Snowden-Gray House

Philip T. Snowden, owner of a fancy dry goods and millinery, built the Italianate-style residence at 530 East Town Street in 1852. The house was part of the fashionable University Place addition on the east side of the city. From 1862-1864 Ohio’s governor, David Tod, lived here. Columbus philanthropist David S. Gray purchased the house in 1870 and his family held it until 1922. One of the city’s premier architects, George Bellows, Sr. rebuilt the house in 1872. From 1923 to 1940, the house was the headquarters of the Columbus Women’s Club. In 1951, the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity for women acquired the house as its national headquarters. (Continued on other side)

[Side B]: (Continued from other side) Six students of Monmouth College in Illinois founded the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity for women on October 13, 1870. Kappa Kappa Gamma was a founding member of the National Panhellenic Conference in 1902. In 1951, Kappa Kappa Gamma established its headquarters on Town Street when it purchased the Snowden-Gray House. The house was restored between 1981 and 2000 to depict the daily life and culture of the Victorian era. As of 2014, Kappa is an international organization with more than 260,000 members with chapters on 141 college campuses. The Snowden-Gray House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a part of the East Town Street Historic District.