“The History
We Live In”
Experience historic Council
Bluffs through its past.
They came from Germany, Ireland, England, Denmark, France, Canada, and the eastern and southern states. Each of their stories has a common thread: they left their homelands in search of a better life for themselves and/or their families. Some came with financial resources; most reached their goal through hard work and determination. They watched the tiny settlement grow from a frontier town, to a major outfitting station for those traveling west, to the fifth largest rail center in the country.
The History We Live In series attempts to tell their stories, as accurately as possible, through the homes they built by the architecture reflecting the culture of the times. In the very early days, houses did not have numbers; they were identified by the name of the occupants (e.g. the Snow House). This practice continued for several generations after numbers came into use.
Preserve Council Bluffs acknowledges the following sources of information: the Pottawattamie County auditor’s office; the reference department of the Council Bluffs Public Library; Council Bluffs Community Development Department; family members, homeowners, and individuals; and especially the documents relating to the nominations of the historic residential districts to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Author
Mary Lou
McGinn
507 East Pierce Street – Judge Samuel B. Snyder
Judge Samuel B. Snyder established the first juvenile court in Iowa, holding sessions on Saturday. He considered this his most important work. His story is taken from his obituary, published January 1, 1950 in the Daily Nonpareil. Judge Snyder, one of the oldest...
502 South Seventh Street – C.R. Cornelius/A.V. Hennessy, MD
The first owners of this lovely Queen Anne home on the corner of Fifth Avenue and South Seventh Street were Anna and Charles R. Cornelius, born in Illinois and married in 1883. They had two children, William and Marie, when they moved to Council Bluffs around 1891....
424 Oakland Avenue – Dr. Frank Wilson Dean – Part II
(This column is continued from March 16th.) Dr. Frank Wilson Dean was born in Satara, India in 1863, the fourth of six children born in India. His parents were Congregational missionaries. In 1867, the family returned to the United States because of his father’s...
379 Benton Street – Matthew Bartel
Five generations of the Mary and Matthew Bartel family lived in this house, built in 1912 in the Craftsman style. According to McAlester’s Field Guide to American Houses, the Arts and Crafts movement influenced the development of two styles. The first was the Prairie...
333 Willow Avenue – John Bennett
Visitors to the new Council Bluffs Public Library are given a special treat: a view of the historic Bennett House on the southwest corner of Bluff Street and Willow Avenue. Built in 1880, the “big white house with the green roof” was the home of John Bennett, early...
332 Willow Avenue – O.P. Wickham/Paul Coleman DeVol
The Wickham and DeVol names may sound familiar, as both families have previously been featured in this column: 616 South Seventh Street was the home of O.P. Wickham after the family moved from this location, and 203 Turley Avenue was the home of Paul Clyde DeVol, the...
331 Park Avenue – John T. Oliver
One would never guess this spacious Colonial Revival style home on the hillside where Park Avenue meets Pomona began its life as a one-story house. The original house was built in 1872 for Scottish emigrant John T. Oliver, an early pioneer and one of the city’s...
331 Ninth Avenue – Dr. Mary Tinley
Whoa, Nellie! Here comes Dr. Mary in the familiar four-wheeled carriage, rounding the corner at Third Street and Ninth Avenue, her driver at the reins of the old sorrel mare. Dr. Mary Tinley’s parents were born in Ireland in the years just prior to the beginning of...
310 Frank Street – Judge Frank Street
Frank Street was named for Judge Franklin Street, an early pioneer who played an important part in the settlement and growth of Council Bluffs. But did he live on Frank Street? Oral history suggests that No. 310 was his home, but no written verification has been...
304 Willow Avenue – Dr. Charles Woodbury
The Woodbury House was built in 1906 for Dr. Charles Woodbury and his wife, Nellie. Barbara Heck remembers the home of her grandparents: “In the early 1930s, the porch on the east side of the house was converted to a three-season sun porch. On the west side of the...
304 Glen Avenue – William Stewart Keeline
William Stewart (Will) Keeline, born in 1862, was the seventh of the nine children of Sophia and George F. Keeline whose home at 1133 East Pierce Street was featured in this column on December 23rd. Keeline spent the summers of his younger years working on the...
301 S. Eighth Street – Shepard Farnsworth/Judge John Patrick Tinley
The first owner of this highly ornate 1886 Queen Anne house on South Eighth Street was Shepard Farnsworth, banker; the second was Judge John P. Tinley. Shepard Farnsworth was born in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1841. His parents were Azel and Ann (Shepard) Farnsworth, natives...
Preserve Council Bluffs is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and preserve the heritage of Council Bluffs through its architecture, sites, and people.
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