R. Bruce and May W. Louden House

Last updated
R. Bruce and May W. Louden House
The R. Bruce and May W. Louden House.jpg
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location501 W. Adams Ave.
Fairfield, Iowa
Coordinates 41°0′18″N91°58′9″W / 41.00500°N 91.96917°W / 41.00500; -91.96917
Built1905
Architectural style Colonial Revival
MPS Louden Machinery Company, Fairfield Iowa MPS
NRHP reference No. 99000124 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 12, 2003

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 house is within walking distance of the Louden Machinery Company, as it was the custom at the time for factory owners to be close to their properties. He was the third president of the company in Fairfield from 1940 to 1951, when he was killed in an auto accident. . [2] During that period the company produced overhead handling equipment for American industries during World War II. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. [1]

R. Bruce Louden was president of Louden Machinery Company when the firm was contracted to build the assembly line for the world's first [atom bomb], and also the [B-29 bomber], during World War II. The atom bomb assembly line project was so secret that Louden was never told of it during construction, and liaison with the Manhattan Project was through Louden Vice President R. R. Louden, as per one of Louden's grandchildren.

In its heyday, Louden Machinery Company was one of the world's largest farm equipment manufacturers and was the largest shipper on the Rock Island Railroad. The founder, William Louden, was a prolific inventor with many inventions to his credit. His hay handling system (the first major invention)was a pulley system on a monorail used to move hay in the mow of the barn, and was the first commercially successful monorail system in the world.

The Billy Sunday Connection

In 1907, world-famous evangelist Billy Sunday held one of his early revivals next to the Louden home, according to local author and historian Susan Fulton. Fulton designates the location as five blocks due west of the Presbyterian church, which is the location of the Louden home. Records were kept of the Fairfield Revival altar call, and 1,018 people came to the altar during the week of the event. When the revival was through, the Revival tabernacle was torn down and re-constructed in <Chautauqua Park>, where it served the community for many years until a windstorm destroyed it in the 1930s. Wood from the ruined tabernacle was then used to construct the gazebo on the city square. So the Fairfield Revival Gazebo still stands in the center of the square to this day.

Sunday, a native of Ames, Iowa, had been a professional baseball player first for the Chicago White Stockings, then for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the Philadelphia Phillies. Hall of Famer Cap Anson was his first coach and mentor. In his final season he had an infinite(0.00) earned run average (ERA) with Pittsburgh.

But he left his stellar career in 1890 for the ministry. A Presbyterian and a confirmed ‘dry,’ he became one of the national leaders in the drive for Prohibition. It is said that he preached to over 100 million people in his career in the days before television and most radio.

Sunday's Revival tabernacle in Fairfield was not his first. His marketing technique was to build a wooden tabernacle prior to the revival event—essentially a large wood barn with board bench seats and a sawdust floor. The tabernacle would then become both the forum and the advertising medium as questions about the large construction project would bubble up in the community. Sunday repeated the technique during early revival events throughout Iowa and Illinois.

The property has been restored over the years by Bob Krause and his late wife Maryann Mills-Krause (passed in 2005) and by his present wife, Vicky Matthiessen Krause.

Related Research Articles

Louden may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Mary's Church and Rectory (Iowa City, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

St. Mary's Catholic Church, also known as St. Mary of the Visitation Church, is a parish church of the Diocese of Davenport which is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The church building and rectory were listed together on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. They were both included as contributing properties in the Jefferson Street Historic District in 2004. The parish's first rectory, which is now a private home, is also listed on the National Register as St. Mary's Rectory. It is located a few blocks to the east of the present church location at 610 E. Jefferson St.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prospect Park Historic District (Davenport, Iowa)</span> Historic district in Iowa, United States

The Prospect Park Historic District in Davenport, Iowa, United States, is a historic district that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In its 23.2-acre (9.4 ha) area, it included 23 contributing buildings in 1984. The Prospect Park hill was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa State Fairgrounds</span> United States historic place

The Iowa State Fairgrounds is located on the east side of Des Moines, Iowa. It annually hosts the Iowa State Fair in late summer. The state fair was begun in Iowa in 1854 and the current fairgrounds were established in 1886. The fairgrounds were listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as the Iowa State Fair and Exposition Grounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Presbyterian Church (Muscatine, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

First Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Church (USA) church located in Muscatine, Iowa, United States. It, along with the attached Sunday School building, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. B. and Lizzie L. Louden House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louden Machinery Company</span> American engineering, manufacturing and design company

The Louden Machinery Company was an American engineering, manufacturing and design company based in Fairfield, Iowa. Founded by William Louden, the company in its early years manufactured and sold the patented hay carrier that he invented in 1867. The company later expanded into a wide variety of farm equipment and, in 1906, began an Architecture Department that reportedly designed more than 25,000 barns from 1906 to 1939. During World War I, Louden's monorail equipment carrier began to be applied to industrial and military applications. By the 1920s, much of the company's revenues were derived from industrial applications of its monorail equipment carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motor, Iowa</span> United States historic place

Motor is an unincorporated community in Clayton County, Iowa, United States. The townsite is also a nationally recognized historic district listed as a historic site on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred and Rosa Fulton Barn</span> United States historic 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Senator James F. Wilson House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R.R. and Antoinette Louden House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William and Mary Jane Louden House</span> Historic house in Iowa, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louden Monorail System in the Auto Repair Shop</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louden Whirl-Around</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa Malleable Iron Company</span> United States historic place

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 patented track crane is a crane with a bottom flange of hardened steel and a raised tread to improve rolling.

Charles J. Fulton was an American politician from Iowa.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Oltrogge, Sarah. "Properties Listed on National Register of Historic Places Earn Recognition". State Historical Society of Iowa. Retrieved 2012-05-31.