picture window with a transom light is a significant example of the advancement of glass making technology of the 20th century.

Frank Darwin Lawton purchased ½ acre from Sherman and Edwin M. Sanford, building the home in 1912. Before coming to Unionville, the Lawtons lived in Nebraska and South Dakota. In 1905 Frank Lawton purchased the flour, grain, and feed business owned by the Richards’ family(?). Mabel Hurlburt wrote “Lawton came here from the west where he had an extensive acquaintance with the practical side of the industry and became an expert judge of all kinds of grain” (p346). He went into business with Leroy B. Miner, his son-in-law. The company then known as Lawton Miner handled both grain and coal. It split into two separate companies.