Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line.
The former First Church of Christ, Scientist is located at 300 East Burlington Avenue in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It is an historic structure that on October 30, 1997 was determined to be eligible for addition to the National Register of Historic Places, but was not added. The building now houses St. Gabriel and All Angels Liberal Catholic Church.
Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as BBS Architects | Engineers.
The R. Bruce and May W. Louden House is an historic building located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. Original construction is in a colonial revival style and the interior was remodeled in an art deco style in 1928. Louden sold the property in 1948, and it was broken into apartments in the 1960s. The house was built in 1905 and was the residence of R. Bruce and May W. Louden until 1948.
The R. B. and Lizzie L. Louden House, also known as the William and Susan F. Elliott House and the John and Gladdy Ball House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States.
The Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company, and often referred to as Pitt-Des Moines Steel or PDM was an American steel fabrication company. It operated from 1892 until approximately 2002 when its assets were sold to other companies, including Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. The company began as a builder of steel water tanks and bridges. It also later fabricated the "forked" columns for the World Trade Center in the 1960s, and was the steel fabricator and erector for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. A number of its works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Beatty Brothers Limited was a major international manufacturer of agricultural machinery, barn and stable equipment, and household appliances, which was based in Fergus, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1874 by brothers George and Matthew Beatty, and reached its peak in the 1900s–1930s under William G. and Milton J. Beatty, George's sons. In 1969 it was merged with General Steel Wares to become a part of GSW Limited, and became defunct as an independent company. It is credited as having popularized the washing machine in Canada, as well as incorporating a key component, the agitator, into its designs starting in the 1920s, a component which is today found in virtually all top-loading washing machines.
Midway Stock Farm Barn was a historic building located north of Keosauqua, Iowa, United States. The barn was built by William A. Barker around 1880. It gained historical significance when his son Webb installed equipment made by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield, Iowa. By doing so he converted the facility from one that raised livestock to a dairy operation. Around 1918 Barker built an addition onto the south side of the barn and installed a litter carrier with tracks and switches on the ground floor, a hay carrier with a steel track and grapple hook hay fork also on the main floor, and a metal aerator on the roof. It was one of a few local operations that still had the Louden equipment in place.
The Fred and Rosa Fulton Barn is a historic building located north of Selma, Iowa, United States in rural Jefferson County. The barn was built by Rosa from plans prepared by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield, Iowa. It is a good example of the company's Gothic laminated roof design. The barn also includes other Louden-manufactured devices, including "Master-Made" ventilator windows, metal roof aerators, hay carrier and fork, and door tracks and trolleys. This equipment is original to the barn's construction in 1947. Built for a dairy operation, the structure has subsequently been used for general farm purposes. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The August and Vera Luedtke Barn is a historic building located north of Fairfield, Iowa, United States in rural Jefferson County. The barn was built by Luedtke from plans prepared by the Louden Machinery Company of Fairfield. He had previously built other barns using the same company's designs in the area. This barn features a gambrel roof, concrete walls, and eleven intact Louden dairy stanchions and a hay carrier system that are original to the building's construction in 1947. Built for a dairy operation, the structure has subsequently been used for storage. The barn was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
US Senator James F. Wilson House, also known as the Hamilton House and the Fulton House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. This house was built for attorney William L. Hamilton in 1854. Its notoriety is derived from the residency of James F. Wilson, who lived here from 1863 to 1895.
The R.R. and Antoinette Louden House, also known as the Thomas A. and Dorothy C. Louden House, is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. R.R. (Roy) Louden was the highly successful manager of the Louden Machinery Company advertising department in the 1920s, and he served as the corporation's secretary from 1931 until his death in 1951. He and his wife Antoinette had this house built in 1925. He lived here until his death in 1951. Their son Thomas and his wife Dorothy lived in the house after his parents. Thomas became general legal counsel for the company in the 1940s. The house is 2½-story, brick Colonial Revival with a side gable roof. It features a wall chimney on the east elevation, a single-story solarium, and a single-story porch on the main facade. An addition was added to the rear of the house in 1956. A two-car attached garage was built onto the addition in the 1980s. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The William and Mary Jane Louden House is a historic residence located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It historical significance is derived from its association with William Louden, a co-founder of Louden Machinery Company with his brother R.B. Previously, he secured his first two patents by 1867: one was for hay-stacking, and another was for hay-carrying. He would go on to obtain over 100 more patents. Being the inventive genius of the firm, William brought it to a national reputation in barn construction and farm equipment. The house is a 2½-story, frame, single family dwelling. It was built for the Louden's by C.E. Ward from 1896 to 1897 in the Queen Anne style. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Louden Monorail System in the Auto Repair Shop, also known as McGuire Motor Company and Crandall's Electric Service, is a historic structure located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. The monorail system is located in a former auto repair shop along an alley between East Broadway Avenue and East Briggs Avenue. It is the rear, single-story, portion of the building at 117 E. Broadway Ave where the system is located. The storefront portion of the building, also historically associated with the automobile industry, is a two-story brick building built on a stone foundation. The east side of the central business district in Fairfield had become the center for automobile related businesses by the 1920s. Harley Carter bought this building in 1920, and had the monorail system, manufactured by the Louden Machinery Company, installed about 1922. The overhead material handling system is permanently attached to the east wall of the shop. It allowed the mechanics to more easily move the heavy engines and other parts to and from vehicles. The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Louden Whirl-Around is a historic object located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. It is a type of a playground merry-go-round manufactured by the Louden Machinery Company. It was built about 1930 on the grounds of the Fairfield Country Club. The octagon-shaped apparatus is composed of steel pipe, malleable iron couplings, and wood. It is located south of the swimming pool behind the clubhouse. Louden had to begin a line of playground equipment in order to acquire patent rights that it needed to develop its line of overhead material handling systems. They acquired the J.C. Porter Company of Ottawa, Illinois, which manufactured the playground equipment and held those rights. The playground apparatus exemplifies the company's growth in the 1920s. Most of the schools in Fairfield had playground equipment manufactured by Louden. The object was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Iowa Malleable Iron Company was a historic industrial complex located in Fairfield, Iowa, United States. At one time the historic designation included nine buildings, most of them have been torn down. The remaining building was the two-story office building for the factory that was constructed in 1924. Most of the complex was built in 1904 north of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks. The company produced malleable iron castings for agricultural implement manufacturers, including Fairfield's Louden Machinery Company. For the most part it was established by the officers of the Louden Company, and it is thought to be the first foundry of its kind between the Mississippi River and Pueblo, Colorado. The two companies maintained a close association throughout their histories. The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
A Gothic-arched roof barn or Gothic-arch barn or Gothic barn or rainbow arch is a barn whose profile is in the ogival shape of a Gothic arch. These became economically feasible when arch members could be formed by a lamination process. The distinctive roofline features a center peak as in a gable roof, but with symmetrical curved rafters instead of straight ones. The roof could extend to the ground making the roof and walls a complete arch, or be built as an arched roof on top of traditionally framed walls.
A patented track crane is a crane with a bottom flange of hardened steel and a raised tread to improve rolling.
A hay hood is a roof extension which projects from the ridge of a barn roof, usually at the top of a gable. It provides shelter over a window or door used for passing hay into the attic or loft of the barn; it may hold a pulley for hoisting hay or hay bales up to the loft, or a fork or grapple and track system where hay can be lifted and then moved throughout the barn. A barn may have the ridge beam extended past the wall with a lifting mechanism but no hay hood.
