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Elizabeth Wright Prince House
Written By: Tracy Foor, Highlands Historical Society | Issue: March 2024
Highlands’ oldest home, now the centerpiece of Highlands Historical Society’s collection of treasures, continues to welcome visitors.
The Elizabeth Wright Prince House was built in 1877 on the west side of Fourth Street just north of Main Street in Highlands. It’s Highlands’ oldest surviving residence.
Highlands natives Frank and Annie Wright bought the house in 1913. Their second child, Amelia, was born in the house. It should have been a happy beginning, but in 1916 Frank died at age 35 of typhoid fever, contracted from contaminated water from the well on the property. Frank’s brother, Jim Wright, acquired the house in 1919.
It was enlarged in 1935 when a second story was constructed over the rear ell to convert the property from its historic residential use to commercial use as a boarding house. It took brothers Jim and Joe Wright and Annie’s father, Bob Reese, and half-brother, Norman Reese, a year to add above the kitchen a half-story guest room and bath, including front and back stairs.
The boarding house was run by Jim’s sister, Elizabeth Wright Prince, the namesake and longest tenured resident of the house. She welcomed many guests over the years – paying and non-paying – as she ran the boarding house for much needed income.
Today, the house is owned by the Highlands Historical Society, which opens it up to visitors each season from the end of May to the first of November. The Elizabeth Wright Prince House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 by the United States Department of the Interior. The house retains architectural integrity from 1935 to 1967 in the areas of setting, location, association, design, and feeling.
A goal of the Historical Society for 2024 is to raise funds for the implementation of a self-guided audio/visual tour of the house where visitors can use their own phones and a series of QR codes to enhance their experience while walking through the timeless setting of the grand home.
For more information about the Prince House and the museum’s hours, visit Highlandshistory.com.
