 "Photo: Kerissa Bennett")
 "Photo: Kerissa Bennett")
The city of Huntington has a white house that is also home to a president.
While the address 1040 13th Ave. may not be as well known as 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the house has been serving as home to Marshall University presidents since 1972.
Built in 1922, seven Marshall presidents have called the house home, including current president Stephen J. Kopp.
“It’s a very attractive building,” said Lisle Brown, curator of Special Collections at Morrow Library. “There’s a very beautiful entrance-way to the home.”
The foyer of the house features wallpaper designed as a mural-like scene. The wallpaper was created in France by the firm of Zuber and Cie.
“The mural, as we understand it, is of Istanbul, Turkey,” Kopp said. “It’s really quite spectacular.”
The first floor of the house has been restored to the period in which it was built and includes many of the original furnishings and art pieces of the home.
“The university uses the downstairs for university functions,” Brown said. “The upstairs part is used for the president and his family.”
Kopp’s wife Jane said she enjoys organizing the university functions held at her home.
“For him (Kopp) it’s another event in his calendar for the day,” Jane Kopp said. “For me this is what I consider my job at Marshall. My job is making sure the house is in good repair and maintenance is kept up.”
“It’s part of the portfolio,” President Kopp said. “We enjoy being around people. It’s a great opportunity to not just meet people, but strengthen relationships and showcase Marshall University.”
Bill Bissett, chief of staff, said scheduling events at the president’s home is different.
“It’s important to remember people live here, not just the president, but his wife Jane,” Bissett said. “To do an event at the residence, we do try to run it by both Jane and President Kopp. However, in working with both, they are very gracious.”
President Kopp said some other university presidents do not host university functions at their residences.
“I think opening the residence is a show of respect,” President Kopp said.
The Kopps said their favorite room in the 16-room house is the study, where they keep many personal furnishings and photos.
“The study is where we spend most of our time,” Jane Kopp said. “It’s where we like to relax and watch TV.”
“It’s interesting when you move as much as we do, having things around you that are familiar, that are yours, like the furnishings we have make it feel like home,” President Kopp said. “There’s something about living around familiar things that gives a sense of home and place that is very important.”
The formal name of the house is the Campbell-Staats Home. It was designed by architects Robert and Sydney Day and was purchased by the West Virginia Board of Regents in 1971 for $95,000. An additional $54,000 was put into remodeling the house from 1971 to 1972. President John Barker moved into the home in 1972.
According to the Marshall University Foundation, more than 4,000 guests visit the home each year.
Jane Kopp said the house design was modeled after George Washington’s home, Mount Vernon.
“The response we get from guests is that they are first honored to be there,” President Kopp said. “They are also interested and excited in the history of the house.”
The house is located on the edge of Ritter Park. The Kopps said they enjoy the location.
“We’re removed from campus but not very far away,” President Kopp said.
The couple also said the location is great for walking their golden retriever, Abby.
“It’s nice to have our dog,” Jane Kopp said. “It helps the place to feel more like home.”
The Kopps said some of their other favorite features of the house include wooden paneling in the salon original to the home. A painting of John Marshall hangs over the fireplace in the same room. Jane Kopp said the dining room, which was designed after a painting of a parrot over the mantle, is one of her favorite rooms.
A nine-foot grandfather clock is featured in the foyer. The clock was donated by the grandson of the original homeowners.
The Kopps do have one complaint about the house.
“When you walk in, you think this doesn’t look very much like Marshall’s home because there is very little green,” Jane Kopp said. “If we could remodel the house, I think we would like to put more green in the home.”
As she walked through the house pointing out her favorite rooms and pieces of art, Jane Kopp said after living in the house for four years she has learned to feel at-home.
“It’s not just a house,” Jane Kopp said. “It’s our home.”
Kerissa Bennett can be contacted at Bennett120@marshall.edu.
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