John H. Suiter House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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John H. Suiter House
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Location | 1220 N. 2nd St. Le Claire, Iowa |
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Area | approximately 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1855 |
MPS | Houses of Mississippi River Men TR |
NRHP reference No. | 79003706 |
Added to NRHP | April 13, 1979 |
The John H. Suiter House is an old and important building in Le Claire, Iowa, United States. It was built way back in 1855! This house is special because it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. This means it's recognized as a historic site worth protecting. The house is also part of a group of homes called the Houses of Mississippi River Men Thematic Resource. These are homes of brave men from Le Claire who worked on the mighty Mississippi River. They were riverboat captains, pilots, and even built or owned riverboats.
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Who Was John H. Suiter?
John H. Suiter was born in 1822. His family had a long history of working on the river. John moved to Le Claire with his parents in 1835. He became a river pilot in 1843 and worked in that job until 1875. River pilots were very skilled at guiding boats safely along the river.
John Suiter's River Adventures
After his time as a pilot, John managed his large farms and land. He became quite famous in Le Claire in 1864. During a time when the Mississippi River was extremely low, and there were many dangers, he was the only pilot in Le Claire brave enough to guide a large raft through the difficult waters. This showed how skilled and courageous he was!
What Does the House Look Like?
The John H. Suiter House is a two-story building. It is made of wood and sits on a strong stone foundation. The house looks quite tall because the land it's built on slopes downwards from the back to the front.
Special Features of the House
The main door is in the middle of the front of the house. The original wooden front porch was later changed to one made of wrought iron. The windows have simple, flat frames with small decorative tops called cornices. The house has a gently sloped roof, known as a gable roof.