In December 1875 Ellen B. Wheeler became the second wife of widower Edward Wright Harral, an influential businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist who was head of Fairfield Rubber Company. The Harrals had one daughter Mary Wheeler Harral. They lived in Bridgeport in the family mansion known as the Harral-Wheeler House, which stood on Golden Hill, with views of Long Island Sound. Designed by prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis, the house no longer stands, but a room and its furnishings are held in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The fine Gothic revival mansion had been built by Ellen Wheeler Harral’s father-in-law Henry Kollock Harral in 1847, but later acquired by her father Nathaniel Wheeler. It was her home for more than 50 years.
In 1913 Mrs. Harral and her brothers, heirs to the estate of their father, presented to the city of Bridgeport the Nathaniel Wheeler Fountain. Designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum (later famous for his Mt. Rushmore monument), the fountain is at the intersection of Park and Fairfield Avenues and John Street, opposite St. John Episcopal Church. Wheeler, an organizer of the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., was a pioneer in the development and use of the sewing machine. The fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and was restored in 2010.
Contributor: Jeanne Stevens (47795852)
In December 1875 Ellen B. Wheeler became the second wife of widower Edward Wright Harral, an influential businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist who was head of Fairfield Rubber Company. The Harrals had one daughter Mary Wheeler Harral. They lived in Bridgeport in the family mansion known as the Harral-Wheeler House, which stood on Golden Hill, with views of Long Island Sound. Designed by prominent architect Alexander Jackson Davis, the house no longer stands, but a room and its furnishings are held in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The fine Gothic revival mansion had been built by Ellen Wheeler Harral’s father-in-law Henry Kollock Harral in 1847, but later acquired by her father Nathaniel Wheeler. It was her home for more than 50 years.
In 1913 Mrs. Harral and her brothers, heirs to the estate of their father, presented to the city of Bridgeport the Nathaniel Wheeler Fountain. Designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum (later famous for his Mt. Rushmore monument), the fountain is at the intersection of Park and Fairfield Avenues and John Street, opposite St. John Episcopal Church. Wheeler, an organizer of the Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Co., was a pioneer in the development and use of the sewing machine. The fountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and was restored in 2010.
Contributor: Jeanne Stevens (47795852)
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