Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Historic District Trail. , Post War Affluence , The Italian Villa home before you was built by dry goods merchant Dighton B. Ellsworth and wife Amanda in 1867. It was part of a building boom in the neighborhood and one of two Italianates built on adjacent corner lots that year. The Civil War had just ended, the railroads were connecting the nation, the Industrial Revolution was well underway, and prosperity in the North predominated. One of the ways this was expressed was in the building of opulent homes. Ellsworth came to Decorah from New York in 1855, realized great success in his Decorah dry goods business, and spent $10,000 building this home, about 1.3 million dollars in today’s money. Its design was a more elaborate variation of Italianate called Italian Villa, with a three-story square tower at the junction of its gabled L-shaped wings. Constructed in only four months, locally manufactured brick was used for the body with contrasting light brick for the segmental arch window hoods and door frames. Roof brackets in pairs, elaborate woodwork, and leaded glass windows added to its grand appearance. Amanda died in 1876 and Ellsworth married again a year later. Ellsworth died in 1896, the house was sold two years later to Emma and Frank Young, a cattle buyer and merchant, and they moved in with 18-year-old daughter Grace. The Youngs added electricity, a Queen Anne Revival set of porches, and other updates to the house during their time there. , Just across the street in the second house to the west lived Adelbert “Bert” Field Porter who was raised there by his grandparents after the early death of his mother and his father's remarriage. Bert was reared in the English tradition, attending boarding school during the school year and spending summers in Decorah where he developed an interest in butterflies as a young boy and in Grace, "the girl next door," as a young man. They were married on June 22, 1904, in the parlor here. After just a short time living away from Decorah, the couple returned and moved in with Grace's parents. They lived in this house for the rest of their lives. , A Musician and a Naturalist , Both Bert and Grace came from affluent backgrounds and inherited their parents' wealth in addition to a trust fund given to Bert by his father when he married. Because the Porters did not need to work, they were free to pursue their own interests. Grace was an accomplished vocalist and pianist and the Porter music room became a venue for the enjoyment of concerts and other musical events by the Porters and their friends. Grace handled the money in the family, was well-versed on current events, and was involved in the women's suffrage movement and other important issues of the day. Bert and Grace traveled widely in the United States as well as abroad during their lifetimes. Bert continued his hobby of collecting butterflies on these trips and lectured on his travels upon returning to Decorah until it proved too time-consuming. He also worked with photography, created and sold art with butterfly wings and natural materials, collected stamps and other items from nature. , The Wall , Bert also collected rocks during his travels. When Grace came to him with a request for a birdbath constructed from stone, his rock-collecting hobby took a new turn and he began constructing lamps and other items for the home from the rocks he collected. The wall which encloses the property became his largest undertaking in rock construction. A workshop in his basement with rock cutting and polishing equipment was used to work on his wall project and several workmen helped him assemble it. A prototype wall was constructed across the street at his childhood home, then work was begun on the wall surrounding the Porter's Italian Villa home. , Family Home to House Museum , After Grace's death in 1964, Dale Ahern, a local newspaper editor and Bert's friend, suggested that Bert give his home and collections to the Historical Society. After briefly considering this, Bert agreed to it and signed over the house and contents in 1966 with the stipulation he would continue to live there until his death. Although he gave no endowment for the home's maintenance, his will bequeathed his money to the Decorah Public Library, the Congregational Church, Smith Memorial Hospital, the Decorah park system, and Luther College. The home today is a museum housing the Porters' furniture, belongings, and Bert’s collections, tools, travel gear and photographs of his journeys. It allows a step back in time from the beautifully appointed interior with its walnut fretwork in the archway, graceful walnut staircase, parquet wood floors, and beveled glass windows characteristic of the 1860s to the furniture, rugs, and tapestries purchased and used by the Youngs and Porters during their lifetimes in the house. This unique home, its contents, gardens, and grounds provide a snapshot of the life of a turn-of-the-century naturalist and his equally interesting wife, and of the English/Yankee population of the West Broadway neighborhood that provided Decorah with a foundation of business, wealth and culture over the years. , [photo captions] , . D. B. Ellsworth’s 1867 Italian Villa home contains the square tower characteristic of the style. The Porter House is here viewed from the west after the addition of the Queen Anne Style Porch but before the addition of the rock wall. , . Bert Porter was raised by his grandparents in this house across the street at 404 W. Broadway. Bert remodeled this house in the 1920s removing much of its gingerbread and simplifying it to the white house with green trim we see today. , . Frank and Emma Young in their later years. , . Grace Young Porter and Adelbert Field Porter around the time they first met. , . Bert attended a boarding school run by Frank Lloyd Wright's aunts in Spring Green, Wisconsin. The building Wright designed for his aunts' school eventually became Taliesin, Wright's school for architects. Bert admired Wright's designs and his own Prairie style garage shows Wright's influence. , . Grace and Bert in the driveway of their home. They lived at 401 W. Broadway all of their married life. It remains as the Porter House Museum and is much as they left it. , . Grace in her backyard. The caption in Bert’s handwriting reads, “My wife in the rock garden on south edge of large pool.” , . Women march in an early 1900s era parade on Water Street. Grace was actively involved in the women’s suffrage movement and other important issues of the day. , Funding for this sign provided by: The Depot Outlet