History of House at 949 E Gorham Street
The house was build by Martin Iverson, a mason who emigrated from Norway. Iverson bought lot 9,
block 162 for $175 in 1863 and the house was built on that property in 1865/1866. It was listed in
early records as being at 951 E Gorham St. Records show Martin, his wife Ingor, and daughter Matilda
living in the house. It is unclear how large the house was when first built. However, there are
indications that it was quite small at the time and was added on to later.
In 1872 the Iversons also bought lot 8 and in 1877 lot 10 of block 162 (the lots on either side of the house). The 1875-1881 city directories show Martin Iverson living at “corner of Brearly & Gorham,” so there was no house on lot 10 at that time. In 1886 the Iversons sold lot 10 for $600.
Ingor Iverson died in 1890. In 1892 Martin Iverson built a two-flat building on lot 8 at 945 E Gorham Street (currently known as 947 and is now a rental with 3 apartments). He remarried in 1892 and moved to 945 with his wife Rachel. After moving, he apparently rented out the 951 property for
several years. Martin Iverson died in 1914 and is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery.
In 1909 the house previously listed as 951 E Gorham began to be listed as 949 E Gorham St.
In 1915, Martin's daughter, Mathilda Larson (widow of Andrew Larson) bought the 951/949 house for $3000. She lived there with at least four of her nine children. In 1918 Martin Iverson's second wife, Rachel, died at the age of 84. She had been living in the 945 house.
The 1930 city directory shows that Mathilda Larson died that year at age 73. The 1930 census shows
Clara Larson (age 39), one of Mathilda's daughters, as owner of 949. The 1930 census also shows that one of Mathilda's sons, Christian Larson, lived at 945 E Gorham with his wife Neta and their two daughters.
In 1930 the 945/947 house was sold to Christian and Neta Larson. The 1933 – 1939 city directories
show Clara Larson living at 945 E Gorham. She possibly moved from 949 to live with her brother
Christian.
The 1933 – 1946 city directories show Arthur N Colt and Mary Colt living at 949, apparently as
renters. Records from 1965 show the owner of 949 as Clara (Larson) Nelson of Eagle Grove, Iowa.
Arthur Colt was an artist who died in 1972 at age 81 (Colt School of Art was located at 22 N Carroll
St). That same year the 949 house was sold to his widow, Mary N Colt, for $6000.
Mary Colt died in 1983 and Allen Prunty Jr. bought the 949 property from her estate. The house was in rather bad shape – the cellar floor was still a dirt floor and there had not been any updates for years.
Prunty did extensive renovations and added on to the back of the house.
In December 1990 Allen Prunty sold the house to Shirley Haidinger.
The house was listed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1996 and on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1998 as part of the Fourth Lake Ridge Historic District. It is known as the Martin
Iverson House.
Shirley Haidinger - 8/20/2018 |
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