The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-05-19
Mrs William r. Wright Still Resides
in the Oldest House in keokuk
Which Is in Excellent
Condition.
INDIAN PATH PASSED IT
Saw a Squaw Shoot the Buttons OFT
the Coat of Her Incorrigible Son
One Day When He Was
Naughty.

Where is the oldest house in Keo-
kuk, since the one on the olutf over
the union station was destroyed!
And how old is that house?
1t was with these two questions
that The Gate City representative
started out to find out.
And after thinking several times
that he had found it, only to find an
other. one that is older, he finally
found one that was built in the early
fifties which seemed to carry off the
honors for antiquity.
1t isn't the house that you would
pick as the oldest one, either. Prob
ably there are those who have passed
it dozens of times without being I'M
pressed that it is very old.
But 1t dates back to the days when
the Indians roamed through the vir-
gin forest, where the exclusive resi-
dence section of the city now ID.
Down at III Concert street IT
stands. There is nothing about it to
distinguish it from moro modern
cottages except the sloping roof at
the back, SO low that one can stand
on the ground and reach the roof.
The house was built by George E.
Kilbourne, abou. 1854, and he In
tended to make it his home. But at
about that time Andrew j. Brown
who was for many years county coro-
ner and held other offices, took a
fancy to it and persuaded the owner
to sell It to him. From that, time
the house has remained in the pos
session Of the family, and is now
occupied by a daughter OF MI.
Brown.
Has Lived There Lifetime.
His daughter. Mrs. William F..
Wright, can't remember the time
when she moved there, for she was
just few weeks old. And that Is
another unusual thing about lit
has housed the same family for al
most the biblical span of lifetime.
There have been some great
changes during the years since that
little cottage was built. The little
trading post at the junction of the
Des Moines and Mississippi rivers
has become city and the then un-
broken prairies Of Iowa have come
to be the richest and most proouc-
tive spot on the earth.
Some of my recollections are OF
the Indians who used to stop as they
travelled up and down the river in
their canoes" said Mrs. wright.
"They used to come up the path that
ran from the river to our house.
can remember particularly a haH-
breed woman whose name was Mrs.
Gaines, that we were always friends
of. She had son, Crawford, who
was a good-for-nothing sort of fell
low. One time he was doing some
thing that Mrs. Gaines didn't like
and she shot at him and shot one
of the buttons off of the back of his
coat.
improvements While You Visit
During those years Keokuk was
rapidly, though. When H
was about ten years old we went
back to Pennsylvania to visit. and
when we came back home they were
grading Concert street. That left
our house standing up aboveN the
street as it now is.
There are several houses that |
know of that were built during those
years, and there may be some that
were built before ours, out can't
think Of any just now
At any rate, the house is old. And
Il it could stand for another three
score and ten years, has anyone the
foresight to look into the future and
predict the progress that it might
see? The thought might provoke
some speculation, but how far short
eyen the most visionary would fall
,ron, reality ia a long guess,