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, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

, United States. It was designed in a combination of

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

, 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 state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

to have a

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

, 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 and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

. He and his family settled in Keokuk in 1849. In

, 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 Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

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 A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

, although it reportedly chased out one of the building's tenets. 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 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