The Victorians of Clarion

This relic of the Gilded Age was constructed in 1901 by A.D. Box, the proprietor of the local livery. Being near the center of town (Block 15, Lots 9 and 10), the house is known throughout the community for its large turret, that of which overlooks the surrounding neighborhood. Being of the Queen Anne genre while still boasting Victorian accents, this iconic house reminds us of a time when Victorians and Queen Annes adorned the landscape of north central Iowa. The ten-room home has a grand entrance hall, that of which displays a large open staircase and plenty of oak woodwork. The entire home takes advantage of natural wood and earth tones, giving the residence a sense of peace as well as grandeur. According to the Houses on the Prairie, the home was originally designed for entertaining, to the extent that the third floor was designed to serve as a ballroom. Yet it is the large porch that encases the south and east sides of the home that may be the home's greatest virtue. Being that the structure sits upon a small hill, the additional height provided by the porch gives the resident the sense that one is overlooking a valley to the east. The entire atmosphere created by the space communicates an expression of tranquility. Though the home sat in disarray for many years, Sidney and Susan Baker have been committed to restoring the property to its original state of grace and poise. Under their management, the A.D. Box house now serves as the Clarion Inn Bed & Breakfast.

Clarion House was built by Duane C. Young in 1871 as accommodations for the new settlers coming into the growing town of Clarion. Since housing was so scarce, the county supervisors offered the entire block north of the court-house square to anyone who would construct a hotel and it was Mr. Young who took up their offer.

In 1912, Mr. Moore wanted to build the present hotel and the city moved the front part of the old hotel to its location at 602 First Ave. SE and it was made into a duplex for housing.

The original Clarion House had a long two story annex to the east of the three story front, which housed the kitchen and dining room for boarders. Many early Clarion residents had housekeeping facilities there while they built homes or found places to live. It was a hotel, restaurant, apartment house and hospitality center for the new town.
It has had many owners through the years. The last Clarion owner was R. B. Comstock but it now belongs to a loan company of Webster City. The original woodwork is still in the apartments with doors and transoms of the old hotel. A huge attic was once the 3rd floor of the Clarion House. (The house has since been torn down.)

The United States transfered the original tract of land to Wright County on September 10, 1862.

In 1867 this land was sold by the Wright County Board of Supervisors to George A. McKay, who was Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, with the intent it was to be developed and houses built on it. He paid $150 for NW of Section 6, 91-24, which is 40 acres. The W1⁄2 of lots 13 and 14 were sold by McKay to Stephen L. Dows in 1880. The land changed hands 4 times that year with the final owner being a Railroad Line with C. J. Ives, President, and E. S. Elsworth, Secretary. Elsworth in turn purchased it in 1893 and later transfered it to the Elsworth Trust of which he was President.

The W1⁄2 of 15 was owned by the Railroad in 1880 and from then until 1887 it changed hands 10 times at which time Jesse Hill, who was single, purchased it. Finally in 1900, Bert C. Clark bought the W1⁄2 of 15. He was able to purchase the W1⁄2 of 13 and 14 in December, 1904, from the Elsworth Trust. So it was at this time in 1905 that Bert Clark built the home that presently stands on the site of the W1⁄2 of lots 13, 14, 15 of Block 2, Railroad Addition in Clarion.
At the time it was built it was "known as one of the houses in Clarion".

The three story brick structure stands today in much the original state. Several leaded glass windows were included along with three bay windows, one on the first floor and two on the second floor. Three wooden dormers are used on the third floor. There are two stairways in the home, both going up to the third floor. Beautiful hardwood floors are used throughout. There is a full basement under the home. The first floor consists of living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom, central hallway and alcove between the kitchen and dining room. There are four bedrooms and a bath on the second floor and three bedrooms on the third floor. A curved driveway approached the delivery door from 2nd St. Large cement urns graced the front and many beautiful trees and shrubs were planted by the Clarks. In recent years much of this growth has been cleared away. The stucco sun porches on the south side of the home plus the stucco carriage house used later as a garage were built later. There have been no major improvements made in the home in the past 30 years.

Bert Clark was a traveling shoe salesman in the Midwestern states of lowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois. He traveled by train with large trunks of his wares, "similar to the scenes in Music Man". Mr. Clark's first wife was a Callendar. Her father ran the Rock Island Depot and built the house at 117 2nd St. SW, were Marvin R. McAllister, teacher in the Clarion School System, now resides. Mrs. Clark died and Bert Clark later married Mildred Humphrey. In later years Mr. Clark traveled by car with his second wife driving, as his eye sight was failing. The Clark's had two children, a son, Gerald, and a daughter, Esther. Gerald graduated from Clarion High School. Mr. F. L. Porter, who was a fellow classmate of his said, "Gerald was an instigator of projects and ideas." After school a group of high school boys would meet in the basement of their home and have "Sir Arthur of the Round Table" meetings. It was one of the few homes of that time that had a recreation room! Gerald later served in World War I. Their daughter, Esther, married Charles Birdsall, who was a banker in Clarion. Bert Clark also built the house at 403 2nd Ave. NE. The stone wall beside it is a result of rocks picked up on his travels as a shoe salesman. Each rock had a special story. Later he moved across the street to 408 2nd Ave. NE, which he remodeled extensively before retiring in California.

On February 28, 1921, the Clarks sold their large brick home to E. A. Morling, who was a widower, for $5000. On November 9, 1921, some 8 months later
Mr. Morling sold the house to J. L. Sinclair and his wife, Mable. Mr. Sinclair moved to Clarion from Rowan. He ran a grocery store at the site which is now Karen's Style Shop. In later years he sold real estate and insurance. The Sinclairs had one son, Russell, who resided in Olwein, and was employed by the Great-Western Railroad. Russell was married to the Former Mammie Knutson. On December 19, 1937, John L. Sinclair passed away at the age of 70. On November 27, 1943, Mabel Sinclair sold the home to William A. Gray and his wife, Catherine A. Mr. and Mrs. Gray farmed the second place north of Florence from 1922 till 1944, when they retired in Clarion. They came to Wright Co. from Hancock Co. where they had farmed northwest of Kanawha. The Grays had twelve children, ten of whom are still living: George, of Corwith; Verle Darrah, Kanawha; Florence Lynch, Waterloo; Lila Spangler, Corwith; Elwood L., Eagle Grove; Elery J., Grand Rapids, Michigan; Ruth Tveit, Eagle Grove; Harold C., Mason City; Richard B., Thor; and Mildred Armatis, Rockwell. Edward was killed by a bull in 1918, and Eugene died of pneumonia at 9 months in 1921. Mr. and Mrs. Gray were married in 1899, and enjoyed 61 years of wedded bliss.

The house was fondly termed, "Grandma Gray's". Mrs. Gray is remembered as enjoying having good time but raising her large family with firm discipline. For approximately 15 years she ran a ooming house, even renting out the third floor a couple of times. But this was not so successful because people did not like climbing so many stairs.
In later years all the daughters and daughters-in- aw would come home for two or three days and clean the entire house. This was always a favorite time for Mrs. Gray.

The Thomas H. Crowe residence was constructed back in 1883. As such, this early date places this beautiful work of art as one of the first homes of the Victorian genre to ornament the streets of Clarion. Thomas, an orphan who was raised in Davenport, Iowa, settled in Clarion and purchased the parcel of land which lies on the southeast corner of what is now Main Street and Central Avenue. Originally the parcel was used as an implement business only to eventually be converted into a men's clothing store, that of which was called Crowe & Son. For those of us who remember, it was his son, C.H. Crowe, that would so fondly greet youngsters with candy whenever they visited his store to purchase Cub Scout gear. The Thomas H. Crowe house is an immaculately preserved example of Victorian architecture, with its customary steeply-pitched roofs and ornamental trim. The gazebo found in the front of the residence compliments the home's Gothic silhouette, taking us back to an idyllic time when worries were few and far between. Unfortunately, the house sat in disarray for many years, having had experienced many owners. However, the Richard Stockwell family purchased the property in the 1970's and spent considerable time reviving the structure. Since then, David and Colette Johnson have taken on the responsibility of maintaining the home's Victorian integrity; in turn preserving one of Clarion's proud treasures.

Jeremiah Fairbanks was born in the state of New York in 1848. As an adult, he located in Clarion circa 1880 to start Clarion's first lumber yard. According to the Houses on the Prairie in 1890, Jeremiah built this beautiful house on what is now the southwest corner of First Avenue and First Street in the southeast quadrant of town; and fortunately, other than the porch being enclosed and a few other minor alterations, the home is almost identical as to how it originally appeared 120+ years ago. The front entrance hall opens up into one of two living rooms, a dining room, as well as to the kitchen. Likewise from here, there is also a large open staircase that rises up to a spacious hallway that leads to the bedrooms and bath of the second floor. Though the bedrooms are spacious, the rooms of the first floor are also large, with high ceilings and significant woodwork. Every room boasts a different wood, ranging from oak, to walnut, mahogany, to that of cherry. Even the floors are characterized with parquetry flooring. Though the property served as apartments for many years, Deslyn Schutt has taken on the responsibility of refurbishing this fine example of Victorian / Queen Anne architecture into a beautiful single family home, as it was originally intended.

THE FOX HOME

221 First Ave SE

The first record in the Court-house ledger of the property on which Austin S. Fox built was in 1880 when that part of the McKay addition was made into lots.
Austin S. Fox was wounded while serving in the Civil War, losing a leg and having a bullet wound in one hand. When he came to Clarion, he had married the widow of his friend, Lewis G. Kinson, of Springfield, Illinois, who was killed in 1862 in the same war. It seems that Mr. Fox had money for he had no occupation in the years he lived in Clarion and where he lived until he died in 1926.

Julia Kinson Fox was the mother of George T. Kinson who married Lorinda Mabbott of Webster City. They made their home with the Fox family as the couple became elderly, and eventually, the home went to George Kinson who was the grandfather of Fern Perry of Clarion. She inherited the property in 1944 from her mother, Alice Kinson Barker Banks. Fern Perry recalls spending much time in the house when she was small for she was a frail childand her grandmother was wise in the ways of health care so she feels she owes her life to that care.

She also recalls the house with its original ornate exterior which has been changed so that today its appearance is quite contemporary. The yard had a pump which furnished "the best drinking water in town" and a barn and coal shed were also in the yard.

Inside, the house was large with eight rooms and a buttery with a sunken cooler for food storage. Upstairs there were four bedrooms.
Fern Barker married Shirley Perry in 1920 and they lived for thirty-five years one block south of the grandparental home and where Mrs. Perry lives to this day. Her husband was with the Chicago and Great Western Railroad and also did some farming. There are two sons, Robert Perry of Clarion, and Jack Perry of Massachussets.

Fern Perry sold the Fox home to Luther A. Yarger and Bert and Alice McMorris bought it from them in 1958. The McMorrises have a beauty shop in the house and they both work there as well as making it their home. They have two married children, Scott and Lana.

FRENCH HOME

GARTH HOME

HAMILTON HOME

HARWOOD HOME

HURD HOME

LADD HOME

OVERBAUGH HOME

MARIETTA HOME

MCKAY HOME

G. A. MCKAY HOUSE Clarion’s First Residence - 315 Central Ave. East

The name of George A. McKay appears on many of Clarion's abstracts for he was its first resident and also owned a realty, loan and banking business in the town.

In 1857 he came to Belmond from the state of New York as a surveyor and was made Wright County Surveyor the following year. By the time that Clarion (or Grant) was chosen the county seat, he had been made County Clerk and had also married Helen Eastman, daughter of R. K. Eastman, an early settler and County Treasurer. The two families lived in the new court-house that first winter of 1866. In the spring the McKays built a home on the land east of the court-house square which was Clarion's first house.

Some twenty-five years later that house was moved to East Central Ave. and 2nd St. SE where it is today and the McKays built a fine new home on the property. Mr. McKay died during the construction of the house and his widow later sold it to Fred Hartshorn.
George A. McKay, according to Judge B. P. Birdsall's History of Wright County, was considered a very wealthy man. He also was known for the fine horses he bred.

There was one daughter, Jessie Horn who was born in 1872. A young son died in 1870 of diptheria and it was the first recorded death in the town. There was no cemetery so the child was buried in the yard of the home.
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MRS. MCKAY HOME

MRS. G. A. MCKAY HOUSE - 403 First Ave. N.E.

Dr. Hawkin's home, although not the oldest, is one of the largest in town. It was originally built east of the court-house square where the Post Office is today. There was a large yard which was enclosed by an iron fence. Hitching posts were on the west side for public use when people drove horses and buggies. The house had one of the first telephones in Clarion since Mr. Hartshorn, one of the owners, was the president of the first telephone company. There were only 36 telephones available to the community. George McKay, builder of the house, died during the time it was being built but his widow lived there for a while. She sold it to Fred Hartshorn and he and his family resided in the house until the death of both Mr. and Mrs. Hartshorn in 1938.
Fred Hartshorn was born in Ohio. He graduated from the law school of, what was then, lowa State University in 1879. He practiced law in Clarion for two years and then bought 750 acres of land near Belmond. He farmed the land until 1892 when he was elected County Treasurer. In order to devote more time to his duties as treasurer he moved back to Clarion and it was at this time he purchased the McKay home.
He was married to Clara Hills in 1877. There were six children, Mae, June, Lila, Grace, Hugh and Carl. Mrs. Eugene (Wilma), Allen's mother, was Lila Hartshorn Wakefield and both mother and daughter were married in the big Hartshorn home. After the death of Mrs. Wakefield's husband, the second floor of the house was converted into an apartment where Wilma and her mother lived while Wilma taught in the rural schools. Later, after Wilma married Eugene Allen they lived in that apartment and Mrs. Wakefield devoted her time to caring for the elderly parents who both died the following year.
The Hartshorn estate sold the property to the federal government as a site for the new post office. The house was bought by the Wallace brothers from south of town who moved it with horses to its present location. It was then sold to Alfred Andersonwho converted it into a funeral home.
In 1948, Cliff Evans bought the house for rental purposes, but in 1951 he decided to put it up for sale. Dr. and Mrs. Hawkins bought the house in 1952 and have raised seven of their nine children there.
The original house had a large porch which was cut down and enclosed when the house was moved, and the balcony above it removed. The front entrance was moved to the south side of the porch, and double doors were installed. The large entrance hall and open stairway now extend off the L shaped living room. The living room was originally two rooms, with a fireplace on the east side, which still is in working condition, and the large bay window area on the south east corner. Just off the hall area is a room that was a library but is now an office. The original dining room is now a kitchen-dining room, and the original kitchen is now a utility room. There was a "dumb-waiter" in the kitchen which decended to the cellar, and was the main food-storage- preservation area used before the popular use of iceboxes, and later, refrigerators.
The house has four upstairs bedrooms, a large basement bedroom, and two and one-half baths. It is furnished in such a way that twenty people could sleep in the house comfortably if the need arises. When Dr. Hawkins was working with the many storm windows for the first time, he put 27 storm windows on the 26 windows. Upon investigating, it was discovered that part of the large bathroom had been closed off completely when it was remodeled. This area is now a large storage closet just off one of the bedrooms. Another bedroom still has the kitchen cabinets and sink present, which were installed when the original dressing room was converted to a kitchenette. The Hawkins children look forward to moving into the single bedroom at the head of the stairs, with the children's phone present, which is reserved for the oldest child living at home. The fourth bedroom is the master bedroom with the beautiful bay-window area directly above that of the living room.
There are three layers of oak floor on the main floor. The first floor was damaged by vandalism during the construction period, so a second floor was laid. It was plain and not liked, so a third floor with parquetry border was added. This third floor gave much character and charm to the home along with the sculptered wood ceiling borders. The triple floor created a somewhat "haunting" effect, making its own peculiar noise when all else is quiet. Because of the work involved with its upkeep, it is now carpeted.
Dr. Hawkins believes the present site of his home could have been the original site for early medicine-shows and carnivals because of the interesting bottles and such that he digs up when he does his gardening.

MORTON HOME

OVERBAUGH HOME

PETERSON HOME

ROBSON HOME

SAM HOME

TILLINGHAST HOME

UMBRIET HOME