When Davenport houses moved

Moving is one of those things everyone encounters over a lifetime, and very few find enjoyable. Packing alone is a job most dread, but then there's also the damaged or missing items, the need to find a few extra people to lift that heavy item, and of course those miscellaneous boxes that never quite get unpacked. Moving certainly isn't for the faint of heart, and while there are plenty of reasons people choose to move, it seems location is at the top of the list.

You'd probably be surprised to find out that our pioneer families changed locations much more often than people do today. Most of the early settlers in our area moved west gradually, always looking for the right opportunity where the grass was just a little bit greener. Sometimes they packed their belongings in a wagon or box and hit a long dusty trail, while other times they put the house on a set of wheels and moved it down the road. The Davenport area today boasts at least eleven of these early day "mobile homes" and there's a story behind each one of them.

Take for instance the two-story residence located at 902 11th Street. The long time Davenport citizens will remember this as the Einbeck house full of wonderful memories of the day when Davenport boasted its own pop shop. This house was originally built at the NW corner of 14th and Main Street on railroad right of way. The problem was the Great Northern planned to build a rail spur north to the river which would have ran right through the property, so the house was moved roughly three blocks east in 1908. Legend has it that Mr. Einbeck used his extra supply of glass pop bottles as a concrete filler in the steps that today lead up to the front door.

Other houses in Davenport were also moved in the "name of progress". The house at 925 Morgan originally sat one lot west of its current location, but was moved over one lot to accommodate the parking lot for Strate's Funeral Home. Likewise, the most recently moved house in town at 606 Washington Street was moved from the SW corner of 5th and Washington to make way for the new junior high school building.

The Assembly of God Church (now Harvest Celebration Church) once desired to build a larger building on Ross Street between 7th and 8th Streets, but a two-story house was in the way of expansion. Rather than finding a new location, the church paid for the house to be relocated to its current location at 801 Lincoln Street satisfying both the church and homeowner.

Sometimes houses were moved because the property owners favored building a more modern home and you will find several examples of these homes still around town. The two-story home at 1106 Maxwell Street, for instance, was once the Lutheran Church parsonage and originally sat one block east at the NE corner of 10th and Maxwell Street. It was moved when the church decided to build a modern rancher in its place. The residence is full of history and was even used on occasion to host early day church services.

The residence at 319 Maxwell was originally located at the NE corner of 8th and Maxwell Street and faced west. The property was purchased by the Zellmer family with the intent to build their modern retirement home. Bob Luiten heard of the plan to demolish the home in 1957 and purchased the home, moving it west where it stands today.

A similar story holds true for the house at 401 4th Street. This house was also moved in the 1950's to make way for the new Buck family retirement home. This house once sat just SE of the railroad tracks on Third Street near the two barns you will see today.

Moving a little further south at 38831 Gibson Road you will find another old two-story home that started life several miles south of Davenport. This residence was originally built by the Mayberry Family and moved to town in 1972 when the Booker family built a modern ranch home. The house at 55 Sinclair Street also started its days on the farm before moving to town.

While it wasn't uncommon for farm houses to move to town, there is one unique story regarding the home that once belonged to Simon Reinbold in the Omans area. Reinbold also wanted to build a more modern ranch home to replace his aging farm house, so he enlisted the services of a contracting firm by the name of Ring and Pitts. This firm took in the old house on trade to build the new residence and the farmhouse was moved to 602 13th Street in 1956. Today we trade in cars, but apparently at one time it was possible to trade in your old house.

While all of these moves have a unique story as to why they were moved, one in particular raises a question of how far one might go to please their in-laws. This story revolves around the yellow two-story Victorian home that stands at 915 Marshall Street. This was once the home of E.D. Reiter who was an early day attorney in Davenport and had the house built at the SW corner of 9th and Marshall Street which faced east. Mr. Reiter married Marian Fry (in 1899) who was the daughter of pioneer ranchman and prominent banker, J.W. Fry. At some point Mr. Fry decided he wanted to move in from the farm SE of town and build a three-story brick house (with walls three bricks thick) in Davenport. He apparently envied the site of his daughter and son-in-law, and their house was moved to make way for his home which was built in 1904. This house later became the Pease Hotel and still stands strong 120 years later. There's no recorded history of exactly how this property swap went, but one can imagine an awkward dinner table conversation in which Mr. Fry asks his son-in-law to move his house a few lots west so he could build his dream home in his preferred location.

Most realtors will tell you it's all about location when looking at houses, but those professionals aren't aware of a time when Davenport citizens did things just a little bit different. And while you probably won't have any luck convincing your son-in-law to change locations simply to accommodate your vision today, or trade your house in for the more modern one, you can take a drive around Davenport and get a glimpse into a time when location was overcome by simply moving the house down the road.