Purchase Price $220,000

4 bed · 2 bath · 1,298 sqft

Contact: Mary Cotter, Coldwell Banker

Call: (816) 390-3311

Come see this absolutely stunning, historic, 2 story home! This home boast extraordinary character with beautiful, original wood finishes, stained glass windows, and room to spare! Walking in you’ll be greeted with an open concept great room/main living area that flows nicely into the formal dining room. Kitchen includes dishwasher, microwave and range. You will be impressed with the generously sized bedrooms and closets. The house sits on a gorgeous generous lot with a gazebo, wood fence, and plenty of room to play! This home is truly one-of-a-kind and is in walking distance of Krug Park. Home is being sold As-Is.

House History & Gallery

Some neighborhoods are just special. As you walk the sidewalks you know that this is a place where people care about their homes and where there is a sense of community. Krug Park Place is that kind of neighborhood. The Mamie Watkins House at 1135 Krug Park Place fits nicely into its neighborhood and as you look at it you just know that it has terrific stories to tell

In 1903, the new development at Krug Park Place was just getting started; there were relatively few homes built on the generous lots. But Mamie (Mary) Barkley Watkins could see the potential and it was this neighborhood that she chose to build her new home. It’s not surprising that Mamie made an unusual choice of location; it seems that she was an unusual woman. She was a widow with some means, but at the time she engaged local architect J.H. Felt to design her Colonial Revival-influenced home, she was working as a Christian Scientist with an office in the Ballinger Building (620 Edmond St.). The 1910 census indicates that she owned the house free of mortgage, Mamie shared her lovely home with her sons Ozbert (Oscar), an attorney; Will; and her daughter, Elizabeth.

Around 1920, Mamie sold the house to Edwin N. VanHorne, the Vice-President at American National Bank. In July 1928, F.D. Reed broke into the house while the VanHornes were away on a trip and stole a suitcase full of Edwin’s clothing. He was caught when he attempted to pawn his ill-gotten gains. The next year, Edwin sold the house and moved to Nebraska to take up the position of president of the consolidated Continental State Bank and Nebraska State Bank.

Albert D. and Hazel Stewart purchased the home. The 1930 census states that the couple lived there with their 5-year-old son Albert and a live-in servant, 17-year-old Joy Meyer. Albert was the founder and president of the Stewart Inso Board Corporation; the company made straw fiber into insulated boards using a process invented by Albert. Tragedy struck on June 18, 1933 when Albert had a fatal heart attack at the house; he is buried at Memorial Park. Following Albert’s death, Hazel remained in the home until 1936; but she did attempt to rent out the house for $50 per month in 1935.

After Hazel left the home, there was a series of relatively short-term tenants in the home.

In 1938, the remarkable Victoria Elliott moved into the house. Victoria was well over 90 when she moved from her cousin’s home next door at 1125 into her own spacious home. She had lived most of her life in Denver. She was a talented musician who had lived for several years in London and Paris. In the few years that she lived in St. Joseph, Victoria was extremely active socially, taking a particularly prominent role in the P.E.O. Sisterhood. Victoria died at her cousin’s house at 1125 Krug Park Place in November 1941.

In early 1946, Roscoe E. Taylor and his family moved from Iowa City to take up the position of Vice-President of the St. Joseph Light and Power Co. Until they moved into their permanent home, they took up residence at 1135.

In 1950, the home was on the market advertised as “ideal family home, 8 rooms, 1 ½ baths, spacious grounds, on bus. Could be converted to duplex.” This ideal family home was snapped up by Lee Burgess and his wife Elizabeth. Lee was born in New Haven, Connecticut and graduated from Yale in 1937, and immediately went to work for Wire Rope. By 1950, he was the Vice-President. During the tenancy of the Burgesses, 1135 Krug Park Place was an active center of social activities.

The Mamie Watkins House at 1135 Krug Park Place has been a cherished home to many remarkable people in its nearly 120-year life. Several remarkable women have called it home, including: Mamie herself, a well-to-do widow who worked as a Christian Scientist; and Victoria Elliot, a world-traveled musician, who moved in when she was in her 90s. The families of the Vice Presidents of American National Bank and the St. Joseph Light and Power Co. lived here as did the entrepreneur and inventor Albert D. Stewart. Clearly this house and its neighborhood bring out the best in people.