MT. PLEASANT BEAUTIFUL

With the cooperation of the Southeast Iowa Union, the Mt. Pleasant Historic Preservation Commission will be publishing weekly peeks at some of the featured homes in the 1909 book, 'Mt. Pleasant Beautiful.” In the series, the 1909 picture will be contrasted with one of recent vintage. The commission has been collecting information for the eventual issuance of a new book updating the information on the still-standing homes from the 1909 publication.

You can test your knowledge of historic Mt. Pleasant with this column. The identity of the featured home will be published the week following the initial publication.

Last week's featured home: Bartlett House, 501 S. Main St.

This week's house was only 4 years old when it appeared in the 1909 Mount Pleasant Beautiful book. It was built in 1905 by Harry and Maud Ambler. Harry was a nephew of Henry Ambler of Ambler House and Union Block fame, and a lawyer, as was his uncle.

After only two years, they sold to Everett and Cyra Beckwith, whose parent's home on West Monroe was featured several weeks ago. One of his brothers, Warren, married Jessie Lincoln, granddaughter of James Harlan and President Lincoln. The marriage could not exactly be deemed a success.

In 1913, the house was sold again, this time to Osteopath Elmer Westfall who occupied it with his family until 1940.

More recent owners included Mount Pleasant News publishers Warren and Helen Rogers for 28 years and plumber Ross Lane, whose wife, Edith, was an artist. She converted an upstairs bedroom to a studio. After Ross' death in 1994, the house was sold at auction in 1995 to Paul and Marilyn Yackey who made extensive internal changes to the house, although retaining many original features.

After 10 years the house was purchased by the current owners.