CELEBRATING VICTORIAN LIFE

Midland’s oldest surviving residential structure, the Brown-Dorsey Medallion Home, is also its only known remaining example of Victorian residential architecture in the city. The home, rescued and restored to its original 1899 iteration courtesy of the Midland County Historical Society and the late Midland historian Nancy Rankin McKinley, reflects the popular Late Victorian period at the turn of the century with its multi-gabled roof and whimsical wood trim both inside and out. The home’s interior has remained intact including the eleven foot ceilings, pine floors, decorative oak mouldings, carved oak and tile fireplace mantles, and all-brass hardware. Of particular beauty is the round, art glass window in the entry hall. A wine cellar, construction between the foundation walls, accommodated the owner’s private wine production.

Prominent Midland businessman and area rancher Z. Taylor Brown built the home where he and his wife Sara lived their entire married lives. Their daughter, Sarah, and her husband Hugh B. Dorsey raised seven children in the home. Following Sarah’s death in 1968, the Midland County Historical Society purchased the residence and, once restored, transformed it into a museum.