Pliny and Adelia Fay House is a historic residence in Muscatine, Iowa,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1998. The house was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the West Hill Historic District in 2008.

History

A native of Massachusetts, Pliny Fay was one of the first settlers in the town of Bloomington, later renamed Muscatine. He joined his brother Edward here in 1837, a year after the town was surveyed and platted. The brothers were involved in the economic, political, and social life of the new town. They opened the second pharmacy in town and operated it together until Edward died in 1848. Pliny took on Frederick H. Stone as a partner, and they remained in business for at least another ten years. Adelia St. John was another New Englander who settled in Bloomington in its early years. She was the sister of William and Hamilton St. John, who were early land speculators in the area. She and Pliny were married in 1840. The Fays become prosperous enough to buy this property on the bluff overlooking the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

in 1853. According to property tax records, the house was built the following year. Its architect and builder are unknown. The house had to be moved from its original location sometime between 1866 and 1874 because of severe erosion along the bluff. Pliny and Adelia lived here with their two daughters and one son. The two daughters were married in 1867. Pliny's mother lived with them until her death in 1871. The Fay's sold the house in 1872 or 1873 and relocated to Santa Cruz, California for health reasons.

Architecture

The Italianate style is found in the porch, vestibule, round-headed window on the main facade, and the bracketed

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

of the house. It also has a low pitched roof,

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

, and symmetrical interior chimneys that are more typical of the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style. This combination of styles is an example of the fluidity and variety of the architecture found in Iowa's river towns. The inclusion of the Georgian style reflects the continuity between the frontier areas and the established settlements of New England from which the early settlers came.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Pliny and Adelia, House Houses completed in 1854 Italianate architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Muscatine, Iowa Houses in Muscatine County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Muscatine County, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Iowa