The photographs below again show the urgency of getting photographs of older structures while it is still possible. It appears the house is in the process of being demolished, but that impression is wrong. According to Daniel H. Graham, a distant relative of Henry L. Russell, and a detailed HABS report, the house was in fact constructed with many defects, the most serious being the poor quality of the bricks made on premisis. The were apparently quite soft, and tended to absorb water. Over the years they became week. Daniel also shares the following:
"Yes, it is quite a shame. The Historical group would have matched funds to maintain it, but my understanding was that it was not kept up and eventually the weather tore it down to rubble.
Clearly the one wall was gone by 1981. I think it just was not maintained to resist the weather. A wild speculation is that the wall was weakened because someone removed the plaque that commemorated its construction, which was in the middle of that fallen wall, but that seems unlikely to me.
My mother remembered the plaque clearly from her childhood summers spent at the farm in the 30's, and it appears in photos we have, but it's not legible. I always wondered what it said, and thanks to the information I found, now I know. It said "H.L.Russell AD 1859" (see attached). That doesn't seem valuable enough to rip out of the middle of a brick wall to me. I would very much like to have acquired it, but it was already gone when we visited.
I saw it about ten years after the 1981 photos on your site, and only three walls were left, and the roof had caved into the interior of the house. Somewhere I have pictures of me standing on top of the fallen roof at the level of about maybe 4 feet above the ground floor. The pretty staircase was collapsed and ruined by the weather of years. Bricks were strewn about everywhere. It was quite a ruin.
We collected a few bricks to take home which we still have. They were made at the site from clay out of the ground mixed with hay grown there. The corner bricks were pointed on the end to make the octagonal joint. The bricks were made in wooden molds. We still have three of the brick molds. They make great knick-knack shelves.
My understanding is that the last family member to own the farm was my mother's aunt Laura June Porter Hall, a granddaughter of the builder. I think it was originally inherited by Bessie Russell, a daughter of the builder. When Bessie died, Laura married her widower, Chance Porter, and moved in to the house. Two weeks after they were married, he was killed in a car accident, and she had to manage the farm on her own. Everyone expected her to sell it, but she kept it and worked it for over ten years. My mother called her family "strong stock", and was proud of her Aunt to carry on as she did. Life was hard at times. These were the years when my mother and her sister (Margery and Geraldine Young) would visit there as girls in the 30's. They lived in Cedar Rapids.
Laura eventually remarried and sold the farm (not sure in which order). I believe it was purchased by the owner of the farm next door, who rented it out for many years before it apparently became unusable."
Dale Travis confirms that the house is now gone,
and also suggests that round hay bales only started to be used around 1970.
Alas, this is one way to see the interior of the house, as well as
some construction details.
House, showing the general setting.
Front view.
Left side view.
Right side view, showing interior.
Rear view.
Detail of interior staircase.
Sources: Federal Register, Vol. 63, No. 66, Tuesday, April 7, 1998, Notices.
HABS IA-137
Daniel H. Graham, who shared information about the house and his relative,
Henry L. Russell.
Entered: June, 2001.
Updated: March, 2004.
Updated: March, 2007.
Carol Baumann supplied the following information about Edward Langworthy:
"Prior to having Rague design his octagon house, in 1832 he constructed what may
have been the first house in the future state of Iowa. He and his brother were lead miners. It was still Indian territory at the time, and in Nov. of '32
they were forced to move east of the Mississippi by soldiers from Prairie DuChien that were enforcing a treaty. He returned in April of '33, and
eventually built several homes and several stores. He is on a list of the richest residents of Dubuque back then. He was elected as a town trustee,
a county commissioner, and a member of the legislature for three sessions. He also served as a city alderman and a member of the constitutional
convention. He also became a stockbroker and bank director." This info comes from Dubuque: The Encyclopedia, Randolph W .Lyon, First
National Bank of Dubuque, 1991.
Photograph.
Larger version.
Photograph 2.
Photograph 3.
Photograph 4.
Photograph 5.
Cupola detail.
Interior detail.
Sources: R. Kline
Ron Travis and Carol Baumann supplied the photographs.
HABS IA-30-14
Entered: February, 2002.
Updated: March, 2004.
Updated: February, 2007
