The Edward King House, built in 1845, is one of the finest and few examples of an Italian Villa built in America. In 1845, Mr. Edward King, returning from a successful venture in China, commissioned Richard Upjohn to build a house of the Italian Villa style. The biggest and best house in town in its time, it is now a Historic National Landmark. The King family moved into it in 1846. Edward King began to buy large tracts of land in Newport and in 1860 was the largest landowner in Newport. He helped to lay out the Ocean Drive and deeded Harrison Ave and the King Park area to the city of Newport for $1.00.In 1849 he married Mary Augusta Leroy. At Edward King's death in 1875, George Gordon King, the eldest of seven children, inherited the Edward King House, which he gave to "the people of Newport" as a Christmas gift in 1912. The house was used as a library and the grounds as a park.