The E. H. Harrison House is a historic building located in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...

, United States. It was designed in a combination of Federal,

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

, and Second Empire styles by local architect Frederick H. Moore, and built in 1857 by local builder R.P. Gray. It is believed that this is the first house in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

to have a

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

, which is its Second Empire influence. The Federal style is found in the building's large windows, the elliptical doorway arch, the bowed two story front bay, and the brickwork. The Greek Revival style is found in the offset doorway. Its interior features a unique open, two-story, self-supporting staircase that is said to be one of seven in existence in the United States. Additions have been built onto the back of the house, but their dates are unknown. with The man who had the house built was Enos H. Harrison, who was a successful businessman originally from

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, he helped establish the Keokuk Branch of the Iowa State Bank where he served as its first president. He also helped to establish the waterworks in Keokuk and the Iowa State Insurance Company. Harrison was involved with other business interests and the local Unitarian Church, which was located next door. He also served four terms as First Ward

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in Keokuk. Harrison died here in 1877, and the family sold the house. It was converted into offices around 1967. The building is said to be haunted by a friendly

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

, although it reportedly chased out one of the building's tenants. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984.

References

Houses completed in 1857 Federal architecture in Iowa Second Empire architecture in Iowa Houses in Keokuk, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Lee County, Iowa Reportedly haunted locations in Iowa Buildings with mansard roofs {{LeeCountyIA-NRHP-stub