903 W. Berry Street

Horatio Ward House

1885, Queen Anne

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The “Horatio Ward House” is considered to be one of the two best examples of Queen Anne architecture in Fort Wayne. The Queen Anne style owes its true character to the development of balloon frame construction in the late 19th century. Using newly available technology, architects developed the hallmark features of the Queen Anne style: asymmetrical facades, complex, steeply-pitched hipped and gabled roofs, and elaborate porches. Queen Anne buildings usually had several styles and sizes of windows, and exterior walls enlivened by a variety of siding textures and decorative millwork or “gingerbread.

Horatio Nelson Ward, born in Manchester, Lancashire in 1823. Horatio married Christina Louise Schuler and had 10 children. After residing in several homes, mainly in the 900 block of Berry Street, Horatio and Christina purchased this lot to build their family home. Horatio Ward, known as a pioneer merchant, owned H. N. Ward Co. on Calhoun Street, importers of China, glass, house furnishing goods, and paper hangings. He died on May 5, 1909. The home was owned by family members until 1972 when it was sold to Alan Grinsfelder for the headquarters of Grinsfelder Associates Architects. On March 29, 2021 it was purchased by the current owners and is being restored to a single-family residence.