The Historic Welles Mansion at 28 W. South St. in Wilkes-Barre is nestled in the heart of Wilkes University and next to a United States courthouse. This prime location is among the nicest and safest in all of Wilkes-Barre.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: 28 W. South St. and the Welles family
At the corner of West South Street and Barnum Place, this Georgian Revival mansion was designed by the prominent Philadelphia architectural firm of Moses & King for Edward Welles Sr. (1832-1914), a scion of one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's most prominent families.
Welles was the grandson of Matthias Hollenback, a hero of the Revolutionary War’s “Battle of Wyoming” and the most successful businessman in Northeastern Pennsylvania history.
Hollenback once hosted a party in Wilkes-Barre for Louis Philippe, who would go on to become king of France from 1830 to 1848. Earlier, during the French Revolution, the Welles/Hollenback family established the French Azilum in nearby Bradford County, a retreat for refugees of French royal family.
Welles was an early backer of the company that became Woolworths, which pioneered the Five and Dime discount retail concept across the United States. In 1884, Welles rented a storefront on East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre to F.M. Kirby and Charles Woolworth, making it just the third Woolworths store in the country before rapid expansion.
Welles served as the president of the Hollenback Coal Company, a manager of the family's extensive interests in Bradford County, a Wilkes-Barre City councilman, and a patron of local civic endeavors.
Offices in the home were used for Welles’s vast business empire, including local real estate holdings in the historic neighborhood and elsewhere in the city.
Welles’ son, Edward Jr., and his wife, Virginia, were the last of the family to live here prior to her death in Feb. 2016. They had no heirs.
Southstreet Investment Group purchased the property in March 2017 and has been restoring it to its grandeur.
The Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society says 28 W. South St. has "one of the prettiest and most tasteful interiors in town." It’s one of the main attractions of the annual architectural walking tour of downtown.
(Historical information courtesy of the Wilkes-Barre Preservation Society)
