Built by Joplin dry goods merchant Simon Schwartz, the house was one of the most elaborate in the area featuring a different type of wood in every room. The main house has asymmetrical massing, a stylized dormer, a unique square tower and bay windows. The porch has stone piers with fluted wood columns and square stone balustrades.
Mr. Schwartz and his wife Hennie sold the house to John Graham, a wholesale grocer and horse lover who constructed an elegant brick horse stable at the back of the property in 1898.
The next owner, Dr. Sam Grantham, housed his medical office in the parlor and later in the stable. According to local folklore, late one night associates of Bonnie and Clyde forced the doctor at gunpoint to remove a bullet from the arm of a fellow gangster. The Bonnie and Clyde hideout still stands at 299 W 34th St, Joplin, MO 64804. When Dr. Grantham died, his younger son Sam, took over the practice.
In 1963, Dr. Irvine Kilbane moved into his medical practice. Dr. Kilbane and Mrs. Mary Joanne (Jo) (Booher Rosenak) Kilbane were well known and beloved by the Joplin community. Their memorial plaque can be viewed inside the Jewish Temple at 702 S. Sergeant Avenue in Joplin.
The Dr. Albert Newton Winchester House
