Topping-Evans House

92 East Granville Road

Images: (1) Topping-Evans House; (2) Whitfield and Mary Evans, c. 1870

This Second-Empire style home is distinguished by the mansard roof added by Whitfield Evans in an 1884 remodeling of a modest brick home which had housed the Topping family for a number of years. Widow Mary Ann Russell Topping was the daughter of James Russell, the builder of a magnificent orrey (planetarium) exhibited in New York City, and the family she raised here included J. R. Topping, superintendent of Goodale Park in Columbus.

Whitfield Evans was a tinner who sold stoves and furniture in Worthington and Columbus. An 1884 newspaper noted that "Whit Evans has actually moved his family into his new mansion on State Street [Granville Rd]". The renovation incorporated exquisitly detailed architecture and interior craftsmanship. This renovation came about 10 years before the Worthington Inn was renovated to have a similar mansard roof.