National Register of Historic Places

Sheaffer, Walter A., House

Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa
Listed
September 18, 2006
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
06000858

About this property

The Walter A. Sheaffer House, also known as the Craig & Margaret Abolt House, is a historic residence located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The listing includes two structures, the main house and the garage cottage. Walter A. Sheaffer was the inventor of the lever-filled fountain pen, and he founded the Sheaffer Pen Company to produce it. The house is part of a complex of houses built by the Sheaffer family. The Craig and Virginia Sheaffer House (1929), Walter's son and daughter-in-law, located just to the east of this house is also listed on the National Register. The Walter Sheaffer House is a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) structure completed in 1930. It was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Mayo and Mayo. The other two houses in the complex were built later for Craig and Virginia's sons Walter and John. The Walter Sheaffer House is located at the top of a 200-foot (61 m) bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The house is a combination of Tudor Revival and Renaissance Revival features that when used together are known as the Jacobean style. The Tudor Revival features of the 2½-story brick house are two stone-parapeted gables, two dormers with half-timbered gable ends, a two-story stone-framed bay window, and a porte cochere with three flattened arches in the Tudor style. The corner and window quoins are from the Renaissance Revival style. The single-story garage cottage served as the living quarters for the Sheaffer's butler/chauffeur and his wife, who served the family as their cook. The three garage entrances are in an exposed basement. The Tudor Revival structure is also brick laid in a common bond. Media related to Walter A. Sheaffer House at Wikimedia Commons

Location

11 High Point
Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa
40.63397, -91.28724

Categories

INVENTIONINDUSTRYCOMMERCE
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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Nearby Historic Sites

Sheaffer, Craig and Virginia, House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Iowa State Penitentiary Cellhouses Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
Fort Madison Bridge
Early Republic
0.6 mi
Schlapp, George E., House
Industrial
1.2 mi
Beck, Chief Justice Joseph M., House
Industrial
1.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Fort Madison Siege
1812Early Republic
1.5 mi
Fort Madison Siege and Evacuation
1813Early Republic
1.7 mi
Fort Madison Siege (1812–1813)
1812Early Republic
3.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Sheaffer, Walter A., House listed on the National Register?

Sheaffer, Walter A., House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 2006.

What type of historic resource is Sheaffer, Walter A., House?

Sheaffer, Walter A., House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Sheaffer, Walter A., House?

The period of significance for Sheaffer, Walter A., House is recorded as the industrial era.

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