Two years later they moved to Howard County, Iowa and settled near Cresco where they were among the first families. At the age of seventeen, Mr. Kellow started his own grocery store which he continued to operate until he was in his nineties. A plaque commemorating this remarkable record hangs in the museum. The house is of Second Empire design. William Kellow Sr., a farmer and stonemason, quarried the stone and built the foundation for his son's home.
Window sills are white cut stone and trim above the windows is ornamental wood brackets.
This type of roof was designed by a French architect after whom it was named. In those days houses were taxed on space up to the roof line, so Mr. mansard incorporated a tax-free story into the roof. The roof of the one-story kitchen is also topped with an ornamental iron rail. The Historical Society has restored the interior but made no structural changes. It is furnished in the period of the late 1800's and early 1900's, with several of the furnishings being Kellow family heirlooms.