National Register of Historic Places

Paradise Farm

Bellevue, Jackson County, Iowa
Listed
July 12, 1977
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
77000520

About this property

Paradise Farm are historic agricultural and domestic buildings located west of Bellevue, Iowa, United States. Massachusetts native Elbridge Gerry Potter settled near Big Mill Creek in 1842 from Illinois. He arrived here with 500 head of cattle, 40 teams of mules, and money. In addition to this farm he operated a flour mill and sawmill in Bellevue, and established steamboat lines on the Mississippi River at Bellevue, on the Yazoo River in Louisiana and the Red River in Texas. This was Potter's home, and it included 1,400 acres (570 ha). The three buildings are coarsely-dressed limestone covered with stucco, and built in the mid-1840s. The main house, built in 1846, is three-story stone structure capped with a flat roof and a cupola. It housed the first lending library in Iowa. His book collection included subjects such as medicine, poetry, religion, and women's suffrage. He kept track of the books with a system of numbers and color codes for the books and the shelves. The three-story dormitory is a rectangular structure that housed the buttery, the farm's main kitchens and bunk quarters for workers. The carriage barn is a two-story, rectangular structure. One side of the ground level housed the carriages and wagons, and the second level housed the loft. It featured segmental arched windows with heavy stone sills. Paradise Farms has been home to generations of Potter's descendants. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Location

Bellevue, Jackson County, Iowa
42.27128, -90.48380

Categories

COMMERCEEXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Land
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Geology
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Nearby Historic Sites

Upper Paradise
Industrial
1.1 mi
Roling, Henry, House
Industrial
1.4 mi
Niemann, Theodore, House and Spring House
Industrial
1.5 mi
Fritz Chapel
Early Republic
1.7 mi
Big Mill Homestead
Industrial
1.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Paradise Farm listed on the National Register?

Paradise Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1977.

What type of historic resource is Paradise Farm?

Paradise Farm is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Paradise Farm?

The period of significance for Paradise Farm is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Paradise Farm?

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