IAGenWeb - Scott County
MISSISSIPPI RIVER FOLK BACKGROUND
E. J. LANCASTER Legendary Le Claire Home Faces a Fiery Fate Sunday
A legendary Le Claire house, with a "hidden room," will go up in flames Sunday- unless fate, in the form of bad weather, intervenes.
The house is a two-story, 13 room structure built in 1831 by E. J. Lancaster, a Mississippi river boat captain.
At 8:30 a.m. Sunday, firemen from Scott County's fire District No.1-the Le Claire, Pleasant Valley and Princeton department-will begin holding a series of fire drills.
By 10 a.m. Le Claire Mayor Louis Mohr expects the old landmark to be in flames.
As with many old landmarks,legends have grown up around the Lancaster house. But this house has a feature that makes legends more plausible.On the second floor, under the southwest gable, was located a "hidden" room, it was reported. The room was never finished and was closed off.
Explains reason
The reason for this was explained by Fred Clark of Le Claire, who was a playmate of the Lancaster children, children who remembers the captain.
"Capt. Lancaster was a very superstitious man," Clark said. "He said if he finished that room, some member of his family would die".
Clark also said that Capt. Lancaster, who owned and operated the steamboat, "Eclipse" as a packet boat would not start a trip upstream on a Friday because he thought the boat might hit something.
A recent occupant of the home however, did open up the "hidden room." The room, which has a ceiling that goes to the point of the garret, is about 20 feet square, according to Charles "Chappie" Morgan, one of the Le Claire firemen who will take part in Sunday's drill.
Le Claire residents are reluctant to see the house destroyed. "I think it's a shame, but I guess there is nothing to be done," said Mrs. Andrew Neilson, in a typical reaction. "It's a wonderful house and it is in good condition," declared Mrs. Neilson, a great-niece of early settler Antoine Le Claire.
Too costly
Le Claire's museum board has made efforts to save the house for use as a museum and library, but found the project would be too costly.
Destruction of the structure was delayed until that decision was made.
Present owners Dean Fry and glen Little of Davenport offered the home to the board free with an additional 4100 for moving it. The site is to be used for commercial development.
The museum board estimates that it would cost between $12,000 and $15,000 to move the building (to the town park) and to renovate it.
"It is the biggest house in town," declared Frank Clark, "It has seven rooms and bath downstairs." he pointed out that like the house of Nathanial Hawthorne's novel, it has seven gables.
It was built to last, too. Instead of the usual vertical studding framework, the walls are constructed of 2-inch by 4-inch dimension lumber laid on top of each other and spiked together.
Source: The Daily Times, Davenport, Ia., Davenport, Ia., Larry Heintz, Davenport, Ia., 15 Jun 1962.
Contributed by Sue Rekkas.