Antoine LeClaire House

The Antoine LeClaire House, located at 630 East 7th Street Davenport, Iowa, United States, is a community center that was built as a private home by one of the founders of city of Davenport. The home was constructed in 1855. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1992.

History

Antoine LeClaire was an interpreter for the U.S. Government stationed at Fort Armstrong on Rock Island on the Mississippi River. In 1832 he was the interpreter for the treaty signing between the Sac (Sauk) and Fox( Mesquakie) tribes and the United States after the Black Hawk War. The tribes gave LeClaire two parcels of land in Iowa, one at the top of the Rock Island Rapids and one below. The lower parcel became part of the city of Davenport, which he was instrumental in establishing in 1836.

LeClaire agreed to build his house on the location where the Black Hawk Treaty was signed. He built a small log structure on the site in 1833 after the treaty was ratified by the United States Senate. It was replaced by a small white house that became known as the Treaty House. LeClaire and his wife Marguerite lived in the modest house until 1855 when they built an Italianate mansion in the LeClaire Reserve. The house, and others being built by Davenport’s wealthier citizens, shows the progress the city had made in the twenty years since its founding. LeClaire donated the Treaty House to the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad and it became the town’s first railroad station.^[3] The house was moved from its original location.

LeClaire and his wife lived in the mansion until they died in 1861 and 1876 respectively. The couple had no children, but they informally adopted his nephew, Louis Antoine LeClaire, after Antoine LeClaire’s half brother Alexis died in 1849. He inherited the couple’s property upon their death.^[4]

In 1881 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport was established and the Very Reverend John McMullen from Chicago was named its first bishop. The clergy of the diocese purchased the LeClaire House for the bishop’s residence.^[5] He died in the house less than two years later. His successor, Henry Cosgrove, moved into the residence after he was named Bishop of Davenport in 1884. When Cosgrove died in 1906 his successor, James Davis, chose to live elsewhere because the LeClaire House needed extensive repairs and it needed to be renovated. The diocese sold the house and purchased the F.H. Miller House as the new house for the bishop.^[6]

By the start of World War I the neighborhood was in decline and the LeClaire House had been converted into a boarding house. In the succeeding decades the house continued to deteriorate.

In 1976 the Bicentennial Commission of the city of Davenport purchased the house as one of their projects. An extensive renovation process has been ongoing since then. Extensive work has been done to the exterior and interior with all the mechanical systems having been replaced.

Architecture

The LeClaire House is a 14-room Tuscan Italianate mansion on the top of a 125 foot bluff above the Mississippi River. It features a shallow hipped roof, wide, bracketed eaves and a belvedere on the top of the roof. The house has nine fireplaces, 12-foot high ceilings, ornate plaster medallions and a 3-story elliptical staircase. There are also Greek Revival elements to the house as well. They are found in the doorway framed between pilasters and the scroll pediments over the windows. The property originally had a circular drive made of cinders that was lighted with gas lamps. The estate also contained carriage barns, a summer kitchen, an icehouse and a plum grove.^[3][4]

Renovation Goals

Five goals were established as guiding principles for the LeClaire House renovation^[7]:

1. The area will have a resource by which future generations of residents can develop a better understanding and appreciation of Davenport's important role in the settlement of not only eastern Iowa, but also the entire state.

2. The rehabilitation of LeClaire House, especially due to its visually prominent bluff -top location, will stimulate the interest of both residents and tourists alike in local history. This will in turn foster a greater appreciation and support for the area's cultural assets.

3. Completion of the LeClaire House will encourage additional investment in the neighborhood that could eventually have a beneficial impact on the neighborhood's housing stock and the local economy.

4. The quality of life for the neighborhood in particular and community pride in the area as a whole will be enhanced when the highly visible homestead of the city's co-founder is fully restored and in use.

5. The City will have a self-supporting community/local history interpretive center in the central city providing a unique service to non-profit groups, neighborhood associations, and the general public.

Significance

The LeClaire House is historically significant both in its architecture and the importance of Antoine LeClaire to the local community. It was one of the first Italianate residences in the city, and was influential in the design of other large-scale homes in the city.^[8] LeClaire was the founder of the city, one of its most prominent philanthropists and entrepreneurs in its early years. He is also significant in the establishment of the Catholic Church in Davenport. While his death pre-dates the establishment of the diocese, he donated the property for both St. Anthony’s and St. Margaret’s Churches. The later church was largely built by LeClaire, and became the city’s first Catholic Cathedral.

The renovation of the LeClaire House is more than a make-over for an old home. As the five goals show, its focus is also on the refurbishment of the surrounding neighborhood and a community/interpretive center for the central city.

References

External links

• City of Davenport Website
• Antoine LeClaire on QC Memory
• Archiplanet Listing