Alice French House (Davenport, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Alice French House
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 321 E. 10th St. Davenport, Iowa |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1906 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne Colonial Revival |
| MPS | Davenport MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 83002434 |
| Added to NRHP | July 7, 1983 |
The Alice French House is a special old building in Davenport, Iowa. It sits high up on a bluff, looking out over the mighty Mississippi River. This house is important because of a famous writer named Alice French who lived there. It was added to the list of historic places, called the National Register of Historic Places, in 1983.
Meet Alice French
Alice French was born in Andover, Massachusetts. When she was five years old, her family moved to Davenport, Iowa, in the Midwestern United States. Her father, George French, was an important person in Davenport. He served as mayor, worked as a banker, and was part of the school board.
A Famous Writer
Alice French became the first writer from Iowa to be well-known across the country. She started writing short stories in 1871 for a local newspaper. By the 1880s, her stories were appearing in popular magazines like The Atlantic and Harper’s. She wrote under a special pen name: Octave Thanet. Her stories became very popular in the 1890s and early 1900s.
The Davenport Writers
Alice French was part of a group of writers in Davenport. They called themselves the Davenport Writer's Group. Other famous writers in this group included George Cram Cook, Susan Glaspell, and Floyd Dell. Even though many of them worked outside of Davenport, their time in the city greatly influenced their writing.
Alice French's stories were especially shaped by her life in Davenport and near the Mississippi River. She often wrote about a fictional town called Fairport, which was really her way of describing Davenport. She mixed real-life details of the city with romantic ideas in her stories. Her most popular novel was The Man of the Hour, published in 1905, which was set in her fictional Fairport.
Later Life
Over time, people's tastes in books changed, and Alice French's writing became less popular. She stopped writing and started doing social work instead. She would spend the spring, summer, and fall seasons in Davenport. During the winter, she would travel to Arkansas.
About the House
The Alice French House was built in 1906. It is a large, two-story building made of wood. The house combines two popular styles from that time: Queen Anne and Colonial Revival. It sits on a corner lot, right across from Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Even though the house itself isn't famous for its unique design, it's important because Alice French lived there. It was originally built for one family, but later it was divided into apartments for several families.
