Dr. Andrew Jackson Harness was born on May 15, 1883 in Helenwood, Tennessee. He attended medical school at the University of Tennessee and the University of Louisville before settling in Wheeling, West Virginia around 1918. In Wheeling, Dr. Harness purchased land and began building a large house now known as the "Overlook" or "Castle" in 1921. His daughter Myrtle graduated from Wheeling High School in 1925 but passed away in 1927.
On June 12, 1925, and June 21, 1925, at his clinic at 1510 Market Street in Wheeling, Dr. Harness sold morphine and cocaine to two undercover federal agents, Daniel A. Weisbrod and Louis C. Rocchicioli, under the table and avoided the taxation, in violation of the Harrison Narcotics Act. He was arrested on July 9, 1925, and charged with violating the Harrison Narcotics Act. On November 5, 1925, Dr. Harness was sentenced to 18 months in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia for the narcotics charges. On November 6, 1925, he was transferred to the Atlanta prison along with other prisoners.
After being released early on January 16, 1927, Dr. Harness moved to Cabin Creek, West Virginia before later relocating to Miami, Florida where he practiced medicine until his death on January 30, 1946. The Overlook in Wheeling was later turned into a public space after Mt. Wood Road was widened in the 1970s.
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