Holley Wright The Wright Mansion History In 1857, Dr. Charles M. Wright, twenty-three at the time, came to Effingham County, Illinois. By 1870, the total worth of the 36-year-old doctor was $20,205. In 1878, he established the C. M. Wright & Co. private bank in his former medical building in Altamont.
The town of Altamont was organized in 1871 and Dr. Wright purchased 5 acres from the Vandalia Railroad. In 1874, he built a two-story frame house, a barn, and other outbuildings. He increased his holdings to 27 acres with boundaries of the railroad and the cemetery that he purchased.
In January 1889 the first house was moved east across Main Street. The Wright family lived there while their new brick home was being built. Later, the home that had been moved across the street became the home of their daughter Lotta and her husband G. C. Dial.
Dr. Wright hired architect C. H. Spilman of Edwardsville, Illinois to design the home. Dr. Wright used several 1880’s architectural journals and suppliers’ catalogs to plan his new home.