Maysville is very fortunate to have a large, intact residential district filled with many Queen Anne-style Victorian houses.  Queen Victoria ruled England from 1837 to 1901 but it is the last decades of her reign--from about 1860-1900--that are generally referred to as "Victorian."  American architecture was rapidly changing during this time period.  With increased industrialization and railroad development, home building supplies were easily shipped across the country and complex house components such as doors, windows, overhangs, and decorative detailing could be mass-produced in large factories and shipped at low cost.¹

Notable characteristics of the Queen Ann style Victorian home include a steeply pitched roof of irregular shape, usually with a dominant front-facing gable; patterned shingles, cutaway bay windows, asymmetrical facade with partial or full porch extended along one or both side walls.¹

Many of the older homes in Maysville have the elaborate spindle work around the porch and gingerbread detailing along the top of the porch or gables.  The "starburst" gable" seems to be quite prominent in several of the homes, indicating perhaps that the same builder was kept quite busy in Maysville.

¹McAlester, Virginia & Lee.  A Field Guide to American Houses.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

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