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  • 1. What were the occupations of the families building these homes.?

    A: Among its residents were a U.S. senator, an inspector for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Iowa’s state printer, the director of the U.S. Mint, the president of U.S. Gypsum Company, the publisher of the local newspaper, and most of the city’s early bankers and entrepreneurs. 


  • 2. How do these homes represent the time in which they were built?

    A: These homes represented the prosperity and optimism which dominated in Fort Dodge during its golden era. Each family sought to outshine their neighbors in size, quality, and elegance of their home, reflecting on the local level the “conspicuous consumption” ethic of America’s “Gilded Age.”  

  • 3. Where was this neighborhood located when it was built??

    A: The district, which was originally the southeastern edge of the city, included the homes of the community’s business leaders and leading citizens. 

Oak Hill Historic District


Historic Preservation Commission


(515) 576-4551


Between South 8th Street & South 12th Street


bacg@fortdodgeiowa.org

The Oak Hill District is a four-block district placed on the National Register of Historical Places. The district consists of 15 homes which reflect the changing architectural styles of the post-Civil War period, 1870-1910. The styles of homes in the district include French Second Empire, East Lake, Queen Anne, Craftsman, Jacobean Revival, and Prairie, a showcase of the architectural evolution of that period.