West of Westcott

The house is a stately brick Colonial Revival structure that stands out with its deep red color and austere boxy form.

Murphy was born in Sherman, NY, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1909 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He came to work for the H. H. Franklin Mfg. Co. where he was named chief engineer in 1914. He was promoted to assistant to the vice-president (1921) and later vice-president of the (now named) Franklin Automobile Company, one of Syracuse’s largest industrial employers. Murphy died in 1972. The house remained in the family, occupied by his widow and grown son Ralph M. Murphy, who died in 1979.