Wilson House (located near Strabane)
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The Wilson House, near Strabane, County Tyrone, was the home of James Wilson, grandfather of President Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States of America. This house, owned by the Ulster American Folk Park, is maintained in its original setting in the townland of Dergalt, two miles out of Strabane on the Plumbridge Road. It is open to the public from 2pm to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday inclusive, during July, August and the beginning of September (get closer by clicking the images).
James Wilson was a printer by trade. In 1807 he emigrated to America from the port of Londonderry, landing at Philadelphia. In time he became a prominent newspaperman, working on the Democratic newspaper the ‘Aurora’, the ‘Western Herald and Steubenville Gazette’, before founding the ‘Pennsylvania Advocate’.
By 1816, James was involved in politics and served in the Ohio Legislature from 1816 to 1817. Although not a lawyer, he was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and because of this, he was known in later life as ‘Judge Wilson’.
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James Wilson married Ann Adams in Philadelphia in 1808. She is reputed to have come from Sion Mills, County Tyrone. They had ten children, the youngest of whom, Joseph Ruggles, was born in Steubenville in 1822. He became a Presbyterian minister and married Jessie Woodrow from Carlisle, England. Their third child grew up to become President Woodrow Wilson.
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The Wilson house at Dergalt was one of a cluster of farmhouses. It was extended in the 1800s with the addition of a byre to the lower part of the house, and a separate stable. The central upper storey with a slate roof was probably added at the end of the 19th century. Access to the upper level is by fixed wooden steps leading though the half loft floor at one end of the kitchen. There is a bed outshot or alcove on the back wall of the kitchen, close to the hearth.
The room to the left of the house is furnished as a bedroom and parlour. Two beds are placed end to end against the back wall, allowing them to be curtained off from each other and the rest of the room.
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